Crater Lake (Days 2 and 3)

***Before I begin, I need to apologize for errors. The ipad gets weird with this blog, and when I type, it flips up and down so it is difficult for me to see what I am typing. I do my best to go over it, but I am also unable to scroll down sometimes, so that is hard. Being an English teacher is stressful when it comes to this stuff...so much pressure.***

I didn't get a chance to write yesterday. We are in close quarters in a cabin in Crater Lake, and when lights were out of the kids, I went to sleep, too. Yesterday was a driving day, for the most part. We were all up pretty early with the time change, and, after spending the night pretty restless, I decided to hit the tiny workout room for a bit. Then we all had breakfast. Afterwards, we walked into the beautiful neighborhood behind our hotel. It looks like a fairly new development, and the houses were SO pretty. My plan is to send Ethan or Eleanor to U of O, and we will buy a house there so they have residency. Will burst my bubble when he reminded me I would have to be working when the kids were in college. So I guess it will just be a summer home. We found a playground, and the kids let out some energy. I left to shower and pack up and when Will and the kids came back, we checked out. We went back into downtown Eugene first, in search of a Duck's Store. We found a few Oregon shirts and then went in search of an REI. We wanted a few things, including a powerful whistle, in the event we cross paths with a bear on one of our hikes. It is not a major concern, but we want to be prepared nonetheless. We also stopped at a Target for beach towels and a few other items we did not take with us. In the Target parking lot, we made a picnic of pbj's and then finally left for Crater Lake.

The drive was long, but very pretty. The kids, in the back, started to feel a little car sick near the end, but they made it ok. we listened to the first disk of three for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, so that helped pass the time. When we finally got into the National Park, it was about a 20 minute drive to the rim. We stopped at the first lookout place we could. I hope my pictures will do this place justice. It is BEAUTIFUL. Such a unique lake, set down in the basin from what's left after a volcano exploded. Will was anxious to drive to the spot where you can hike down to the water, but it was after 5 o'clock and the kids were hungry and tired, so we continued another 20 minutes to our cabin. The
cabins are at Mazama Village, next to a campground often frequented by hikers on the Pacific Crest Trail. The store has boxes of used items for hikers to look through and use, if needed. I read about this in the book Wild, by Cheryl Strayed, so it was neat to see it in person. We have seen many serious hikers here. The cabins, though you wouldn't know it from their steep nightly rate, are very basic and quite small. Each cabin has four units. Our unit is two queens, and a bathroom. There is a tiny table and two chairs as well. No television. It is clean, though, and works out just fine for two nights.

Once we got somewhat settled, we walked over to the Annie Creek Restaurant, which is one of only a couple options for where to eat here. The national park lodge, several miles up the road has a nice restaurant, but reservations are required for dinner. As it was, we had to wait thirty minutes for our dinner at the restaurant. And the food was pretty dismal. Eleanor got butter with some pasta, and I ordered the fettuccini alfredo. The pasta water had clearly not been salted, and the sauce was bland as well. Will ordered a cobb salad that had very little lettuce and was finished within a minute. Ethan had the best meal, a burger, but we decided we would likely not eat there a second time. By the time we were done with dinner, it was nearly 8:30, so we headed home to bed. We were still not quite acclimated to the time change, so we were all exhausted.

Ethan, as usual, awoke first, and Will took him out for a short hike around our cabin while Eleanor and I got a bit more sleep. When they returned, we got in the car for the drive to Cleetwood Cove, the one trail that leads you down to the water. We stopped quickly at a visitor's center to pick up a junior ranger packet for Ethan. Once he completes most of it, he can turn it in for a badge. We figure if he does one in all the NPs we visit this trip, he can collect four!

The Cleetwood Cove trail is not particularly difficult to go down, but it is steep, and the drop offs are anxiety producing for parents of small children. I had a hand on Eleanor for most of it. We went down, switchback after switchback, stopping to take many pictures of the brilliant blue water along the way. At the bottom, there is a dock with a boat launch for the tours that go to Wizard Island, a volcano that sticks out of the lake. The tour looks interesting, but is 3 hours long (insert Gilligan's Island joke here), so we opted out. Will and the kids were determined to swim in the lake, though I had no such desire, as it was only about 65 degrees at the time.

Will eventually got all the way in, and I have video of him swimming. Eleanor, the first to get in her suit, never went in all the way but liked playing on the rocks. There is no beach, just large, jagged rocks to climb on. Several people came down after us, and it got more and more crowded. At once point, this french couple jumped from a cliff into the water. It looked insane, and then more and more people were doing it. A ranger had told us earlier that is where people jumped off into the water. We laughed and said, no thanks. But, as more and more people jumped, the more I wondered, could I ever do it? I asked Ethan if he thought I should and his answer was a resounding YES! 

Today marks one year since my Grandma's passing. I had been feeling a bit guilty being gone on this day, knowing it would be a difficult one for my mom and her siblings. Grandma is on my mind daily, but more so lately, as I thought of this day coming up. As I sat in such a majestic spot, I thought, why not add a different memory to this day. So I decided to jump. I hadn't brought a bathing suit so I stripped down to my sports bra and spandex capris and walked up the jumping spot, about 20 feet about the water. 

I cannot easily describe this experience. I was scared. Like really scared. I stood on top of the rock for a solid minute, freaking myself out and wondering what on earth I had signed up for here, trying to be brave and show off for my kid. But then I thought, you will always regret not jumping...so I did. 

Now, a few others who had gone before me let out a little yelp on the way down. What came out of me, though, was an absolute blood curdling, I'm going to die scream. And for several seconds after I plunged into the icy cold water, I thought I might just do that. The fear combined with hitting the frigid water literally knocked the wind out of me. As I came up, desperately trying to get my sports bra down from around my neck, I couldn't breathe. I was above the water, but I couldn't take a breath. My kids were watching, and Will was video taping, so I have my back to them at first while I try to calm down and breathe. Eventually, I am able to do so, and the hilarity of what I just did comes to me. While it was scary, I really am so glad I did it and feel like I could do it again easily now that I know I can do it. I got to the rocks where Will and the kids were, wrapped a towel around me, and shivered for a good 30 minutes, recovering, but also feeling like a superstar!

Sometime around noon, we started our trek back up to the rim. This took a bit longer, but the kids were champs. The trail was so steep, but they trudged through. We drove to Rim Village, where the big lodge is and also a small cafe. We decided we would eat our lunch out and then just have pb and j for dinner instead of going back to our cabin for lunch. More mediocre, overpriced food, but it got the job done. After lunch, we checked out the views from Rim Village and also went into The Lodge. There is a nice area downstairs open to the public with a great big stone fireplace and lots of chairs and couches. There is also an outdoor area facing the lake with a ton of giant rocking chairs. Will took the kids to a junior ranger program down the way, but I decided to stay at the lodge for a bit. I ordered a glass of Oregon Pinot Noir, found myself a rocking chair, and had a little mommy moment. It was glorious. Then, I met Will and the kids at the end of their program (they built a volcano and watched it erupt), and we explored a bit more of the rim. 

Around 4, we got back in the car and drove to one more hike. This was a short, easy hike called Wildflower Garden. It was so pretty. Basically, you hiked one short loop up part of a mountain that was covered in wild flowers. All down the mountain were tiny waterfalls, cutting into the rocks. Will said it reminded him of a gigantic version of my dad's pond. Eleanor, who was hungry and cranky before the hike and didn't want to go, ended up loving this hike. We ended it just as some rain was starting, so we hit the road and came back to the cabin. Then it was showers, reading for Will and I while the kids watched a couple shows on the ipad, and an early bedtime. Ethan fell asleep at 7:45 while I read Harry Potter. Eleanor held on a bit longer, but right now at 8:37, three of four of us is sawing logs. I am going to wake up Will, though, or else he will be up at 3 am tonight.  

Tomorrow, we head to California and the Redwoods. Ethan is particularly excited about this leg of the trip, and I think we are all looking forward to a longer stay (four nights) in a larger place with space and a kitchen.  The only mediocre food we will eat now will be mine! :)