Day 20

July 6 (Crater Lake National Park, OR)

We woke up to another travel day, and I, especially, couldn't wait to get on the road - at minimum, I was eager to get back into an easily-recognizable timezone. We left around 10am Mountain time to begin our 360 miles trip to Crater Lake, OR. On the way, we stopped only for fuel and to use the bathroom. Driving through the Ponderosa pines on the way toward Crater Lake was glorious - although there were several sections that were pretty significantly burnt from forest fire. The old-growth Ponderosa pines were huge, thick, and regal - we learned our camp host at Custer State Park that the bark of these mature trees smells of butterscotch and vanilla when inspected from close up. It was neat watching the trees change as we climbed in elevation - in one section, we were greeted by series of redwood trees and took this as a sign that we had reached (and eventually surpassed) 6,000 feet above sea level. Shorter, hardier pines eventually replaced the redwoods and ponderosas as we approached the summit.

We entered Crater Lake National Park around 5:00pm and hopped out of the car at the first overlook we came across and WOW! On first glance this lake is amazingly blue and absolutely stunning.

We noticed snow all around us on the drive up the summit (in July!)...

but we didn't expect it to be actually cold when we exited the car. We threw sweaters on and relished in the relief from the heat of Farewell Bend.

It was another 30 minutes or so from the North Junction overlook until we reached our campground in Mazama Village. Our campsite was huge and beautiful, and the grounds were full of downed trees everywhere you look (campers are encouraged to use downed wood for campfires, and there was no end in sight!). It was an absolutely magical alpine location.

After setting up camp, we ate dinner and I troubleshot our first blown fuse of this trip - I purchased a bunch of them in preparation for this trip, and I was happy to find that this planning was on point. Cassandra slept in the camper because she didn't want to mess around with the 38 degree overnight weather, so I slept solo for the first time of the trip.

There is something mystical in the air of this place and I look forward to settling into it tomorrow.