Road Trip Seattle to San Francisco - Day 9 -Madras, Petersen Rock Gdn, High Desert, Crater Lk & SNOW

[anji]

Road Trip Seattle to San Francisco - Day 9 – Madras, Petersen Rock Garden, High Desert Museum, Crater Lake & SNOW!

Today was to be our longest drive – to Crater Lake, the deepest in the country and a volcano crater that has filled with rain and snow over the years. We checked out of the Vagabond Lodge and told them we would be back one day. There was a beautiful steamer going past as we left. We’d seen some cargo boats but this was just lovely.

We travelled down Highway 35 past Mount Hood and could see the skiers on the lifts going to the top.

Suddenly we were out of the shadow of Mount Hood and into open country.

From here we took Highway 26 to Madras and stopped at the Black Bear Diner for breakfast. This was a hugely popular diner with everything bear you could imagine in it – including 2 bears in a truck outside. Great breakfast and I finally gave in here with my first pancakes of the holiday!

First stop was the Petersen Rock Garden, just south of Redmond. This is a quirky place, full of peacocks, and was started in 1935. It has remained in the family ever since. There are all sorts of buildings and bridges made from rock, lava and wood from an 85 mile radius. Some have fallen into disrepair and are being restored. Very interesting place and we saw a water snake in one of the ponds.

Pilot Butte at Bend was our next stop. You can drive up the mile road to the carpark at the viewpoint but there were some runners going up and even ladies pushing prams. Rather them than me! Great views from the top of the Cascade Mountain range and High Desert and certainly worth the stop.

A bit further on was the High Desert Museum. This is part museum and part wildlife. Lots of information about the early settlers and very well done. We spent quite a lot of time watching the chipmunks and ground squirrels playing together. The chipmunks are smaller with stripes on their heads.

We stopped for coffee at the Mohawk Restaurant in Crescent. This was another place which loved taxidermy and also had a huge collection of liquor decanters. The information on the menu said there were 21 fawns taken from roadkill mothers – yuk!

We approached Crater Lake on the north road. Only the west side of the lake was open because of the snow – up to 700 inches in a year! We paid the park entrance fee in the envelope which you push into the box through the slot with a metal prodder and started the climb up. There were a few flurries so we got excited then that we’d seen some snow – little did we know what awaited us at the top!

By the time we reached the crater rim the weather had really closed in and the snow was everywhere. Huge expanses of snow that you just wanted to leap into – only you’d disappear in it. They had cut through the snow for the road, which was perfectly clear, and it was staggering just how much there was.

At the top we could see part of the lake in sunlight and part in dark cloud. The reflection was a beautiful blue but I had hoped to see the whole lake in all it’s glory. Not to be that day as the snow just got heavier and heavier. The lake is huge and the rim is 33 miles round in total. We could see Wizard Island, another volcano forming inside the crater.

We reached the Crater Lake Lodge and I took the hand baggage in while Will parked the car up and brought in the cases. I wish I’d taken a photo as he looked like a snowman when he came in – so funny. We settled into our room which had a lake view – or rather cloud view.

I’d reserved a table in the dining room for 7.30pm. A lovely setting. I had filet mignon and Will chose the New York Strip Steak. Can honestly say my steak was the best I’ve ever eaten. For desert I ordered crème brulee (my favourite although it wasn’t that great) and Will went for icecream – Huckleberry and Vanilla. As it was so cold (-2) we opted for some alcoholic hot chocolate too, plus our bottle of wine.

The fire was burning and everyone was seated round it, rather than the rocking chairs on the terrace which were covered in snow. I’d been really looking forward to that but it wasn’t to be. We ordered some cocktails and settled down in the warm.

I was concerned that we would be snowed in the next day as I'd arranged a surprise stay for the next night which Will knew nothing about. I asked at reception and was told not to worry as they had snowploughs! Doh! Stupid soft southerner!

Our room was really comfortable and had sloping ceilings. Will obviously forgot about these as I was woken by him crashing his head on one of them in the night and falling over!

By this time 2 inches had fallen since we’d arrived. I was worried we wouldn’t see the lake but the snow was a bonus we’d not expected! It was cosy in the Lodge and it reminded us of The Shining, especially the long corridor to our room and the snowdrifts outside!

Thankfully next day the weather would improve!

Index - http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/show...4#post11770434

[Melbatb]

That was a lot of snow for summer!

Loved the two stag statute - very realistic!

[Guest]

Had a drink at Crater Lake Lodge. Lovely place and great views - and the Crater Lake itself - takes your breath away.

[anji]

Crater Lake was just jawdropping. On reflection we wouldn't have changed the snow for anything - such a bonus as the skies cleared the next day!

[anji]

Can't believe that Madras, where we stopped for breakfast, was the centre of world attention for the Total Eclipse! The Black Bear Diner must have made a mint over that time with the thousanda of people who descended on Madras