This morning we were able to sleep in until mid morning at Motel 6 so Ashley could rest up. Our goal was to get to Crater Lake National park by later in the evening. This was an incredible drive, and beautiful to say the least. We had a few stops in between our final destination. The drive was focused on going through the Redwoods National Forest which is about an hour north of Eureka.
The drive through the forest was very nice but the overall size of these trees were not comparable to the sequoias we saw earlier in the trip. Nonetheless, the height of the redwoods were taller. Still, it was very beautiful and worth the trip. There is a side road going through the park which is worth taking, as it cuts through the heart of the forest.
From the end of the park we drove north through Klamath and Crescent City. Once we reached crescent city, we took highway 199 east through the Orange Hole Gorge. This is also known as the Redwood Highway. We ended up stopping in a restaurant called ‘She-She’s’ to get a milkshake and continue driving for essentially the rest of the day. The milkshake was awesome for Ashley’s sore stomach.
As we were coming through the forrest from the south, the trees started to become different, but more thick. The drive through the early sunset was a great experience as the light reflecting through the lush forest was beautiful. We ended up arriving at Crater Lake National Park around 6pm about an hour and a half of sunlight. We had time to find a campsite before they filled up. The campsite is about 10 miles from Crater Lake self and is the primary lodging facility on the property.
Crater Lake is an incredible formation created by a massive volcano millions of years ago. It’s the deepest lake in North America and is over 5 miles across and I believe upwards of 2000 feet deep! It’s actually the deepest lake in North America. It’s quite a stunning picture the first time you see it as it’s much larger than pictures give it justice.
We decided to cook at our campsite after doing a short walk to the edge of the lake. There was a grocery at the lodge and we were able to pickup dinner and dessert. We had some chicken and pasta for dinner. Tomorrow we had one of the biggest days of driving ahead of us in order to make it on time to Glacier National Park. Before we went to bed we had a short walk behind our campsite to explore the gorge and river we heard rushing beneath us about 500 yards away. Unfortunately we could not find a route to the bottom and decided to head back to camp. It was completely dark now, and now time to rest.
July 9 Expenses
5.72 snack
20.40 gas
8.52 mcdonalds
20.06 groceries
35 edibles
31 camping
11.71 snacks
Total – 132.41