Blogs from Crater Lake, Oregon, United States, North America

I just glanced at this list of over and underrated attractions in each state. It was shocking, in a state as diverse as California, that two theme parks were selected. Overrated was Disneyland, and underrated was Legoland. I guess they forgot about the Golden Gate Bridge, Napa Valley, Yosemite, the beaches on the Pacific Ocean, and Lake Tahoe. Even worse, they picked two of my favorite places in Arizona. They (Far and Wide) think the Grand Canyon is over rated, and Sedona is underrated. Both are simply beautiful. Do they realize how magical my first trip to Disneyland was when I was about 10 years old? Legoland did not exist back then! And if you ask any foreigner, where they want to visit on their very first visit to the US, both Yosemite and the Grand ... read more

We’re at Crater Lake! The national park greeted us with fog and snow. It’s cold (there is a high of 37 degrees), and the fog became so thick that we could only see about 30 feet in front of us while we drive. There’s no hope of seeing the lake today, I’m afraid! That said, the snow-covered trees are beautiful. We’re staying at Crater Lake Lodge, and it looks picturesque, like it belongs on a Christmas card. The problem with that is that it’s June, not December! When I read the forecast for the national park before we left, Crater Lake National Park was supposed to have highs in the 60s and low 70s. The nights looked cold, and I knew some of the park was still under snow, so I packed snow boots, snow pants, ... read more

blog 09-29-17 Crater Lake Tour It was really cold this morning 37 degrees and the electric heater had to work overtime to keep it 65 inside. The dogs ran out and in very quickly and we bundled up to take them for walks after breakfast. Ginnie and I had to leave by 10 am to get to the Trolly stop by 11:30 so we layered our clothes, carried jackets and hats and headed out. We were 2 miles down the road when Ginnie spotted a bear in the road ahead. It was a small black bear and when he saw us he crawled under the guard rail and was gone in a flash. Ginnie got his picture, I was driving and had the wrong exposure for the first shot, the second all you can see are ... read more

Mileage 280.7 Today was a first for us. On our two previous trips we never stayed at a hotel for 2 nights, but Bend was centrally located and it worked for us. It felt great to get up and not to have to pack up and take the suitcases with us. Last night’s hotel night was my Chase Marriott credit card free night and tonight’s is points. Yes, we like the free nights. We got up and ate breakfast then packed our day packs and hit the road early. We tried to stop at the lava cave on the way out but it wasn’t opened yet, so we headed on to Crater Lake. I was back seat so that I could finish up the pictures to the blog and get it posted. Then my job was ... read more

...took us to Crater Lake National Park. This was the first time we used our America the Beautiful Pass. We just had to stop long enough to accept a park map and info guide from the ranger and we were off to the rim. Towing a 5th wheel behind us was at times a bit hairy on the twisty mountain road. We discovered that the parking lots at the viewpoints are not 5th wheel friendly. We found a large enough turn-out that we could park in across from The Watchman viewpoint. Oh my goodness...what a beautiful lake. The shade of blue is stunning. The turquoise of the shallows along the shore, amazing. Our next stop along the West Rim was Rim Village where they have actual RV parking (maybe 8 stalls, many of which were occupied ... read more