Tomorrow I will leave be leaving Oregon. I still have to travel north through central (Bend) up to Kennewick, Washington. This is a beautiful state to travel, with diverse scenery (and weather). Land is increasing in price rapidly, as populations push up from California, and down from Washington. Bare land within an hour of city areas has increased by more than 200% over the last five years... the country side is covered with real estate signs. Land along the coast is going to soon be at a premium. The secret is out....
Oregon has many state parks and camping areas... recreation will soon be the primary business of the state if it isn't already. Along the coastal area, it seems like a new state park with camping is available every few miles. Similarly in the mountain regions where the many streams are fished... some marked for "fly fishing only", or "for artificial fly fishing".
The Pacific Shores RV Park I stayed at near Newport was listed as a "Good Sam" park, but when I got there it had been sold to a corporation that develops resorts, and is now selling the individual RV spots... so there was no discount, and at $29 a night for the minimum connection, far away from the Ocean (Ocean view slots were available for $46), it was the most expensive park I stayed in during my travels. But it did have good facilities, including Karoke for the kids in the evening.
The weather did not cooperate for me, so there was only a couple sunny hours in the evening on the coast, then it rained all night and the next morning when I drove south on Highway 101... I still managed a few pictures along the way. The trip over to Crater Lake was a beautiful drive, that followed several streams along the way, with lots of opportunity to camp and fish. There was an elk spotting area along the way where I saw several grazing in the field as I passed. It was still drizzling as I pulled into Diamond Lake RV Park. The manager of the park told me that Crater Lake was still snowed in, but had had just opened their north gate today. I got the trailer settled and headed for Crater Lake, about 4 miles to the north entrance from my camp.
The gate was open but no-one was on the gate so I just drove in. As I headed up the road mountain was covered with snow and as I got to the higher elevations, both sides had snow banks carved through that were at least 10 to 15 feet high. This is the reason it was so late opening this season. Mist or fog was covering the mountains and the roads and in places you could hardly see with your lights on. Finally I came to the first turn out where another car was sitting, and as I pulled in, the mist moved aside and I got a spectacular view of Crater Lake, with the sun reflecting on the far side. After I took my pictures, the mist moved in again, blocking the view, so I continued my drive around the rim. Several times I was able to find turnouts where the lake was visible, and on the far side when I came to the Park lodge, the view of the lake was clear, and a number of cars and a couple buses were in the parking area. The lodge restaurant and souvenir shop had opened . I went in and ordered a chicken sandwich and sat and ate it. It was clear that today was a dry run for all the services on the lake. I think the mist or clouds blowing over the lake actually enahanced the view and made a more magnificent scene to photo. The temperature on the mountain today was 42 degrees.
So.. from 15 foot snow drifts, to sand dunes and ocean beaches, with lots of forest and fishing streams in between.. this is the diversity that Oregon has to offer. A fisherman and camper's paradise.
