Crater Lake National Park

The second leg of our Oregon vacation began early Monday morning. We left Government Camp and began the two hour drive to Bend. We stopped along the way at the Peter Skene Ogden State Scenic Viewpoint, where highway 97 crosses the Crooked River. It's a nice quick stop with views of the canyon and three bridges. Arriving in Bend we swung by the world's last Blockbuster Video, then had brunch at Jackson's Corner. David had the best chicken salad sandwich of his life! We didn't have much time in Bend, but we drove around checking out downtown and a couple of neighborhoods before continuing south.

South of Bend are a few unique attractions. The High Desert Museum is kind of a combination museum, history center, and wildlife center. We really enjoyed the exhibits on the history of the area, and the outdoor trail describing different aspects of wildfire.

Lots of great views on the drive.

Canyon, mountains, and bridge view.

It's the very last one!

Brunch in Bend.

The High Desert Museum.

A recreated homestead at the museum.

Complete with recreate outhouse. Occupied!

An art exhibit at the museum, about... aliens and bison?

Oregon mining exhibit.

Just a bit further south from the museum were a couple of natural attractions, both part of the Newberry National Volcanic Monument. We had reservations for Lava River Cave, so we started there. It's a lava tube that's more than a mile long. It's completely dark, so you have to have a strong flashlight (we rented one), and it's also quite chilly (42* year round), so don't forget a jacket. We spent about half an hour walking in the cave, including turning our flashlights off to take in the complete darkness. After leaving the cave, our next stop was the nearby visitor's center, where we also walked a short distance on a trail with views of the lave butte cinder cone.

Descending into the cave.

A big series of steps, lit only by people's flashlights.

Somewhere deep in the Lava River Cave.

Views near the visitor's center, with the cinder cone on the right.

Wildflowers, lava rocks, and mountains!

Very cool landscape in this area. Similar to Craters of the Moon in Idaho.

From here it was about an hour and 40 minute drive to the rim of Crater Lake. We passed through some heavy wildfire smoke around the town of La Pine, but luckily it cleared up as we continued driving. We arrived into Crater Lake National Park from the North, so our first view was from Merriam Point on the north rim. The lake was strikingly blue in the late afternoon light. We continued along rim drive counter-clockwise, stopping at Watchman's overlook for a closer view of Wizard Island, and finished with a short hike on the Godfrey Glen Trail. Crater Lake may be a one trick pony, but the views are spectacular and it's worth visiting.

David striking a pose at Merriam Point.

Great views of the lake and Wizard Island.

View from Watchman's Overlook.

A canyon overlook on the Godfrey Glen Loop trail.

More views from Godfrey Glen.

After spending some time at the National Park, we decided to head towards our AirBnB before it got dark; the instructions to arrive were fairly detailed and we didn't want to risk trying to find it at night, considering there was very little cell phone reception in the area. The little cottage/cabin was very cute, very quiet/relaxing and very rustic. It was located right on the banks of a stream fed by a spring from Crater Lake and the water was cold and crystal clear.

For dinner that evening, we were warned by our hosts ahead of time that there were no restaurants or grocery stores for dozens of miles, so we just brought some food we bought at a grocery store in Bend. We didn't know what the cooking situations would be in the cottage... so it wasn't the most complex meal. After dinner, we sat on chairs by the stream and watched the sunset while trying to avoid mosquitos. It was very quiet and relaxing.

Our rustic but adorable little cabin.

Complete with a wood burning stove!

Dinner in the screened-in porch.

Sunset view over the stream behind our cabin.

The next morning, we drove back into Crater Lake National Park for a morning hike. We parked at the lodge and set out toward Garfield peak, a 3.5 mile hike. It was a very calm morning, so the lake was strikingly reflective. We saw a small family of deer near the start of the hike, and enjoyed spectacular views along the way and from the top of the peak. Since we were hiking so early, we mostly had the trail to ourselves.

The lake was beautiful in the early morning light.

We came across some deer along the trail.

The deer family with the lake. Yep, that's the lake in the background, not the sky!

The reflections were amazing.

The trail also had nice views to the south and east, away from the lake.

David at the top of Garfield Peak.

Walking back down the trail.

After the hike we stopped by the visitor's center and had a snack, as the crowds started to pick up. We then set out toward a couple of waterfalls, starting with Vidai Falls. This is a small but pretty waterfall just off the road, and is worth a stop. Not far away was the Phantom Ship Lookout, where we stopped briefly to take in the views. We then started driving down Pinnacles road, stopping at the Plaikni Waterfall trail. This is a two mile trail through open woods, ending at the very lovely waterfall. We continued down Pinnacles road, which ends at (drumroll, please)... the Pinnacles! These bizarre looking formations were created when fumaroles spouted up through ash from the ancient eruption. The steam cemented together rock and ash, which remained as the rest of the ash eroded away over the millennia. There's a short out and back Pinnacles trail with good views.

The lobby of the lodge at Crater Lake. It'd be nice to stay at a National Park lodge, but you really have to plan your life like 18 months in advance to do that.

Vidai falls is just off the road.

There's the phantom ship!

Plaikni Waterfall tumbling down the valley.

Views from along the Pinnacles trail.

After the hike along Pinnacles, we decided we'd had enough hiking/lake viewing for the day and started making our way back towards our AirBnB. Remembering the food situation, we stopped at Annie Creek restaurant (just inside the national park entrance) for lunch. The food here was National Park prices, but pretty good. That afternoon, we took a canoe from our AirBnB to go upstream and explore the creek a bit more. We've been kayaking a good bit over the years, but canoeing not so much. Steering a canoe through a fast moving stream was a challenge, overall we had a nice time paddling through the calm Oregon countryside.

Crystal clear water and blue skies.

Nautical shorts and a smile.

One of the moments we weren't struggling to steer the canoe. 😅

Overall, two half-days felt like the perfect amount of time at Crater Lake. The next morning we'd be heading further south and to our next stop - the Pacific coast - where we had a nice AirBnB lined up on the ocean (with less rustic amenities).