We wake up to another incredible morning red sun. The weather is lovely and we make coffee on our little Coleman stove on the picnic table. We took 2 short camping trips in July and August (Palomar Mountain and Idyllwild) and afterwards Howard said we wanted to get a one-burner stove to use outside of Diana. During these discussions I said: WHY? We have a 2 burner range in the galley. Why do we need another stove for outside?
Well, Howard was right! It is really nice to have a one-burner stove. It gets us outside to have coffee or eggs and bacon (yum) or even to make a side-dish for a BBQ dinner. I honestly did not think that one-burner stove would add such a new and nice dimension to our outdoor experience. I’ll say it again: Howard was right!!
We have an easy breakfast and break down camp. We are off to 2 caves that have pictographs. There is a .5-.75 mile walk from the parking area. Howard goes first (I stay with the dogs) because he is the photographer. (And maybe I’m lazy? Or actually my arthritic knees are a continual problem.) He comes back in record time! He’s caught the pictographs on “film”
and I’m anxious to see them. He suggests I take a 5 minute walk to see an incredible site where lava tubes collapsed. It was worth the walk!
As I make the walk I act exactly like Lucky. On his walks he stops every 5-10 steps and looks behind him. I guess he wants to make sure no predictor is following him. Well, I have the same spooky feeling! I guess I’m not as tough as I think I am!
The ranger on the way out of Lava Beds NM is very nice. We ask how we liked the park and what we did. He compliments the dogs. He left a lasting impression on us about people who care about our wilderness areas. The ranger gives us one last bit of advice when we tell him Crater Lake is our next destination: drive clockwise around the lake. Otherwise you will have the cliff drop-off (with no guard-rail) on your right as you drive around the lake. Thanks, Ranger!
So off to Crater Lake NP we go. We drive through Merril, OR, just over the border. We get gas because now I’m paranoid about filling up. I really want a burger and fries!! So much for my healthy eating commitment. We stop at a quintessential drive-up burger place. I should have ordered a milkshake with my burgers and fries but I guess there is a limit to my unhealthful eating.
We visited Crater Lake a year ago when we first stayed in Ashland for the Shakespeare Festival. On that trip we could not see the lake at all; fog completely obscured the view. So we are hopeful that this time we will enjoy and appreciate the grander of this incredible lake. Crater Lake is the deepest, purest lake in the US.
The Crater Lake campground is about a 2.5 to 3 hour drive from Lava Beds NM. We reach the south entrance to the NP but the campground is maybe 20 minutes further. The road follows a huge gorge; I cannot look down at it because it is too scary. Fortunately there is a good bit of distance between the road and the edge of the gorge.
We arrive at Mazama campground and find an electric hookup site (F26) and settle in about 2pm. It’s a nice campground but a little close to other campers. We set up the “dog pen” in the configuration that allows us entry into Diana directly. (If the sun is such that our awning won’t shield us from the sun, we set up in the shady part of the campsite.) I use the door screens because there are flies and bees here. Lucien wants to stay inside but later decides otherwise. So he uses his nose to undo the Velcro at the bottom of the screen on the door and slinks through the opening he’s created. Very ingenious!
One event always happens when we arrive at a new campground: Lucky humps Toby. We think sweet Lucky says to himself: I’m bored; I think I’ll hump Toby. Lucky is at least partially deaf. We have tried to imagine what sign language we would use to tell the little guy that humping is not good. So if you, readers, have any suggestions please pass them on to us.
Toby is getting much better about barking like a banshee when he sees people and dogs. But he still has his moments. Earlier in this trip he was especially bad and I threw him in his collapsible crate and zipped it up. I was startled to discover that I had thrown him in on top of Lucky! That little crate rocked back and worth several times and hopped up and down before I realized my error.
Our hamburger and fries lunch filled us up so we only have a liquid dinner. You know what I mean…