We just returned from a week-long visit to Crater Lake National Park. Descriptive words, such as awesome, beautiful, gorgeous, magnificent, spiritual come to mind - but those words just do not do justice to the spectacular vision Crater Lake is...
It was quiet. Peaceful. Restful. AND mosquito free. Yes, we had been warned. We were DEET prepared...didn't see bug one the whole week. September is the month to go if you want to be relatively kid-free as well. We live next door to six (6), yes that's right- 6, children who are for the most part -- great kids (aka, not obnoxiously noisy). So when we pulled in and were about to select a site, I glanced across the road and there were not 1, not 2, but 3 child sized bikes and a bus that had been graffiti'd in ways that only the stoners of the 60's would truly appreciate...I recoiled and said, ah, NO. My week in God's country was for rest, relax, and to rejuvenate...not to listen to small people having non-quiet moments.
So, if you are a camper, RVer or tenter...Crater Lake is for you. The spaces are large and there are some with electricity and are of different sizes so large rigs are few and far between. If you are not one of the above, the Crater Lake Lodge is available as well. However, reservations are difficult to come by unless you book almost one whole year (10 - 12 months) in advance. There is a NP campground for tents only that is very reasonable...$10/night. We were near the other motel, a 'motor inn', however I have not a clue as to the nightly rate.
Crater Lake Lodge
our site
Trolley tour
Park Administration Building
Tickets for Wizard Island tours are available until mid-September, as we discovered too late to get one so as to visit it, but the boat did take us close. Two different kinds of WI tickets...a 3 hour romp or the all day (6 hours) version...only 6 a day of those are sold. So plan according. You can hike to the top, bird watch, sunbath or fish. No boats are allowed on the lake other than the tour company. And you don't need a license to fish either...they encourage fishing and lots of it.
Wizard Island
As our tour boat captain stated...it is 1.1 miles down to the boat ramp. It's 11 miles back up. Be prepared to walk. stop. walk. stop. drink water. walk. stop. repeat often on the way back up.
Vidae Falls
Short, easy hike to Vidae Falls...you actually don't even need to get out of the car to see this from the car. It's not this view, but you can see it.
Phantom Ship
The Phantom Ship can be seen, close up, from the boat tour as they take you right up to it and stop.
Inside Watchman Tower
Watchman Tower
The Watchman Tower hike was around 2.5 miles rd/trip and although much of it is switch backs it is also steep. And totally worth the view once you get there...this is simply breathtaking on a clear day.
Panoramic from Watchman Tower to the North/NW
We did see some wildlife during our stay...mostly birds and ground squirrels. On our last whole day we did happen to see a deer not far from our campsite. And it was posted for bears, however we saw no evidence that they were in the area. (They are faster than I so I pay attention to my surroundings. Nope, not one spotted.)
No TV, radio or internet. Well, you could buy wifi at the convenience store near the entrance or at the lodge. We were able to call out and get messages when up on the rim...actually that was just fine with us. There was a time, not so very long ago when you had to stand outside in one of these to make calls anywhere.
It's called a 'phone booth'...ancient history now. Although we did see a smaller version of this at the convenience store/gas station.
We are traveling east and will be turning out of Wyoming and going south soon. It is just plain cold, too cold to hang out in beautiful WY or NE...but we have been tempted. WY -, specifically Laramie and Cheyenne, we will return when it's a bit warmer to explore.
For those of you who read last week's post...here is a very short video Mike took of the Perrine Bridge (Twin Falls) Base Jumper....ENJOY!
Traveling into different states is really educational, fun, and thought provoking...I'm starting to pay attention to the differences...it's a cultural shift that rarely happens at home and once we get back into our winter-routine I find it again. One of those for me is discovering all the different fast-food joints that I will never, ever in a million years enter, let alone buy anything to eat from them. (Yes, I am a fast-food snob, but that is a entirely different blog and longer post, with a different audience.)
It's Chester Fried...found at a truck stop in Utah...do they serve it in buckets? I now wish I had gone inside to see if Colonel Sanders was wearing a cowboy hat and was clean-shaven.
Our overnight in Honeyville, at the Crystal Hot Springs, had a herd of sheep out our back window and....
a duck couple, laying eggs and being fed Jelly beans by the 2 small girls, next door to us. That's an egg just above the duck on the left....the next morning there were two eggs. The couple were resting comfortably when we left...both ignoring said eggs.
We left Utah for Wyoming...big, big mistake on our part we soon discovered. Wyoming is at a higher altitude, well not at the start, but by the time we reached Rock Springs, elevation 6388' we hadn't drank nearly enough water and having only just leaving sea level...we both were suffering from headaches and that tiredness that altitude brings on.
The mistake? Higher elevation = colder temperatures and did you know the wind blows at really high rates of speed here?
We found parking at the Sweetwater Fairgrounds (Sweetwater Fairgrounds)
via All Wyoming Campgrounds... the fairgrounds has 1200 parking sites! We 'guessed' closer to 500....this place is massive. Since it was just us and another trailer it was very quiet, even for a Friday night. Don't let the Sun fool you...it got really "crispy" come dark...so crispy that Mike unhooked us from the water line...."crisp" as in frigid/freezing. We were both really happy to be here for just one night. (I just wished that had been the end of the 'crisp air' story.)
Next on the trip menu... giddy-up Cheyenne WY. Little did we know that high winds AND more altitude was in our future. And according to the weather reports, some snow had dropped in on Cheyenne earlier in the week, but "not to worry, it was forecast to rain by Sunday". Yep, erm, right...not happening during our 2 day visit.
The highest point on I-80 is located at 8640" just outside Laramie, WY, and yes the wind was blowing where these photos were taken last Friday. The wind blew so hard and was so loud, we both donned ear plugs just to hear the radio.
Above...the remains of the snowfall days earlier.
Eight days out, 1550 miles through OR/ID/UT/WY and we are only half-way to our "we-can-start-to-relax" state of Louisiana. I know, we probably ought get to the 'start-to-relax' part now....it's just been too d**n cold up here in the northern hemisphere of the US.
While in Cheyenne we drove down to Ft Collins to meet up with friends we met while visiting Lake Louise 2 years ago, who drove up from Denver for lunch...so if you are visiting Ft Collins, treat yourself and dine at Austin's American Grill - the food was delicious, the company was marvelous. Thanks H & M!
If you are cruising I-25 to Ft. Collins, look for the bison up in the hills, you can see it for miles.
OK, I'll admit it....I am a West Coast woman...I have never seen signs announcing road closures at on-ramps - followed by gates that actually close the ramp...
this just boggles my mind....
Just as we are about to leave WY...Pine Bluffs rest area, right at the very edge of the state. High-Plains-Archaeology-Museum and a visitors center is conveniently located, more-like disguised, on the grounds of the rest area. The volunteer was kind enough to tell us a bit about the museum, open June - Aug... built on ground where Native American artifacts had been discovered.
and if you are a Cabelas fan, the photo below is their distribution center and store in Sidney, NE...left to right all Cabelas...it's gigantic.
and we witnessed another circle of life....like us, birds heading south.
We head towards Oklahoma over the next few days.
~Ciao
So, we pull into the Enchanted Trails RV Park & Trading Post planning to stay just long enough to stock our cupboards @ Costco, Trader J's and a real grocery store (think Safeway)....only to be met by this glorious work of art. Yes, that is what I am calling it. ART! Pristine condition, looking all shining and new, I mean look at those white walls....this photo does not do it justice. There are several vintage trailers staged just behind in a square, available for rent.
1950 Hudson w/trailer
While the Trading Post once was active on Historic Route 66, it now sits outside the hustle and bustle of Albuquerque, exit 149 of I-40. Camping World is located conveniently right next door.
(The park honors Passport America.) (No money or benefit have been exchanged for this 'advertisement'...it's too gorgeous not to share.)
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It's called a 'phone booth'...ancient history now. Although we did see a smaller version of this at the convenience store/gas station.
