May 28

May 28
Memorial Day. We were up, showered and out by 6:45 heading to Farewell Bend Campground in Prospect OR. The scenery along most of our ride through California has been pretty but many of the towns are run down and in need of repair. It’s 8:00 and we are riding along the Pacific coast. We stopped in Trinidad to walk in the ocean. Made it across- ocean to ocean! Drove along Rt 101 and stopped again at the ocean near Crescent City. Nice view and large waves. We got off on Rt 199, Scenic Route along Smith River on Gasquet Redwood Highway. It’s 82° and sunny.

Entered Oregon at noon. The trees are much smaller on this road. Area reminds me of Salisbury Beach in the 60’s without the beach. The roads are pretty good and mountain views are pretty but the homes and vehicles are in poor condition. The area near Rogue State Park got prettier as we got off Scenic Byway Rt 234. We can see Mt. McLaughlin in the distance. We drove by Lost Creek and now about 1/2 hour to campground.
We arrived around 2:30 and the park is absolutely gorgeous. We are deep in the woods adjacent to Rogue River. Everyone left after the holiday so we just about have the campground to ourselves. Bathrooms are decent, not hot water or electric.  We set up and headed over to Crater Lake. It’s about half hour drive but what a pretty drive. There was snow along the road and it’s 68° and sunny. When we arrived at the Crater there were no words to describe the beauty and color of the crater. It was created by a massive volcanic eruption 7,700 years ago. It’s about 6 miles wide and 1,943 feet deep. The incredible blue color is because other colors of the spectrum are absorbed and blue wavelengths are scattered and seen by human eyes. It was amazing to see and experience this.

When we got back to the campground we went down the street to Beckie’s Cafe for dinner and a piece of pie. Back at the campsite we walked down to the river behind our site. Such a lovely area we are in. I love this place and it smells so nice too!