The family trip took us from Redwoods to Crater Lake. It was our first trip into Oregon. As we pulled into Umpqua National Forest, we stopped at the forest ranger station. Because we were after the snow but before the off-road trails opened for the summer, we were told by the rangers that we could park anywhere off of the forest service roads in the “sno-park”. So we headed closer to Crater Lake and into the forest.
Once we found Thousand Oaks sno-park, we unhooked the rig and scouted the place out. We found a perfectly situated back-in spot about a mile off the road. We quickly went back, rehitched, and drove to our new place. As Scott positioned the trailer to back in, I jumped out to be the spotter. Within about fifteen seconds of getting out of the car, I looked down to see about 100 mosquitoes all over my legs. I tried swatting them, but they would only briefly fly up and reland. It was like the movie Birds but was with mosquitoes. I ran and jumped back in the truck and explained why we would not be camping in this spot. After deliberation, we realized that to move would take another hour at least, pushing us out after the sun went down. So I sprayed down with Houston levels of DEET, and we finished parking and setting up. We would move the following day after a quick trip to Crater Lake. Or so we thought.
The next morning, it was beautiful and chilly. We jumped in the car to go into Crater Lake National Park. We needed to hurry because we intended to visit the park and leave that day.
About ten minutes into the twenty minute drive, snow appeared. It had fallen the night of our arrival. The kids were excited to see it. We grabbed breakfast at a little restaurant/campground just outside the entry booth. It was pretty cold and none of us were dressed quite warm enough.
By time we finished eating, the snow was lightly falling. The rangers warned us that there was no reason to visit the crater due to the fog and snow, but after the kids finished their junior ranger books, we headed on up the mountain.
Even the ranger station was out of a painting.
No words can even describe the views. It mostly looked fake. The sun broke through at the perfect moment allowing us to see the entire crater, snow covered trees, and beautiful clear blue water.
All of the breathtaking views we’ve seen on this trip did not prepare any of us for this. It was incredible.
SNOWBALL FIGHT!
We decided that it was so beautiful and our campsite was so perfect, that we would stay at least another night or two. By time we arrived back to the RV, it started snowing even there. Almost middle June and snowing. What a treat for us! At least there were no more mosquitoes.
Snow at the campsite!
The night was pretty cold. By the next morning, we were all ready to leave after spending a chilly night in the forest. So we packed up and headed out. Our next stop would be Corvallis.
Honorable mention:
Just some beautiful scenery and family pics (they were too good to not be shared):
