We started by driving up into the Cascades north of Crater Lake and stopping at Diamond Lake; a diamond shaped lake between Mount Thielsen and Mount Bailey. We walked out on the docks at the historic Diamond Lake Resort and marveled at the lake’s beauty and size, not realizing the grandeur that lie just around the next bend.
We then drove into Crater Lake National Park from the north. After passing through the Pumice Desert we got our first glimpse of Crater Lake. You don’t know what a 6-mile diameter lake looks like (or makes you feel like) until you see it, especially in moonlight.The next day we started by visiting the visitor centers, watching the historical video, and buying souvenirs (of course I went straight for the National Parks passport stamp station and the smashed penny machines). Then we hiked The Watchman; a mountain on the west side of the lake. It was a steep 400-foot climb to a beautiful fire lookout station with panoramic views of the lake, Mt. Scott to the east, the Willamette Valley to the west, and Wizard Island in the lake. Wizard Island formed after the ancient 12000-foot high Mount Mazama collapsed upon its own empty magma chamber 7700 years ago, from the subsequent eruption of a cinder cone.
We all attempted to photographically document the breathtaking cloud formations and the shadows that they created on the valleys and trees as a storm front moved quickly towards us. It rained on us as we descended the Watchman but felt that this was the way Crater Lake was meant to be seen.
After a stop for lunch and to chitchat with a lady who was walking the 33-mile rim drive, we found ourselves at the northern point of the lake, hiking the 1.1-mile trail down to Cleetwood Cove in bright sunshine. This is the only official access to the water. The boat tours had been cancelled that day because of the wind (there were 4-foot waves hitting the rocks earlier that morning), but we sat down on the swaying docks and dipped our hands into a body of water as blue as a sapphire. I do have a fear of deep water, so floating on a wood plank above 1,943 feet of water, was certainly a challenge, if not a thrill.
The hike back up was tough (the saying goes that the trail is 1 mile down, 10 miles back up), but we recovered as we continued clockwise around the lake. We then found ourselves at Sun Notch where after a short hike, you can take in breath taking views of Phantom Ship (the smaller of the two islands in Crater Lake). Phantom Ship looks like a tiny island, but it is actually home to 7 kinds of trees.
The next day we packed up our wet tents (it had rained on us pretty steadily that night) and drove west to Union Creek where we had breakfast in a historic restaurant and visited the Rogue Gorge. We continued southwest, stopping in Grants Pass for lunch at a little coffee shop where I got a really good vegan sandwich. Now heading south to Cave Junction, we stopped in a little “hippie town” called Emery at an awesome place affectionately called Burl World where a man single-handedly (as far as I can tell) has built 4 elaborate tree houses, dog houses, fences, swings, benches, and so much more (and that was just the things that were on the outside). He also had two large barns full of more polished burlesque masterpieces.
In Cave Junction we set up camp at the Country Hills resort with the perfect campsite right on Sucker Creek (I know, I know, funny name). That night we ate ice cream around the campfire then fell asleep to a genuine babbling brook.
Monday morning, we packed up and headed up the windy road to the Oregon Caves National Monument. After getting the safety spiel and buying postcards, we headed under the mountain, at first following the path of the first person known to enter the caves; a man chasing his dog “Bruno” who had chased a bear into the cave. I think this was the first marble cave that I had toured (I usually see limestone caves). So although I had seen bigger chambers and bigger formations (i.e. Carlsbad Caverns), Oregon Caves definitely had something special to offer. For example, 38,600 year-old jaguar bones and 55,000 year-old grizzly bear bones were found in the Oregon Caves. Finds like these help scientists determine when different openings in the cave closed or opened. After walking literally through the mountain, we decided to take the longer trail back to the visitor center, the trail that took you over the mountain.
From there, we looped down in to California where we visited the pretty Smith River and majestic redwood trees of Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park, and the lighthouse in Crescent City. From there, it was a straight shot up the Oregon Coast. Although, it was good to be home, we already missed the trees, lakes, rivers, and rocks.
