This posting will have to be short as i am running out of time.
Although i was up early, i got a late start on the road for what turned out to be the worst day of this trip. But as the saying goes, all's well that ends well, so i guess i will go along with that. I will start this posting now and send it off, and finish it over the drive tomorrow by replacing it with a new version.
The sprinkles just after dinner last night, which drove us into the tent at 715, turned into an all- night rain, or so i heard. I only woke up once and heard it myself. But the temperature was warm enough so that the tent was dry by the time i woke up. Lucky me - the best of all worlds: rain at night, dry tent in the morning.
The morning did not start well. I wasn't sure where the entrance to the beach over the dunes was, so i decided to bushwack my way through the brush to get there from behind my camp site. Halfway there, i stumbled over a hidden chain fence desiged to keep people like me from doing that. Fortunately, i caught myself from falling, returned to my camp site and found the entrance to the beach just feet away from my camp.
For breakfast this morning, we had two visitors, a mother deer and her baby. Donner saw them, just feet away, but was not interested, Bison are what interests him these days, although they are long gone.
We got on the road at 10:30, later than i wanted to in order to make Crater Lake today. But we still had that as an aim, 270 miles away.
My GPS was useless drving down the coastal highway. It kept directing me off the highway to faster, but less scenic, routes. So i shut it off because i wanted the scenic coastal route, and it really is quite scenic in Oregon. Dramatic in places. There are far too many viewpoints to stop at all of them, but not to worry. They usually come up without warning and by the time you spot them, it is too late, especially with vehicles tailgating, as they usually do. As i was passing the entrance to one coming up a hill, i was determined to stop, and so i quickly headed into what i thought was an extra wide entrance. The sun, shining directly into my eyes, distorted what i was really heading into - a two foot drop-off into the viewpoint. Fortunately, i caught my mistake, wuickly corrected my direction and drove on,bypassing that viewpoint in favor of the next. At least no one tailgated me for a while after that.
After a rest stop for Donner, i pulled into a gas station to fill up for the long haul ahead of us and realized that my credit card was missing. I lost 30 minutes at the next viewpoint looking for-bit, with no success, and then calling my credit card company to block future charges until I find it. Fortunately, i carry three credit cards with me just in case, although this is the first time i lost one.
Shortly after that, we got onto scenic route 20 to head inland. I was actually quite sad to leave the coastal highway. I have some good memories of my prior four trips down it.
Still unsure if i would make Crater Lake at night, i set out a rule. If my GPS said i would not make it by 7:00, i would take the first National Park or State Park camp i came to after 4:30. Problem was, my maps showed none on the route i was planning to take.
At 435, a mile after passing a little town called Dexter, i came across a sign for state park camping at Lowell. I had to make a decision. My GPS then said i would not get into Crater Lake till 710. I decided, why spend four hours setting up and breaking camp here when i can surely tolerate driving around in the dark at Crater Lake for perhaps 30 minutes, so i drove on.
And then a three hour saga, the kind i fear the most on these trips, began.
The good news is that all is well that ends well. The bad news is that it is not enjoyable getting to that end.
To be continued.
Ed and Donner, from the road
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