Day Two Prineville Oregon to Medford Oregon 248 miles
After breakfast we worked on our plan for the day. We decided on Crater Lake and then stay in Medford Oregon. Connie had never been to Crater Lake. We happened to check the park’s web page and discovered that the north entrance is still closed for snow removal. Therefore we must go further south and then go north.
The closer we got to Bend the worse the traffic got. The road did have multiple lanes so cars and trucks could pass. We took a short stop at Walmart in Bend to pick up a few items.
The drive is beautiful. Some farms and some forest. More hills so we should get some good mileage numbers. One stretch going toward the park we actually got down into first gear to get up the hill. We also had a downhill portion with a 6% grade. Some in Alaska will be 12%. It was very interesting with no trailer brakes.
When we got to the turn to the park there was a long line. It took us 45 minutes to the actual entrance. Thankfully we all had passes so we got in quickly. We continued to climb and eventually reached an altitude of over 7,000 feet. Patches of snow are still visible among the trees. When we reached the observation area the parking lot was full. It took us awhile for someone to leave with a large enough spot for the car and trailer. The lake was a beautiful shade of blue. The weather was good too.
After leaving the park we drove through a forest of huge trees. They were tall and big around. Some kind of pine tree. We stopped at a small gas station where gas was over $5.00 per gallon. We arrived at the hotel about 6:30. We ate our picnic lunches in the room. Rob and Chuck worked on Chuck’s car door. The solution for this trip is a small bungee cord.
Spoffords Travel 