After leaving the beauty of Hells Canyon, we continued on to Walla Walla, Washington, Red Wine Country and voted the “Happiest City" in the United States 2011. What we found unusual here was that even though there were vineyards outside of the city in the country areas, most of the tasting rooms were in restaurants in the Historic District of downtown. We did find a vineyard in the country where we could taste wine however, when we stopped there they were closed. The owner welcomed us in anyhow, gave us a tour and some wine to taste. We have no clue when it comes to wine selections but bought a bottle of wine anyhow to drink on our 11th anniversary, November 21.
Sarah met us in White Salmon, WA for a visit. What a ride to get there! We had to cross the bridge from Hood River, Oregon to get to our campground. What a crossing – we both had white knuckles. The road was not a road, was metal grating instead. Plus, the lanes were so incredibly narrow. We had to pull in the side mirrors on the truck to fit in the lane. As our luck would have it, a tractor trailer big rig was crossing at the same time, from the opposite direction. We just stopped in the middle of the bridge and let him navigate his way through, holding our breath the entire time. Very scary! It was great seeing Sarah again after four years and having lunch at a local brewery/restaurant (great lamb gyros).
Heading south to Crater Lake we drove through the Mt Hood National Forest. The clouds were low, so we were not expecting to see Mount Hood. As we came around a curve, there it was, popped out right in front of us! The fall foliage in the forest was something else as we continued our ride south.
We arrived in the Crater Lake area and began to look for a campground. Our plan was to camp outside the National Park and make a day trip to Crater Lake. We did not want to haul the camper through the mountains up to 7200 ft. First stop, a state park 40 miles from the lake. We drove around it and decided to look for something else, knowing we did not have much time to find a place. It was getting late and we needed to be settled before dark. Continued on to the next town. Campground closed for the season TODAY (our luck) but the owner suggested the hotel two miles up the road that had some RV hookups. What a hell hole. It is getting darker, gas low, and Dick is not a happy camper (pardon the pun). Déjà vu of being stuck in Yosemite mountains. Now the rain starts. We pass the entrance for Crater Lake (ended up that high in the mountains anyhow) and both campgrounds in the park were closed for the season. Again our luck. So now what? We continue on through the west side of the forest hoping to find a small town that we can just park in some lot. It is almost pitch black, very eerie . Neither of us said a word, the silence was deafening. Someone was watching over us. We passed a sign for an RV park further down the road. What a relief to say the least.
Things continued to not go our way. The rain got heavier and heavier and was forecasted to last for 2-3 days. They have not had rain up in this area for 90 days, can you believe NINETY days! So we come, and bring the rain with us. The next day we trek up to Crater Lake, about 35 miles from our campground, and saw nothing. NADA. The clouds were so low we could not even see the lines on the road as we climbed the mountain. Very, very disappointing. All you could see out the lookout viewpoints was white, nothing, white. Bummed us out. We decided to hunker down for an extra day at the camp ground and wait out the rain. Used the time to catch up on laundry, cleaning, and cooking some beef stew.
The sun was out shining bright the next morning so off we went. First stop was breakfast at a local restaurant in the forest, Beckies. The amount of food was humongous, could not eat it all. Then Crater Lake. What a surprise and so worth the wait! Crater Lake was the most beautiful lake we have ever seen. Totally, beats Lake Tahoe, and the caldera on the Greek Island of Santorini. The colors of blue were absolutely amazing. We drove the entire rim around the lake. It was cool and windy after the rain, but the colors were so vivid and crisp. Another MUST SEE!
