A CHANGE OF SCENERY.
Day 17 – Last night we heard one or two coyotes outside, howling a little bit, not making a ruckus like they do when chasing prey. Early this morning some Canada Geese flew overhead, and it was definitely NOT the same noise we heard last night. We’ve officially left the big Interstate Highways behind us, We’re getting to the area where we vowed we’d slow down & stop staying just one night as we hurry across the country to the west coast. We’re looking forward to spending more time in each destination, beginning with a couple of nights near Crater Lake National Park in Oregon. We’d spend more time but a group of wildfires caused by lightning strikes late last July has caused the Park to close a big section of the West Rim. So there’s less for us to see.
193 miles
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, KAREN OKIMOTO! WE HOPE YOUR DAY IS PERFECT.
This morning we counted the campers & RV’s at the campground; only seven total including us, in a huge area all spread out in their own private worlds. Our first Boondocking experience was excellent; we’ll do it again. We got up at 6:50 a.m.; it was 39 degrees out & clear. We could see for miles & miles.
Chickahominy Reservoir BLM Campground, Burns District Office 28910 Hwy 20 West Hines, OR 97738, 541-573-4400, https://www.recreation.gov/recreationalAreaDetails.do?contractCode=NRSO&parkId=255182&facilityId=255182&agencyCode=70901. Check-in time none; check-out time 2 p.m. Our first BLM camping experience. We loved it. $4 per night with Sr. Pass. 14 day maximum stay. No hook-ups of any kind. We had site #19. Very few people camping there. On the reservoir, migrating waterfowl. We would stay here again.
We departed Chickahominy at 9:35 a.m., 53 degrees, sunny and clear. We drove west, then northwest on US-20 towards Bend, OR, passing only 3 small towns in 1 ¾ hours. The terrain was mostly similar to where we’d spent the night, high plains desert surrounded by large hills, although as we approached Bend, we started seeing more trees that looked like big & tall juniper bushes. In the faraway distance, way beyond Bend, we could see some snow-capped mountains. Looked on the map & saw that these were part of the Cascades.
In Bend we stopped to get gas & YAAA! picked up sandwiches from Jersey Mike’s. (Since we left home, I’ve been checking the cities to see if they had Jersey Mike’s. There are none near where we live & we hadn’t forgotten the sandwiches we had on Trip #1 in the south. The few cities in the midwest that had a Jersey Mike’s – the stores weren’t located in a place where you could park an RV, or were out of the way completely.) So I’m a happy camper, literally.
Bend is a big city. It felt like a long time since we’d been in one. We could barely get the RV in the parking lot of Jersey Mike’s, but watching the guys make those sandwiches made the stop worthwhile. We drove around trying to get to the cheapest gas station (there’s an app called Gas Buddy which gives you the prices of the gas stations anywhere that you want to check & gives you directions to the station you pick). Technology, I tell ya, what’ll they think of next?!
After getting gas, we started a new route, leaving US-20 and going south on US-97. Almost immediately the scenery changed dramatically. We left the desert behind and were driving thru several National Forests on a wonderful road surrounded by very tall, mostly Ponderosa Pine trees. Soon we entered volcano country and we pulled off to take our lunch break by a lava field in the trees. Gorgeous! We found ourselves at the Newberry National Volcanic Monument. Black lava rocks in front of an old dead volcanic mountain. Deep blue lakes, tall mountains with snow on top. And we found that this was not the first volcano site, nor the last crater we’d see. Amazing changes of scenery.
We arrived at our campground, Diamond Lake RV Park, at 2:15 p.m. It was warm, 69 degrees (in Bend it had peaked at 74 degrees). This campground is located on a hill above Diamond Lake which is about 25 minutes above Crater Lake. Our site, #A10, is great, surrounded by tall trees, and we can see the Lake below us thru the trees. One of those snow-capped peaks is right across the Lake from us. At this time, there is no one parked close to us. It’s full hook-ups – back to the comfort of electricity, running water, & a septic system. We’ll be here 2 nights.
We unpacked & set up, then left to take a drive around the Lake & scope out the area. Really nice here! There are several other campgrounds around the Lake & we drove thru several Forest Service Campgrounds to check out their camping sites. A bike trail runs around the Lake. And interestingly, a command center is set up at one of the campgrounds where all the people fighting the Crater Lake fires are staying.
The kitties were completely settled in when we got back; they like it here. Just wait till they see we aren’t leaving tomorrow for another travelling day! Signing off to relax before bed…..