We’ve known for a long time that our dog, Bailey, loves the beach and people, but during our trip from Trinidad to Crater Lake we found out she also enjoys snow.
PLANKTON: Trinidad Beach
We stayed just one night (Sounds of the Sea RV Park) and one day in Trinidad, California but still managed to exhaust the dog. Like a Bay Watch lifeguard, Bailey hits the beach running. Just when you think she’s exhausted herself, she throws down in one spot and begins the dig.
This, in and of itself, made my day so it was icing on the cake that Trinidad was quiet and their cove with boat dock was picture perfect (boat dock pic above).
Redwood National and State Park and the Smith River
Heading out of California, we did the Trillium Falls Trail hike in the Redwood National and State Park. This was an easy trail through old growth redwoods with ferns cascading over the hills.
Our overnight stay was a boondocking location by the Smith River near Gasquet as we worked our way inland towards Grants Pass, OR.
PARENTS: Central Point, Oregon
Doug’s parents and his brother (Gary) and sister-in-law (Becky) live in Central Point, Oregon (near Medford in southern Oregon). It was special to arrive in time for Father’s Day! Their new home development was a great camping spot as well…full hookup to water and electricity and very little traffic, other than cyclists and dog walkers!
The next day, Doug christened the Alpacka pack-raft as he floated the Rogue River with Gary and Becky.
PLOWS: Crater Lake
If you’ve spent some time with Doug, you know that luck is on his side! I joke that his name should have been Doug Gump because of it. Lucky for me, I frequently benefit from this and it sure helped on this trip to Crater Lake.
With Covid-19, Crater Lake was not taking reservations for camping but a line started to form about noon to get a spot. We happened to arrive at the campground just in time to snag one of the last available RV spots. It was great to be able to stay in the park proper for two nights (versus boondocking somewhere on the periphery) with easy access to popular spots after most visitors had left for the day.
Doug’s lucky streak paid off again the next day when we decided to bike to a trailhead with a good view of the lake’s Phantom Ship, a rock outcropping in an isolated cove. Although there’s a road that goes around the entire lake the east end hadn’t yet opened to cars in late June, due to snow. We rode the bikes unencumbered past a beautiful waterfall and just a few hundred feet short of the trailhead thought we’d be turned back by a huge pile of snow covering the road. As we rounded the corner, the plow clearing it had done enough to allow us to pass and by the time we rode back later in the day it was completely open.
Following the hike, I rode back to the RV, but Doug continued down the east road to two more locations and was rewarded with glass-like reflections in the lake.
We’ve been to Crater Lake a few times, but I’m really glad we had the time to stop, stay, hike, play with Bailey in the snow, and learn more about this beautiful national park and lake. Until this trip, I had no idea that…
- Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the US and the deepest volcanic lake in the world at 1,943 feet,
- Geologists consider Mount Mazama (the collapsed volcano that formed Crater Lake) to be dormant.
- The lake’s water comes directly from rain and snow which means sediment is not carried into it. This preserves it’s famous blue color and makes it one of the clearest and cleanest lakes in the world.
- Crater Lake also has no outlets leading to other water sources so the changing water level of the lake is interesting to scientists. They know that precipitation rates (including an average of 42 feet of snow per year) are double the evaporation rate so where does the water go? Well…scientists have discovered that water seeps out of the “walls” holding the lake at about 2 million gallons/hour, but what remains a mystery is that scientists haven’t found surrounding springs or other water sources that seem to be made from this seeping lake water.
- There’s no lake in the US that’s more stunning. OK, this last one is not a fact…just one girl’s opinion.
