Day 127 - Crater Lake

Whew!! I finally made it to the famous Crater Lake, nearly 130 days into this grand voyage. A jewel of our park system, Crater Lake is one of the deepest lakes in the world, set in a collapsed- volcano crater, and having stunningly blue, pristine water. Here she is:

That pano was actually taken on the last stop of the day, but it was too good to wait. Wizard Island is a new volcano crater that pokes 350 feet above the water's surface. Here was me after first seeing the lake in person.

A 33 mile road circles the lake and takes you to various breath-taking views.

Evidence of volcanic eruptions were visible throughout. These nearby pinnacles were formed during the Mount Mazama eruption that formed Crater Lake 7,700 years ago.

But the most fun was had hiking down 800 vertical feet along the Cleetwood Trail to Cleetwood Cove, then promptly passing by the onlooking crowds to join the handful of brave souls cliff jumping into the icy blue waters of Crater Lake.

After drying off, I completed the circle drive by hiking up to the watchman lookout, where that great panoramic photo of the lake was taken. Amazing view. Then I drove northwest for an hour in search of a BLM campspot. The forest narrowed into a canyon, making finding a level side road problematic, but I eventually found a side road and a great secluded boondocking spot.

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Days 89 and 90 - Waterton

I started my journey north to Canada today. My plan was to head to Waterton Lakes, just north of Glacier, then to Calgary, then the Canadian Rockies parks of Banff, Jasper, Yoho, Glacier and a few others, then to Vancouver and finally to Seattle, all over the next several weeks. But first I needed the Internet! I drove south out of Many Glacier to a place I remembered having cell reception. I did some emailing and calling back home, did some research for my Canada trip and watched the final three episodes of Game of Thrones--wow, the final two episodes were sensational. This rainy, dreary day was perfect for such activities. I then drove into Canada late in the evening and to a campground set in the cloudy mountains at Waterton. The weather cleared a bit the next day and I was able to do some hiking around this scenic alpine lakes district. Waterton Lakes district from a high hill called Bear's Hump: The chipmunks at Bear's Bump were very interested in the conten...

Day 106 - Seattle

My July 4th started with a drive from Vancover to Seattle, arriving at the Museum of Flight by 11. The museum tour began with a display of the 27 U.S. Flags, made interesting by announcing the history of the states entry into the union. This B-17 is similar to the bomber my grandfather flew in WW2. A former Air Force One plane that Kennedy road on was another highlight. I stayed all day at the museum enjoying the history of aviation exhibits and finally space! I drove into downtown Seattle to checkout the city parks reserved for fireworks watching. These neighborhoods were crawling with people and would make horrible stealth street camping sites. I called several hostels and all were full... but then I found one with one bed left. I reserved the spot and drove to the hostel to find it in walking distance to the fireworks. I joined a group waking down to see the fireworks. We were joined by a few others. Two skydivers with fire flaming behind their path were followed by...

Day 93 - Calgary to Banff

After a very pleasant morning at Dave's house spent photocopying trail and scramble guide routes, enjoying a great breakfast and coffee, meeting some of Dave's extremely kind family members and chatting more about adventures, I set out for downtown Calgary. I thought a walk around a museum would be a nice change of pace, so I toured the Glenbow Museum. Two highlights were a Blackfoot Indian describing the meaning of their Tipi decorations and the Gun Scupture. The history of Alberta section was also quite interesting: fur trappers then cowboys then railroad builders then oil drillers. I then walked down to a nearby waterfront park, along a pedestrian only shopping street where a Christian pride rally was taking place, and then down quiet side streets to the park. Seeing people out jogging and playing on this Sunday afternoon reminded me of the real life I must one day return to. But not yet! Hungry and ready for mountains, I walked back to my van and left Calgary heading wes...

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