July 30, 2016

Waking up today was not easy.  We were still pretty worn out from yesterday.  But we packed things up and set out.  Our first stop was at a convenience store in Yosemite park so we could gas up and I could get coffee.  I am not a happy person without coffee and apparently I’m not pleasant to be around if I don’t have coffee.

The coffee at the gas station tasted like it had been there over a day and was just re-warmed up.  I tried to choke it down for the sake of my traveling partner, but I couldn’t do it.  So JA had to deal with a very irate JB for a good portion of the drive.  We will skip most of that drive because it was through super-boring, flat, agricultural California.  Except for a tiny, almost non-existent place called “Chinese Camp”.  That was the literal name of this…town? outside of Yosemite.  There was a gas station, but it looked dead.  We should have stopped there for coffee.  Other than that, there was one pretty spot on the drive, around Redding.

 Mt. Shasta as north of Redding.  And very pretty.  The whole forest around here was actually really gorgeous.  I may need to plan a trip here sometime.

JA slept a lot on this part of the roadtrip.  He drove most of the way to Yosemite, so it was my turn to drive to Oregon.  I don’t mind – I love driving, especially when the scenery is pretty.  We stopped around here to refuel and grab decent coffee, which improved things drastically.  Next stop: Crater Lake!

 

So we arrived at the park after closing.  No closed gates, just no need to check in at a guard station. Which is fine – we had a pass so everything was already paid for at the beginning of this whole trip.  Hardly any cars to be seen – either we really missed something or this just isn’t a popular place.  This sign was on the road up to the crater area – I thought it was pretty damn funny.  And kind sad that people need to be told to not be idiots.

 Tada!  Wizard’s Island!  In Crater Lake!

 The water is so deep blue here!  It’s pretty incredible.  This picture doesn’t do it justice.  I have no idea how to even begin to try.

 There is almost no one else up here.  With it being past closing time, I guess everyone saw what they wanted to see and took off or went to the campgrounds.  This is so unbelievably perfect and peaceful here right now.  JA and I couldn’t be more thrilled, even being as tired as we were.  This was heaven compared to Yosemite.  No one crowding for pictures, no noise, no idiots to tell to stop doing stupid things…just us and this beautiful, peaceful, amazing setting.

 Yup.  This might be one of my favorite parks.  I wish now that we had planned for more time here.

 Going down stairs hurt.  A lot.  JA and I took it really slowly and carefully down these.  Never thought this would happen.

 So blue!  And the shore just drops right off.

 There’s a trail that leads out to a lookout area up there.  Really wish we had planned on more time here, darn it.  We’re definitely not hiking this now though.  It’s late and we’re still far too sore from yesterday’s adventure.

There is a gorgeous little lodge right next to the lake.  The rooms were too expensive for our budget this trip (and I think they were fully booked anyway), but they had a restaurant downstairs.  They also had a lovely little balcony/waiting area overlooking the lake, complete with rocking chairs and…

 …drink service!  Yay!  Perfect way to end the day – a beer in a rocking chair by the lake!

 We didn’t stay the night here, but I wish we would have.  There were people on the side of the road getting ready to star-watch and all I can imagine is it must have been magnificent out there, with no cities or light pollution around.  We stopped a bit here and there to look, but we just didn’t plan the time for it.  The goal was to try and get to Portland tonight, but that plan was cancelled when we both realized we couldn’t stay awake.

Unfortunately at that point, we had already left the park and were in a forest in Oregon somewhere.  The nearest stop that wasn’t creepy/possibly bear-ridden was a well-lit rest area.  I’ve never slept at one before and I wasn’t too happy about it, but JA has slept at one before and it was better than falling asleep on the road.  We pulled the sleeping bags out of the back area of the car, leaned the seats back, and slept in the car.

Back to Yosemite Day 2 Part 2 ::: On to Portland to Yellowstone