Crater Lake National Park, Oregon
Left about 9:30 for Crater Lake - thought it would take about 6 hours. Had breakfast at Mt Shasta - coffee and danish. Drove through California - it's actually a desert in this area. Saw Mt Shasta in daytime - beautiful then also.
Went through all hill country all the way up to Crater - this is all Volcanic region. Passed Agricultural checking station. Got to Crater - was full of snow - not one of the campgrounds was open. They still hadn't cleared the road around the rim of the Crater. Was just like Glacier - they had 55 feet of snow last winter.
Decided to check on campgrounds - they were really snowed in. Went up to the rim - Crater Lake is really really beautiful. I've never seen such blue water. Walked along the rim a little bit awed by the nature and curious about all the sightseers.
Then I went back down the twisting winding road that leads up to the Crater, out of the Park, and back to all the campsites I passed in the Nat'l Forest. Found a spot at Farewell Bend Campground - had no water, and also no fee to pay. Figured I'd be at Crater for a while so I pitched the tent.
Cooked supper - still eating frankfurters and went to bed. Wrote a letter to Mary and a postcard to home.
Odometer, July 4th: 60,860 (4,556 miles driven from Amityville)
