Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Day 63...Monday, September 15, 2008...On to Crater Lake...BUT...Mother Nature Forces a Change of Plans






We set out early from Reedsport to get to Crater Lake National Park as soon as possible...get in as much of the "view" as possible.
Heading into the town of Roseburg, we were excited to discover...surprise...more wineries! The Willamite is not the only wine-producing "valley" in Oregon...the Umpqua Valley has a few of it's own. So...we took a brief detour to Abacela Winery just outside of Roseburg. They specialize in one of my favorite gapes, the Spanish variety, Tempranillo. A taste of their "Reserve" Tempranillo was all the incentive that I needed to purchase a few bottles.
At the winery, the tasting room folks mentioned a forest fire along Oregon Route 138, our planned route to Crater Lake. But, never fear, a quick look at the U.S. Forestry Service Website, followed by a confirming telephone conversation, confirmed with "certainty" that 138 was open despite the fire. Thus reassured, we proceeded confidently east on Route 138, we drove forty miles or so to Steamboat, where we had a great lunch at the historic Steamboat Inn. It was there that we discovered that the U.S. Forestry Service, while dedicated, was, in this case, clueless. Apparently, the fire had "jumped" across Route 138 and ignited a long hillside parallel to the road. Once the fire burned away the supporting brush, a rain of rocks, boulders, burning logs, etc. took out a ten-mile stretch of Route 138.
So...back forty miles to Roseburg, and then down I-5 to Canyonville and Routes 227 and 62 heading toward the "East" entrance of Crater Lake.
No fire problems, but the "detour" ate up most of the day. We arrived at the Crater Lake Lodge at 6:30PM or so. It was there that we learned that, because the Crater Lake Lodge is the most popular National Park lodge in the Northwest, reservations are advised at least one year in advance. Since I wasn't even thinking about this trip a year ago, we were "out of luck" as they say. We did, however, get a few nice photos as the sun set over the rim of the crater.
After sixty-three days on the road, I have seen some spectacular works of nature, but I wasn't prepared for that first look at Crater Lake. Like millions who came before me, I was "awe-struck" by the beauty of this incredible place. More on this tomorrow.
The closest "alternate" accommodations were over twenty miles south of the Park in Fort Klamath. We managed to get a "suite" at Jo's Lodge at a reasonable price. Once checked in, we headed off for a late dinner. Like Reedsport, Fort Klamath is not exactly the "culinary capitol" of Oregon. Nonetheless, we were able to get a decent burger and a few beers at Melita's about a fifteen mile drive from Fort Klamath.
Now we have a little bit of a "race against the clock...see all of Crater Lake and still get to Portland early enough to get a room near the airport and grab some sleep before Shannon's 6:00AM flight home.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Words could in no way describe the beauty of that view!

You are bringing back some wonderful memories.

Now please hurry home, I need a Bill grilled cheese and a Bill hot fudge sundae!