Day 4 Route: Eugene, OR to Crater Lake (via winter route) to Klamath Falls, OR
Pictures: The Big Move Home: Day 4
Where are we now? If you want to see where we are at any time on the trip, register with Google Latitude and add brettsam as a friend.
Day 4 By The Numbers
*According to the car's trip computer
First, a Finley update: he slept through the night again, this time from 10:30pm to 7:00am. Let's see if he can keep this up throughout the trip. We were planning on Jess being up several times throughout the night every night, so it's pretty incredible to get a surprise like this.
After rejoicing at our newfound sleep, we headed out of our Eugene hotel to get some gas before hitting the road. One of the most confusing things about Oregon (especially the first time you visit) is that you can't pump your own gas. Attendants come out and do everything for you.
I'll break here for a tangent. Apparently there are 17 great reasons that attendants should fill your car with gas (see section 480.315 of the Oregon Revised Statutes for the list). I remember asking a native Oregonian friend about this a few years ago while Jess and I were on another road trip down the coast, and he said the law was created years ago to provide new jobs and it just never went away. My biggest confusion was about tipping. He thought that was a funny question and said you shouldn't tip the attendants. It just felt a little weird to sit in your silent car while a guy stood outside and pumped gas for you - kind of like when someone rushes out and washes your windshield at a stop light.
Okay, tangent over. After watching someone fill our gas tank, we had to wait so Finley could eat before we hit the road. He decided his diaper could not contain him and issued us our second blowout of the trip (the first one was overnight the first night and easy enough to change him). We had to get our suitcase out and find him some new pants before continuing for the day. This kid sure knows how to tell us if he doesn't like the pants we've got him in.
After our wardrobe malfunction we headed down I-5 for about an hour to Roseburg, OR, where we were going to catch Route 138 East. Our route today doesn't look like the fastest to get to Crater Lake, and that's because it isn't. We (smartly) decided to check that all the roads were cleared of snow, and it turns out they're not. Not even close. You can see in our pictures how much snow is still up at Crater Lake, and the North entrance usually doesn't open until around July 4. And that's with constant snow plowing to clear it. That's a lot of snow.
After driving on 101 for three days and dealing with constant speed limit changes, tough corners, and the occassional stop light, I-5 was luxurious. Driving at 75mph with no oncoming traffic was incredible. But it wasn't to last -- 138 did have higher speed limits than 101, but once you get into the Umpqua National Forest things get curvy and slower again. It's fun, but after four days of driving like that, I really want a day of nothing but interstates (foreshadowing?).
We didn't plan on seeing anything on the way to Crater Lake, but Finley tends to have a different schedule than we do. Luckily, we were able to time it nicely such that we had lunch at Whistler's Bend Park and then stopped for some pictures at Diamond Lake. The drive itself was nice, as we had sunshine most of the way. You can see the rolling green hills in some of our pictures.
Let's pause there for another tangent - Crater Lake is in Crater Lake National Park, which itself is in the Umpqua National Forest. What's the difference between a National Forest and a National Park? Well, if you skimmed those two links like I just did, it looks like a National Park is a reserve of land where development is prohibited and is for recreational use and environmental protection. A National Forest is similar, but commerical development is allowed and sometimes encouraged. Most ski resorts in the US are in National Forests. Don't say this blog never taught you anything.
Jess and I have wanted to go to Crater Lake for years, but it's always been just a bit too far for a long weekend trip, and it never happened. We've heard stories of hikes and the boat ride out to Wizard Island and swimming in the (cold) lake, and how clear it is, and on and on. If you've looked at any of the pictures from Day 4, you'll see that none of that was happening. It was in the 30s at the lake, and nothing was opened. Trails were still under dozens of feet of snow, and the boat ride didn't open for weeks. So we hopped out, got some good pictures and then hopped back into the car. I'm not quite ready to cross it off my list of things to see yet. I'd love to get back there in the summer.
We headed out of Crater Lake and towards Klamath Falls, where we were going to stay for the night. The scenery was beautiful, but gloomy, as we drove by Lower Klamath Lake into the city. A quick dinner and it was time for bed.
Tomorrow: Heading to Stockton, CA via I-5 to get an early-ish start on Yosemite the following day.
Pictures: The Big Move Home: Day 4
Where are we now? If you want to see where we are at any time on the trip, register with Google Latitude and add brettsam as a friend.
Day 4 By The Numbers
| Day 4 | Total | |
| Miles Driven | 275.2 | 889.9 |
| Time in Car* | 6:00 | 21:59 |
| New State License Plates Seen | 5 | 18 |
| Diapers Changed | 7 | 28 |
| Money Spent on Gas | $60.60 | $107.68 |
| National Parks Visited | 1 | 2 |
*According to the car's trip computer
First, a Finley update: he slept through the night again, this time from 10:30pm to 7:00am. Let's see if he can keep this up throughout the trip. We were planning on Jess being up several times throughout the night every night, so it's pretty incredible to get a surprise like this.
After rejoicing at our newfound sleep, we headed out of our Eugene hotel to get some gas before hitting the road. One of the most confusing things about Oregon (especially the first time you visit) is that you can't pump your own gas. Attendants come out and do everything for you.
I'll break here for a tangent. Apparently there are 17 great reasons that attendants should fill your car with gas (see section 480.315 of the Oregon Revised Statutes for the list). I remember asking a native Oregonian friend about this a few years ago while Jess and I were on another road trip down the coast, and he said the law was created years ago to provide new jobs and it just never went away. My biggest confusion was about tipping. He thought that was a funny question and said you shouldn't tip the attendants. It just felt a little weird to sit in your silent car while a guy stood outside and pumped gas for you - kind of like when someone rushes out and washes your windshield at a stop light.
Okay, tangent over. After watching someone fill our gas tank, we had to wait so Finley could eat before we hit the road. He decided his diaper could not contain him and issued us our second blowout of the trip (the first one was overnight the first night and easy enough to change him). We had to get our suitcase out and find him some new pants before continuing for the day. This kid sure knows how to tell us if he doesn't like the pants we've got him in.
After our wardrobe malfunction we headed down I-5 for about an hour to Roseburg, OR, where we were going to catch Route 138 East. Our route today doesn't look like the fastest to get to Crater Lake, and that's because it isn't. We (smartly) decided to check that all the roads were cleared of snow, and it turns out they're not. Not even close. You can see in our pictures how much snow is still up at Crater Lake, and the North entrance usually doesn't open until around July 4. And that's with constant snow plowing to clear it. That's a lot of snow.
After driving on 101 for three days and dealing with constant speed limit changes, tough corners, and the occassional stop light, I-5 was luxurious. Driving at 75mph with no oncoming traffic was incredible. But it wasn't to last -- 138 did have higher speed limits than 101, but once you get into the Umpqua National Forest things get curvy and slower again. It's fun, but after four days of driving like that, I really want a day of nothing but interstates (foreshadowing?).
We didn't plan on seeing anything on the way to Crater Lake, but Finley tends to have a different schedule than we do. Luckily, we were able to time it nicely such that we had lunch at Whistler's Bend Park and then stopped for some pictures at Diamond Lake. The drive itself was nice, as we had sunshine most of the way. You can see the rolling green hills in some of our pictures.
Let's pause there for another tangent - Crater Lake is in Crater Lake National Park, which itself is in the Umpqua National Forest. What's the difference between a National Forest and a National Park? Well, if you skimmed those two links like I just did, it looks like a National Park is a reserve of land where development is prohibited and is for recreational use and environmental protection. A National Forest is similar, but commerical development is allowed and sometimes encouraged. Most ski resorts in the US are in National Forests. Don't say this blog never taught you anything.
Jess and I have wanted to go to Crater Lake for years, but it's always been just a bit too far for a long weekend trip, and it never happened. We've heard stories of hikes and the boat ride out to Wizard Island and swimming in the (cold) lake, and how clear it is, and on and on. If you've looked at any of the pictures from Day 4, you'll see that none of that was happening. It was in the 30s at the lake, and nothing was opened. Trails were still under dozens of feet of snow, and the boat ride didn't open for weeks. So we hopped out, got some good pictures and then hopped back into the car. I'm not quite ready to cross it off my list of things to see yet. I'd love to get back there in the summer.
We headed out of Crater Lake and towards Klamath Falls, where we were going to stay for the night. The scenery was beautiful, but gloomy, as we drove by Lower Klamath Lake into the city. A quick dinner and it was time for bed.
Tomorrow: Heading to Stockton, CA via I-5 to get an early-ish start on Yosemite the following day.
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