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Day 7 - We were a little late leaving Klamath Falls today, as when we purchased out National Parks pass in Bakersfield, the lady got the cards mixed up, so we had to visit the forestry office early to get it sorted. We were helped by Joan, great lady, who helped us out of trouble, so we left her with an Australian tea towel with our thanks. She thought it was terrific. So once on the road, we headed for Crater Lake. The temperature was down to 49*F at its lowest as we climbed the mountain to 8500 feet. We had our extra shirt and winter gloves on. Nifty had his heated vest and heated grips on, so I insisted he lead today, least he could do seeing as he was warmer than Ange & I. No heated grips on my bike this trip, so I've had to toughen up.
Arriving at Crater Lake, we passed the Entrance Station with no problems, and headed onto the western loop road. A magic view greeted us within a few hundred yards with our first view of this impressive lake. The deepest lake in the US, the colour is a brilliant deep blue
surrounded by rocky edges of the crater. No guard rails around the outside and many signs warning to stay clear, but many of the tourists head out to the edge for that 'Postcard Shot'. The wind was howling across the lake today which made it seem even colder. We rode to many of the viewpoints and did the complete lap of the lake.
We headed north the Diamond Lake and onto OR138 to Toketee Falls. A .4 mile hike to these falls which are set down into the forest. Very peaceful at the falls, so we had our lunch stop here. Back out onto the highway for the run into Bandon, Oregon where will spend 4th July tomorrow. As we approached the coast, the temp dropped again from a somewhat warmer 79*F back to the low 60's. On arriving in Bandon, it was much the same weather as our visit in 2016. Cold, misty, overcast.....oh...and did I mention cold!
Dinner was at the Wheelhouse Restaurant, clam chowder again, can never have enough of this, and fish taco's. Great way to end the day.
Day 8 - "HAPPY 4TH" was our greeting this morning as we
made our way to breakfast with the locals of Bandon. Everyone is dressed in red, white & blue, American flags are everywhere, on cars, dogs, bikes, people, shop fronts. A terrific breakfast of corned beef hash with eggs & hash browns, along with mugs of hot chocolate, as it is still very cool today. A quick walk around town as we waited for the 4th July Parade to begin at 10am. The parade was just typical American patriotism at its best. Plenty of people lining the main street rugged up for the cold. A great parade led by the Stars & Stripes carried by 4 servicemen, followed by the Mayor and then all the emergency vehicles with sirens blaring. Then followed all the usual suspects for a parade, hot rods, plenty of horses, the entrants in the Miss Cranberry competition, a lone piper, classic American muscle cars & more horses. It was fantastic!
We went for a short ride out to Face Rock headland. Some very nice homes overlooking the Pacific Ocean, although the Tsunami warning signs probably don't enhance property values. Gave the bikes a wash this afternoon as they were pretty grubby. Time for a couple of
drinks, then off to dinner at the Wheelhouse again, went upstairs to the Crow's Nest for another great meal....you're waiting to hear what we had aren't you? Rockfish Etouffee with shrimp, coconut crusted rockfish & seared wild sea scallops with spicy mango salsa...fantastic!
A short stroll after dinner to the boardwalk to watch the 4th July fireworks. A 20 minute show watched by a few thousand people who all brought their deck chairs and blankets along with children and dogs! Great thing here in US is fireworks can be sold and used by everyone, some restrictions in various areas, but it was great to see Dad's setting off all the old type of fireworks we used when I was a young tacker in the '60's.
Day 9 - Yes, another early start for a 430 km day. Not too many stops today, as it was all about the ride. From Bandon to Cottage Grove for an early lunch, great café in Main Street called Jack Sprats. Pancakes were massive as were the hash browns. From here it was a long ride to Springfield then onto US242, which we rode in 2016, this time in the opposite direction, heading
up the mountain to Sisters, stopping at the lava fields on the way. In Sisters, we met a family from Eugene, Oregon, who have been to Australia and visited the Outback. The young girl was named Adelaide Uluru James, her older brother was Joseph Bonaparte James, and they will soon be our neighbours, moving to Coomera in the next few months. They were thrilled to meet people from Brisbane. From Sisters to Redmond and onto Prineville for our nightly stop. Another great meal at Barney Prine's Steakhouse. Yep, we are tired little Aussies tonight and having an early night!
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