Sub Divo-Day Seven: July 17 2011

Sleep machines while camping? Hmm…… Where’s the power outlet giving this thing a charge? And whose is it? Did the Park Ranger set up a large speaker system in the amphitheater? Oh ok, that’s just 7 hours worth of rain drops lightly pelleting the rain tarp. How could we sleep so well even though there has been a large black bear raiding campsites in the Jedediah Smith Campground? The sounds of nature were enhancing our deep sleep in this beautiful campground located in the heart of the Redwood Forest. The breeze lightly shaking the nylon fabric, partnered with the sound of the unbelievably clear Smith River, and oh yeah a large R.V. running its engine at 4 in the morning. We are a little ahead of schedule and we thought we would treat ourselves to sleeping in till 7 am in this tranquil setting.

Today we were packed up and ready to go by 8:30 after brewing a nice batch of coffee provided by a brand new French Press given to the birthday girl. Who knew the French occupied the Redwoods? We thought we would encounter them in the Canada. The beans were fresh ground, but not before blowing the same fuse in the Roaring Glacier as before, quickly resolved as they came in a pack of five. The power invertor charge by a single full cycle marine battery came through to grind the beans to the perfect course. Packing up the campsite took a little extra effort as it continued to rain throughout the morning and a new course of action was taking to pack the soaking exterior of the tent.

We were ready to go onto our next and newly discovered destination. We were headed for Crater Lake hidden high up in a caldera surrounded by the Umpqua Forest and the Rogue River. Long ago a 12,000 foot volcano erupted blowing the top of the mountain into the sky. At the same time the explosion melted a quarter of the volcano sending it downward into itself leaving the mountain around 8,000 feet. This eruption left a huge bowl ready to be home to newly fallen snow and rain water. After many years of accumulated water, Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States at almost 2000 feet. No stream or river flows into the lake as it towers over the rest of the landscape. This allows the lake to be cleanest body of water known in the United States. Last year, the surrounding area of Crater Lake received 673 inches of snow. Our visit today left us in amazement as some snow banks still towered ten feet high in mid-July.

As we first arrived to the summit of the volcano our shared excitement was quickly ripped away from us as the entire body of water was completely hidden behind a thick cloud of fog. At some points we were lucky to see a car quickly approaching us on the road before it passed. Even the signs detailing the parks roads thoroughly hidden left for a few U-turns. We decided we would travel to the gift shop to pick up our standard bumper sticker to note our travels. Everybody in the park seemed to resort to the same idea as the gift shop was packed like sardines. Finally the fog cleared away allowing us to take in the whole landscape. The lakes scenery was eye popping just like the top of the volcano.

Alright, next stop: Portland, Oregon. Ok maybe we're too tried drive that far. The roaring glacier also wants a break. Ok we will stop in Salem, Oregon...not too far from Portland. We are bunked up for the night in Salem, much different from the 1500’s Salem, MA detailed in our history books. The people here are very friendly, and even rush to pump your gas for you. We went to a very nice eatery which also housed a putt putt golf course on it premises. This was a nice feeling to get back to civilization. So far in Oregon we are left with one inquiry…. Do you tip the gas station attendants? After sharing a quick guessing game with the attendant of who could get the closest guess to how many gallons the roaring glacier was to be filled with we passed on a George Washington. It was super crisp though, one of those 2010 bills.

Our eyes are as heavy as the rain and fog from the day and there’s a small chance they will let up. Good night.

Total miles for the day: 351

Miles per gallon: 20.96

Under the Wide Open Sky

As we entered Crater Lake National Park we were surprised to see so much snow!

Incredibly blue waters...the cleanest water around.

It's July 17th, not December 17th!

We should be in the postcard business.

On the foggy, but still beautiful side of the lake.

The fog is clearing!

If you look really close there's a boat dock. The only boats allowed on the lake are the ones for the boat tours.

The tallest peak in the park.

From the other side of the lake, much more clear!