Saturday, March 8, 2014

Day 3: Crater Lake Blizzard

From: Marlen Boro
 Realizing that RV-driving takes so much longer than the Google map’s predictions, last night Jen and I decided to completely revise our itinerary, lest we spend the entire trip driving. Since Oregon has been so stunning we've decided to spend the remainder of the trip meandering this amazing state. I’ve switched my ticket and so now I’m flying home via Portland.



Day 3 we ventured to Crater Lake. The forecast said snow there all day, but we figured it was worth a chance. It rained steadily all the way to the park and then suddenly turned into a blizzard. But like a couple of hipster morons, our only concern was whether we’d be able to see the lake. In all seriousness, the wisdom of driving an RV up (and back down) a mountain in a blizzard hadn't crossed our mind at all.
That’s Jen looking at what would usually be a sweeping view of Crater Lake.


The lake, not surprisingly, was hidden behind so much snow. I found the entire situation comical – Jen wasn't as pleased. About a dozen snowboarders looked at us with bewildered amusement.Yes, I was wearing khakis.
Me, pummeled by snow, in front of Crater Lake.

 Jen wasn't feeling well so I offered to drive us down. The three miles between the lake “view”point and the visitors center were full of tight turns – and on the first turn I lost complete control of the 27-foot RV. Luckily we didn’t slam into one of the nine-foot snowbanks – but I spent the next twenty minutes trying to keep the RV going slow enough to navigate the oh-so-many turns.


 Jen took over driving at the visitors center.
The toilet paper holder in the visitor center had a built-in ashtray. I love finding vestiges of the smoking days. Imagining days when Ranger Bob didn’t have to waste a good cigarette just because he had to pee.

No comments:

Post a Comment