Crater Lake Trip

One of our co-workers and us decided to take a trip to Crater Lake. The first day was mainly about getting there. We stopped at this neat wayside for a bite to eat along the way.

It was right beside the North Umpqua River so we just had to do a little boulder hopping.

Eventually we made it to Crater Lake.

The main focus of the trip was walking down the Cleetwood Cove Trail and letting our co-worker take a dip in the lake. The trail was very steep and dusty.

Anyone wanting to go on the boat ride that the NPS offers has to go down and up this trail.

Crater Lake is beautiful and the photos really don't do it justice.
Eventually we could see the boat dock to which we were headed.

We ended up going past the boat dock to a place where people jumped off a high rock and into the water. We didn't do that.

Our co-worker went for a swim while we waded in the water. We read in the park flyer that the water stays 38° year-round but the top foot is much warmer. It gets cold real fast as it gets deeper.

Just had to take a photo of us at Crater Lake.

Oh the trail back up. We weren't looking forward to that. If you know where to look, you can see some of the trail.

Oh, forgot to mention that the boats were all helicoptered in. The trail is the only lake access. I saw ATV tracks on the trail at one place so I suppose the dock crew went up and down the easy way.

Some parts of the trail are very steep which makes it hard to go slow down but really hard to do anything but go slow going up.

Just a few feet from the top.


We drove around a short piece of the Rim Road for some more views. Nolan and I were here in 2001 when we climbed Watchman Peak for a high view of the crater.

The color change as the lake gets closer to shore is really pretty.

There was a forest fire in the park.

That night we stayed at Diamond Lake Resort just north of Crater Lake on Diamond Lake.

Mt. Bailey

The Foot

The donut shop in Reedsport has this special donut called the Foot. We decided to get one. We split it in half and each had 1/2 foot. LOL

Seaplane Flight

Passing through Coos Bay we noticed a sign advertising sea plane (float plane) rides. After seeing it several times we decided it was time to go for a flight. The day was too foggy to go out towards the ocean so we went north instead.

The dock area when the float plane is moored.

Looking out the back of the plane as we take off.

A barge in Coos Bay.

More of the waterfront.

An island in the bay.

A wood chip shipping yard. That little speck on top is a big bulldozer pushing the chips around.

The RV park at The Mill Casino.

A ship loaded with logs headed to China.

No this isn't snow. It's sand and those spots are ATVers out having fun. The Oregon Dunes National Recreation area runs from Coos Bay to Florence and there are lots of access points for people wanting to play in the sand.

More dunes. Those are lakes surrounded by dunes and some of them are privately owned.

Ten Mile Lakes by Lakeside.

Lots of logging up this way. You can see hills that have recently been logged and those in the process of regrowing. Makes for a patchwork of greens and browns.

Another logging yard.

Coming in for a landing. Yes that's my fuzzy head on the right.

Close to splash down.

Ok, so this isn't us coming down but it gives you an idea of what it looked like from outside the plane.

Angling toward the dock. We've turned in twice as many dollars in cans as this plane ride cost.

Cans and Houseboat

We've been making a little extra money hauling in cans that people leave behind when they camp. Most of the cans were delivered to our site by other workampers. We just haul them off when we go to get groceries.

Loon Lake Lodge got a houseboat to rent out. They've been working on it for a couple weeks to get it rentable.