When we arrived in the late afternoon it was cool and starting to rain. We drove down to the main camping area which is well below the crater and booked a site. However, on further reflection and after being told it would rain through the next day, we decided that we should leave the park and return at a future time to see the volcano in all its glory on a sunny day. Figured that if I had waited this long then a year or two more wouldn't matter. So we drove back up for one last look only to find the sun poking out and the rain stopped! So off we went for the 33 mile drive around the crater rim to see what we could see...and we saw enough to make us reassess our decision to abandon our original plan. While visiting the gas vents further down the south east slopes we passed the Lost Creek camp ground (16 sites, tenters only) and were surprised to find it open as many camping areas are closed as this is now considered the winter season in the NW. We drove through and were fortunate to find #14 available. The facilities are pretty basic, but there are fire pits and food lock-ups at each site (for the bears)...all this for US$10/night! Lost Creek is just below the crater edge on the SE side so we were camping at pretty high elevation...considering that we were not really equipped for alpine camping. I had brought a goose down bag for Annemarie and long-johns to sleep in, but as we sat under the incredibly clear night and gazed at the stars Annemarie decided that she would not need the down bag. Small judgement error...must have been the wine...as the temp dropped to zero over night and it was a bit chilly in our tent! Fortunately the long johns were used to good effect so the campers did not freeze too much!
Next morning we were up early, broke camp in a record 20 minutes and drove up to the crater edge to catch the sun rise on the lake. Annemarie was looking for breakfast at the park lodge, but agreed to delay until we had done some hiking and taken a few photos (there were clouds forming on the windward side of the mountain). The soft morning light and delightful panoramas made for pretty good photography and the hiking was pretty nice as well. Did I say it was cold? We finally decided it was time for breakfast and drove to the Lodge situated on the very edge of the crater about 500 meters above the lake level...so quite the dramatic view! Breakfast was excellent (veggie omelets) and surprisingly reasonable.
From there we drove back down to the coast through some beautiful country side enjoying the 27C weather and found our way into the Redwood Forests in N California. After viewing a large number of strikingly tall trees we decided to head north back into Oregon where prices are lower and there is no sales tax. We found a hotel in Brookings and had a great meal at a local seafood restaurant. NB: the diffence in petrol prices is about US$0.50/gal across the state line as poorer almost bankrupt California needs to tax at a higher level to help make ends meet.
Its early morning in Brookings as I write this. I think the plan today is to drive north along the coast where we hope to find a camp ground to hunker down in and bike ride out from for the next 3 days. The weather is supposed to be quite good for the rest of the week. Will work our way further north and home on the weekend...not really rested, but having enjoyed a taster of this area with plans to return again once the working life ends in a few years.
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