Oregon

^{The crew.}

Howdy friends! It has been a minute.

Some of you may have heard, but I was just down in Oregon with @summertooth, @silverd510, and silverd’s girlfriend Jenn. It was a great week filled with good friends, good food, and a healthy dose of National Park fun.

^{For those of you missing Summertooth… he is alive and well and you should definitely email him.}

I flew down from Seattle midafternoon Monday. The flight to Medford, Oregon was about an hour and 20 minutes. The rest of the gang had driven from Portland (after Silverd and Jenn’s arrival from New Jersey). They made it to Medford about an hour before me, so Summertooth was able to pick me up from the airport.

^{View coming into Medford.}

The airport was conveniently close to our Airbnb After a food shop at Walmart, we had dinner back at the house. Everyone was rightly exhausted from the days travels, so headed to bed early.

^{A photo of my room from the Airbnb listing.}

Day 2 - Off to Crater Lake

Aside from the opportunity to see one another, the main reason for our Oregon adventure was to visit Crater Lake National Park. The lake and park are located in the Cascade Mountain range, 65 miles north “as the crow flies” from the Oregon/California border, and 120 miles inland from the Pacific Ocean.

For those that don’t know, Crater Lake is a volcanic caldera. It formed approximately 7700 years ago when the violent eruption of Mount Mazama (estimated to be 12,000+ feet tall) caused the mountain to collapse into itself. This eruption is estimated to have been 42 times more powerful than the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. After the summit collapsed, subsequent lave flows sealed the crater. Over time the crater filled with rainwater and snowmelt, forming Crater Lake as we know it today.

The lake is the deepest in the United States, with a maximum depth of 1949 feet. At its widest the lake is six miles across and has a surface area of 20.42 miles. The elevation at the crater’s rim averages 7,178 feet above sea level, while the lake itself is 6,178 feet (on average) above sea level. The lake water is pure enough to drink without boiling, and it is so clear you can see objects under the surface to a depth of 100 feet.

The lake occupies the central position in Crater Lake National Park. The park was established in 1902 and is the only national park in Oregon. Aside from Crater Lake, the park encompasses mountain peaks, forests, a “desert” and is 183,224 acres in size.

Our drive to Crater Lake from Medford took about one-hour and 45 minutes. Along the way we passed through a few tiny towns, we passed over the Rogue River, and we passed by the occasional campground. Most of the drive was spent surrounded by dense evergreen forest. The composition of trees changing as we gained elevation.

First Views

Emerging from the forest to the first view of the lake was stunning. It is so vast and blue. Photos don’t capture the beauty nor size of the place. At our first stop, near the Crater Lake National Park Lodge, we spent quite a bit of time walking along the rim while soaking up the scenery.

^{The Lodge and trolley tour vehicle.}

^{Hard to tell where the lake ends and crater walls begin.}

^{Happy little tourists.}

We spent the rest of the day driving the rim road, stopping at the various lookout points along the way. We also enjoyed a delicious picnic lunch prepared by Summertooth.

^Views.

^{Picnic. Flanksteak sandwiches were the highlight.}

Around the crater’s rim there are 30 scenic overlooks. My favorite of these stops was Watchman Overlook. From the large parking area there were stunning views in all directions. There were also two hikes, one of which ascended to a fire lookout tower. We also went up a little trail just high enough to reach some snow.

^{Me, Silverd, Jenn and Summertooth.}

^{Same crew, shuffled.}

We made a few other stops in the park before heading back to Medford. These included the Pumice Desert (an old lave field where trees can’t grow), Vidae Falls, and Cloudcap Overlook.

^{Photos clockwise from top left: The lake, the Pumice Desert, New Jersey-an turned Oregon tree hugger, Vidae Falls, a chipmunk and another view of the lake.}

Day 3 - Back to the Park

The next morning we headed back to Crater Lake. Summertooth took us via a different park entrance. Along the way we had amazing views of Mount Thielsen (9,184 feet) and we also drove through thousands of orange moths!!! (Imagine a scene from Star Wars with a jump to hyperspace and the stars streaking by… now replace the stars with moths.)

^{Mt. Thielsen.}

^{Moth carnage..}

The goal for the day was to hike from the crater’s rim down to the lake via the Cleetwood Cove Trail. From there we would take a two hour boat tour before returning to trail for a one mile hike back up to the rim. The other three stuck to the plan. I had been feeling anxious about the whole thing and don’t love heights/steep trails. That plus an incoming lightning storm and tummy upset… I skipped the hike and boat ride. However, I got a few pictures of their boat as it cruised across the lake and was there to great everyone at the top of the hill after.

^{Upper left: Cleetwood Cove Trail. Upper right: the tour boat looking VERY VERY tiny. Lower left: Jenn is the first to the top of the trail. Lower right: Summertooth and Silverd not too far behind.}

After the lake it time to head was back to Medford. The night was filled with pizza, ping pong and epic sunsets.

Day 4 - Chill

We left the house around 9:30am on Thursday morning to drive to Ashland, Oregon. Ashland is about 20(ish) minutes south of Medford and is famous for its annual Shakespeare Festival. We did not attend any plays, but did explore the quaint downtown and a nearby park. We even saw a mama deer and her two fawns walking down the road. Upon arriving to Ashland we made a quick stop for coffee and pastries before exploring the local boutiques.

^{Scenes around Ashland.}

^{Lithia Park in Ashland.}

After Ashland we went back to Medford for lunch. Although we had been staying in the Medford suburbs, this was our first opportunity to explore town. We had lunch at a great little brewpub called the Common Block Brewing Company, then wandered a bit in town. We also visited Medford’s Army Navy Surplus Store. Not really my scene… but always good to see different things on vacation. 😂😂

For our last night together we made dinner back at the Airbnb. The meal included roast chicken, more flank steak, and salad. For dessert we snacked on cookies and Oregon’s own Tillamook ice cream. After another stunning sunset and lightning storm, we wrapped up the day.

Farewells

Jenn, Summertooth, and Silverd were up at the crack of dawn on our final day together. Summer offered to show Jenn and Silverd the Oregon Coast on their way back to Portland. This would be a 9 hour drive without stops! By 6am the threesome were out the door while I packed for my flight home.

^{Way too early for photos.}

I was sad to see them go. I am not on hive much these days, but the best thing I have found here is great friends. It was so fun to be together again. No matter what happens in the years ahead, we will always share the memory of our first time to Crater Lake.