Crater Lake, OR

My original plan was to follow the coast down from Portland.  As with many things on this trip, that changed.

Quite a few people told me that Crater Lake was a "must see" in Oregon.  It is located approximately 2 hours drive inland, so rather than driving from Portland out to the coast, then driving back in to Crater Lake, I just took the I-5 south from Portland.  I made it to the village of Oakridge, where I spent the night.  On my way out of town in the morning, I noticed a sign - Lion Mountain Bakery 1 mile to the left.

Well, the thought of a nice croissant and maybe a coffee on my way out of town sounded appealing, so I followed the sign.  Shortly, I came across another sign, saying the bakery was 1/2 a mile, to the left again.  I was heading back where I came from.  Another sign, 1/4 mile down the bend in the road...getting closer.  Then nothing.  I was back at the school, and I knew I'd driven more than a 1/4 mile from the last sign.  I turn Vandrew around.  There's another sign for the bakery, 1/2 mile.  I drive until I meet up with the sign from the other direction.  No bakery.  Turns out the bakery burned down last year...

I didn't want a delicious croissant anyway.

As I worked my way up the mountain to Crater Lake, the rain that had been steady all day turned to snow.  Not enough to stick to the roads, but enough that you could make some really good snowballs.  When I arrived at the lake, it was beautifully picturesque...

I couldn't really capture the majesty of the lake with my phone, so I went back the 100 meters to Vandrew and grabbed the Panono.  When I arrived back up to the lookout, the clouds had moved in and everything was hidden in cloud!

I got to talking with a guy from Texas named Stratos.  Stratos had quit his job and had been travelling around North America for the last 7 months in a Toyota 4Runner with a rooftop tent.  We decided to drive around the lake, where we hoped the weather would clear up, and maybe we could find a drink.

Stratos, Andrew and Vandrew

Well, we did find a lodge where they made a pretty good old fashioned, and we sat and chatted for a couple of hours, but the weather didn't get any better.  It was hard enough for me to deal with the snow as an Albertian, but Stratos was really struggling.  By the time I got to the base of the mountain, there was no snow in sight...still lots of rain though.