Wed, Jun 12:

Crater Lake RV Resort, Ft. Klamath, OR:  After toying with the idea of cooking breakfast, we all decided to go to a little restaurant nearby and had a great breakfast.  Sufficiently stuffed, we headed over to Crater Lake.  A beautiful drive up to the rim with huge pine trees and dramatic views.  But nothing prepares you for the stunning beauty of this lake.  It’s actually a collapsed volcano and the deep blue color is beautiful.  It’s 1000 ft. from the rim down to the lake shore.  The only place you can hike down there is on the north shore where there is a concessionaire that does boat excursions around the lake.  I don’t think it was running yet, but it would be a strenuous hike—especially for Mike and Rick who both have back issues.  We couldn’t complete the rim drive because it was closed down due to snow.  Had a nice dinner at the Crater Lake Lodge at a table with a beautiful view of the lake.  Then back to our park and sat around the fire. 

Pictures don't do this stunning lake justice.  It's the most incredible shade of blue.  The island  is another volcano.  A volcano within a volcano!  This is the deepest lake in the US.

Andrea--born in Hungary, lived in Canada until she was 16 when she moved to California.  Now she and Rick live in Oregon.  Sweet!

Mike and I

Stunning Crater Lake

Rick, Andrea, me, Mike.  I had all this Polartech on and Rick is in a tee shirt!

Mike and Andrea trying to warm up by the fireplace in Crater Lake Lodge

Tue, Jun 11:

Burns RV Park, Burns, OR, to Crater Lake RV Resort, Ft. Klamath, OR:  Left this morning at around 8:30 and fueled up right away.  Took a shortcut of sorts across an area called Christmas Valley.  Pictured a huge valley of pine trees or something.  Couldn’t have been more wrong.  We traversed this high valley of nothing but sage brush with high buttes and mesas off in the distance.  It was quite pretty really.  But there was absolutely nothing around.  Figured if we broke down out here they’d find our rusted fifth-wheel and our bleached bones some day.  Eventually we came to a place (can’t really call it a town) called Wagontire.  Population 3!  Felt like we were in a Stephen King novel for a while there on this road that just kept on going into infinity.  But we made it across and then climbed higher into an area thick with beautiful, huge pines.  Drove through an area called Klamath Marsh which was a beautiful wetland covered in lily pads all in bloom with snow-capped mountains off in the distance.  Arrived at Crater Lake RV Resort by 1:00 and Rick and Andrea were just finishing getting set up.  Rick grilled some steaks they brought, Andrea made a salad and cooked up some corn on the cob and I brought some mashed potatoes.  Ate at their site.  Had a nice fire and caught up with them.  We met them two years ago in California.  68 today.

Klamath Marsh with snow-capped mountains in the distance.

Rick slaving over a hot grill.

Andrea with her first glass of wine.

KOA, Twin Falls, Idaho, to Burns RV Park, Burns, OR:  Left this morning around 9:00 and continued West on I84 along the Snake River Plain.  We crossed the Snake River 3 or 4 times—the last time at the Idaho/Oregon line.  Then continued West on Oregon Rt. 20—a two-lane road.  We’ve seen the last of the interstates for a couple of months.  Rt. 20 meandered through this narrow valley along the sparkling Malheur River with the sere high hills all around.  A pretty drive actually. And the road was good.  Arrived at the Burns RV Park around 3:30—actually 2:30 since we gained an hour.  We’re now on Pacific Time.  85 today and beautiful.  Think that’s the last of our really warm weather for a while. Tomorrow we leave for Crater Lake. 

Followed another Eagle for a while on Rt. 20.

The Eagle pulled off along the river--maybe to do some fly fishing.

The pretty Malheur River.

KOA, Twin Falls, Idaho:  Another fantastically beautiful day.  Hope we have this kind of weather when we’re in Oregon.  We took care of the laundry this morning and then did the grocery shopping after lunch.  Stopped at the Perrine Bridge to see if anyone was base jumping.  No activity, so we went back to our park and sat outside reading the rest of the afternoon enjoying the warm breezes, the beautiful blue sky, and the twittering of the birds.  Tomorrow we’ll be in Burns, Oregon, for one night and then on to Crater Lake.  In the 90s again today.

More Base Jumping Pictures

Scary when they jump two at a time.  Always a chance their chutes could get entwined.
Picture by Mike

Chutes open with a big "whump" sound.
Picture by Mike

And another one goes.
Picture by Mike

Me in my "guaranteed not to come off in 40 mph winds" hat.
Picture by Mike

Sun Valley & Craters of the Moon

KOA, Twin Falls, Idaho:  Today we drove up to Sun Valley ski resort in the Sawtooth Mountains. Drove through this wide lush green valley with the arid mountains in the background.  This lush valley is only the result of constant watering.  Once we got into the Sawtooth mountains however, there were more trees and everything was green and beautiful.  Drove through the tony little towns of Hailey and Ketcham before we got to Sun Valley Village.  This was one of the first ski areas frequented by the rich and famous, and Clint Eastwood filmed “Pale Rider” in the area.  After exploring around Sun Valley Village, we had lunch in Ketcham and then headed back.  Took a side trip on a scenic byway to Craters of the Moon National Monument.  What an incredible landscape this was.  Lava rock everywhere and lots of cinder cones and signs of volcanic activity everywhere.  The most recent eruption was 2000 years ago.  To put it in perspective, Jesus would have been about 13. Drove back to our park and relaxed the rest of the evening.  85 today, sunny and beautiful.

Sun Valley Ski Resort

Sun Valley Village

Sun Valley Inn

Theater in Sun Valley Village

One of the ski slopes.

Craters of the Moon National Monument

This looks like rich, loamy soil.  But it's sharp, jagged lava rock.

These huge things floated down in the lava and were deposited here.

We were going to hike up this cinder cone--until we saw what it's like.  No way!  And the wind!  I couldn't even wear my "guaranteed to stay on in 40 mph winds" hat.  

Pioneers came through here following an old Indian trail.  And here was this little oasis  where they could have all the water they needed.

Even in this harsh landscape, wild flowers and other plants manage to survive and even thrive.  No rain, and in the summer this black rock can reach temperatures of 150 degrees!

KOA, Twin Falls, Idaho:  Another beautiful, warm sunny day today.  We headed back to the Perrine Bridge and walked down to the overlook to check it out and take some pictures.  Imagine our surprise when we watched one base jumper after another leap from the top of  this 486 foot bridge.  They free-fall for a couple of seconds and then pull their chute.  Watched about 15 of these intrepid individuals.  Then drove over to Shoshone Falls and then over to Dierkes Lake Park.  Also drove down to the historic part of Twin Falls which was really nice.  Dinner at Cajino’s Italian Restaurant and then back to our park.  Pooped.  92 degrees today and got really windy.  What a pretty area this is.

Base jumper taking the leap off the bridge.

The Perrine Bridge

Ready!  Set!  Jump!

This pair of jumpers hit the target.

The Snake River

Dave from Massachusetts.  About to make his 4th jump of the day!

Shoshone Falls

Snake River Gorge

Kept running into these two gals.  Donna on the left and Janet (79 years young) on the right.

Dierkes Lake Park.  A fantastic recreation area on this pristine lake.

Some people getting ready to jump off the rocks surrounding the lake.

Twin Falls--they diverted the other falls for power generation purposes (sigh).

Sculpture in cute little Twin Falls old town.

KOA, Lyman, WY, to KOA, Twin Falls, Idaho:  Left Lyman at 8:15 this morning.  Another beautiful day—not a cloud in the sky.  We continued west on I80 which follows the Oregon Trail still. We were quickly in Utah and I80 went through this beautiful canyon on the way to Salt Lake City. All down hill.  Hardly burned any gas.  We cut off on I84 heading northwest through an even more beautiful canyon with a cascading little stream at the bottom.  After Ogden, which sits in a valley surrounded by mountains, we climbed up into a wide valley with mountains off in the distance. Once we were in Idaho I84 deteriorated for a few miles but then it got much better.  The KOA we’re in here in Twin Falls is really nice.  We’re here for 4 nights and plan to explore around a little.  After we got set up we headed in to Twin Falls to pick up a few things.  The Snake River runs right through the eastern part of town and the Perrine Bridge spans this huge gorge.  This is the only bridge in the country that allows base jumping from the top.  A 102 year old woman base jumped off this bridge a couple of days ago and made the national news.  We’re going to check it out tomorrow.  95 here!  Doesn’t feel like it because it’s so dry.  

Since I was driving, I asked Mike to take some pictures with my camera.  He did really well, since he doesn't like my camera too much.

Perrine Bridge over the Snake River Gorge