26 Jun 21

 After a weird night on pillows that were about 2 ft thick and hard as concrete, we were up and out of the hotel by 07:20. We breakfasted at The Griddle, then hit the road by 08:30. The first 250 miles or so is across trackless, high desert, with maybe 4 inhabitants. The last 100 miles or so is through beautiful alpine forests and glades to the SE or Crater Lake. When we got into the park about 14:00, it was too early to check into our room, so we decided to take the rim drive; this time we went round counter-clockwise, as compared to last fall’s clockwise circuit. The drive was beautiful, as always, but especially compared to last fall, when the air was so thick with smoke from all the forest fires on the west coast, that one could hardly see across the lake. Now, it is clear and gorgeous and the water is an unbelievable dark blue. Add this to your bucket list, if you have not already been. Although it was in the mid-80’s during the afternoon, there is still plenty of snow in numerous places around the rim; they get 44 ft of snow during an average winter, so it takes a long time for that to melt away. We got checked into the room just before 17:00, in time for a refreshing Captain’s hour; it was a bit of work to get into the room, because we have 4 boxes of various food-stuffs for the boat in the car and they are quite specific in their instructions to “leave no food in the car overnight, because the bears can smell it and are perfectly capable of ripping a car door off it’s hinges”. After we settled in and cooled off a bit, we went down to dinner in the lodge restaurant and enjoyed the views of the lake in the late evening. We had a nice chat on the balcony with a couple from Arroyo Grande, CA. Another magic day. 

Log = 365 miles; Sum = 2008 miles.