It’s Day 3 already, but this post is really about Day 1 and 2 … limited (make that: no) internet or cell service for the last 24+ hrs has our first blog post (with photos and all) a bit delayed. But here it is!
Day 1:
After an almost-on-time start Friday afternoon and an uneventful ride out time on I-5 north, we made it all the way up to Redding, CA, where we stopped for the night. Being the experienced RV travelers that we are (hmm, no comment here please), we decided that it’s about time we spent the night at a Wal-Mart parking lot. Yes, that is a valid option, at zero cost … unless you count the worries abbout what might happen!
The lot for the store downtown looked nice, clean – and most importantly – already had a few other campers parked for the night (it was 10pm by the time we go there)! So we picked a spot close to a nice & new looking huge 5th-wheel trailer (not a Cougar, but still making us feel like travelling with friends) and went to sleep!
What a noisy option! And with every sound and squeak waking us up, not the best night sleep ever, but beggars can’t be choosers, and after a quick run through the store the next morning, we were on the road again!
Day 2:
Today has the first National Park on our list. In May 1902, this landmark was establisghed as the 6th US National Park, by President Theodore Roosevelt, to preseve the country’s deepest lake, with 1,932 ft depth (the 7th deepest lake in the world). The crater (actually the caldera) holds the lake at 2,000 ft below the rim, and was born 7,700 years ago when a huge volcanic eruption (the explosion was about 42 times that of Mount St. Helens) took off the top off Mount Mazama (believed to have been 12,000 ft high), and left a crater 4,400 ft deep, now home of Crater Lake. The cone of Wizard Island is rising above the water surface at one end of the lake, a volcano that has been slowy building since the eruption of Mount Mazama.
The rim drive is a beautiful way to see the lake from all angles – and although we went only about a third of it (since we did not have campground reservations and the park was sold out), we got a spectacular view and many good shots in! And you can’t beat lunch with that view!
By mid-afternoon it was time to leave the park – going north – and find a campground with a site open for us. Luck or just good timing, but the beautiful Diamond Lake Campground along the shore of the lake of the same name, just north of Crater Lake National Park, still had 3 sites left – including H26, a pretty spot in the woods!
24 hours after getting our trip started, we now finally started our relax time … after quickly setting up camp, we’re lounging in our camping chairs, beverage in hand, overlooking the site, seeing the lake sparkle through the trees and all is quiet. Ahhhhh!
Leave a Reply