Crater Lake, Oregon

 When I was about 6 years old, my parents took our family to see Crater Lake, Oregon.  I never forgot its beauty.  Three years ago Pattie and I were planning for full-time RVing and listed places we wanted to visit.  Crater Lake made the list and this summer we were able to visit the area for a week in early September.  The weather was pleasant with highs in the 70’s and lows in the 50’s at night.  It was Labor Day weekend and we reserved one of the last campsites in the area at Diamond Lake National Park Campground.  Crater Lake Park was a short drive south and we enjoyed driving the 33-mile loop road around the lake in both directions.  There are numerous pullouts and we took advantage of them to take pictures and read the interpretive signs.

 Our timing was very good as just days before, most of the lake was obscured by smoke from regional forest fires.  We took advantage of the opportunity and hiked the steep mile long trail down to the boat launch area for a boat tour around the lake.  The clarity of the water has set world records (over 100 feet) giving it a hue of blue like no other.  The water is so pure; the guide stopped the boat and allowed everyone to fill his or her water bottles.  The boat ride was worth the steep hike down and back out of the caldera.  

We had already seen the sights before the crowds descended on Crater Lake for the Labor Day weekend. We took this time to explore outlying areas of interest like the Pinnacles (an area formed by the river eroding the ash fields), the fisheries at Lost Creek Reservoir (where we saw the salmon jumping up the ladders by the dam), historic Union Creek and Knob fall.  We also took time on Saturday to visit the campground lodge’s sports bar and watch the Auburn Tigers play the Washington Huskies in college football. Auburn won so it was a great day for us.

 Thanks for keepingupwiththejonesrv!

RV Tip:  Leveling the RV is critical notably for comfort; but also for the slides and other components to work properly.  The Diamond Lake NP Campground listed this site as 70 feet long.  It did not say that it was curved and peaked in the center.  Being a holiday weekend, every other spot was taken, so we had to make this work.  Pattie guided me into the tight spot with only inches to spare.  We placed our wood blocks and rubber mats under the tires to level The Bus then dropped the jacks to stabilize it.  This was a dry camping spot (no hook up to services), so we had to run the generator for a couple hours each morning and evening to top off the batteries since the solar panel cannot keep-up.  Unfortunately, the generator began shutting down and we were afraid we would need to leave.  I explained the issue on the Tiffin web page and someone suggested adding oil.  It was only a little low, but as soon as I added a quart, it began running perfectly.  Apparently the oil sensor can become oversensitive and shut down the generator even if it is only a 1/2 quart low.  Good to know.  

The campground host and ranger were amazed that we got this size rig in that spot.