Inland Oregon & Crater Lake
Portland, a lot of waterfalls, Mount Hood, and Crater Lake National Park.
September 30, 22:05
This morning, Gwen picked us up, a woman I met in Belize doing the Reef Conservation program. This was last May, and she told me: “If you’re ever in Portland, let me know, and I’d be happy to show you around’’. And so it happened. First stop was at the Aerial Tram to a viewpoint of the city, afterwards we went for a short walk along the river, and finally a light lunch at a Vietnamese place. All while talking about our trip, the trips she makes, and the programs she does. The last one, she told us, was in Alaska, where she got to see the wild brown bears from up close. And she was not kidding - I saw the pictures. Absolutely insane and most definitely something I’d want to do, and so the bucket list gets longer and longer.
After we said our goodbyes and thanked her for the day, we walked to Powell’s, the famous and huge bookstore in downtown Portland. We spent a good few hours there before walking back in the direction of the hotel. Which was, to be honest, a little sketchy. There are so many homeless people on the streets here. Most of them are in tents set up on the sidewalk, and others are walking around with a shopping cart filled so high you can barely see the person walking it. It’s a sad situation and one that really impacted our experience of the city. It’s both so hard to witness and a little scary at the same time, cause as much empathy I’d like to have, it just doesn’t make me feel safe. So sadly, Portland is the first place that’s not coming on our personal list of recommendations.
October 1, 20:35
Today was a day of waterfalls! After spending the morning in a coffee shop to get some work done, we left the city to go East. Driving on the Historic Columbia River Highway, we passed no less than 4 waterfalls: Latourell Falls, Shepperd’s Dell Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, and of course, Multnomah Falls. Since pictures speak louder than words, here they are in all their glory!
You can view all my Oregon photos here.
Right now, we’re in a campsite called Toll Bridge County Park. We saw the sign along the road, so we took the exit, and here we are parked next to the river and ready to play some cards.
October 2, 22:17
A win and a loss today in this RV. The positive thing was that we got the oven to work. We thought it was gonna take us half an hour to get it turned on, but somehow it happened immediately, which meant we had to start dinner at 17:00. But you know, a win is a win. The loss, however, was that we broke a shelf of the fridge. The door flew open while driving, which wasn’t the first time it happened, but it was the first time something broke. Oh well, nothing a few bandages can’t fix (temporarily).
Besides our RV adventures, we also had a real-life outdoors adventure. One of the most fun trails we've done so far! It was about 2 miles along a river with a waterfall at the end. And everything about the hike was pretty, from a log bridge at the beginning to swirling forest paths to the mist swaying around the waterfall. It was one of those places where the beauty was hard to capture in a picture. You just had to be there. So, for future reference: Tamanawas Falls it is. Oh, and Trillium Lake, where we are camped right now, is also absolutely beautiful, and only 20 minutes away, with a beautiful view of Mount Hood.
Mount Hood with reflection in Trillium Lake, Oregon.
October 3, 20:57
The RV adventures continue. This morning, the hose that connects the fresh water tank and the heater broke loose. When it happened, we didn’t know. All we heard was a big *dof* sound, and next thing we knew, water was leaking inside and outside the RV. Relaxed as we were, we decided to first do some groceries, get coffee and huckleberry pie for the road, and hike a trail to two waterfalls. Then, when we arrived at the campground, we sat down to handle the issue. Or, well, my mom did most of the work. While we did groceries, we bought a screwdriver to be able to get behind some cabinets. Below the oven was the general area where the sound came from, so we started there. And TADA, there we saw the hose hanging loose. We reattached it, closed everything back up, and refilled our water tank. End good, all good. PLUS we did a load of laundry and hung out in one of the hot spring pools here at the campground.
Oh, and the waterfalls today were super beautiful again: Koosah and Sahalie Falls!
Koosah Waterfall in Oregon.
October 4, 21:34
I don’t think my mom was happy with me this morning. The weather report wasn’t very promising and predicted rain in the afternoon, but we had plans to go to Tamolitch Blue Pool. And early morning, it was said to be sunny. So we thought, or actually I thought, let’s go early so we can see the Blue Pool in the sun and avoid the risk of walking in the rain. And so we did. But when our alarm went off at 6:30, and after my mom had to endure a cold shower, the joy this morning was hard to find. Understandably so. BUT fast forward to 15:00 - when we are hanging in the hot spring pool while it’s drizzly out, and we have memories of being the only people at the blue pool for more than an hour - I feel it was totally worth it. I even believe my mom feels the same way.
October 5, 22:02
The stars tonight are so bright and beautiful. We can even see the Milky Way! What a perfect place to just stand outside, tilt your head backwards, and look up at the sky. We are staying somewhere next to a small lake. It’s a free place but with a personal picnic table and fire pit. So tonight, since it’s the first time in a long time that it’s not cold after sunset, we decided to make a fire. So this evening, my time was split between building the fire and looking at the stars. I even saw 4 shooting stars! I didn’t wish for anything tonight. I had nothing more to wish for.
October 6, 21:11
We learned a new card game tonight, called sevens. I got to talking with the people sitting next to us at the pizza shack by the water. They were playing a card game we didn’t know, so I asked them about it, and they instantly invited us to join. Although hesitant at first, we decided to play with them, and it really was a lot of fun! And they were super friendly people too! I forget that sometimes it’s actually nice to meet other people, haha. Earlier today, when we went to the Umpqua Hot Springs, we met these girls too, and spent some time with them. And when we arrived at our campground at Diamond Lake, we met a very friendly host as well. I guess it was a day of meeting new people and friendly interactions. ☺️ Oh, and the hot springs were really, really nice! Beautifully located and the hottest pool was, although almost burning hot, really calming. We went there after visiting Toketee Falls, I think the last waterfalls we’ll see on our trip. And after Crater Lake National Park tomorrow, our Oregon time has also, sadly, almost come to an end.
October 7, 22:03
We are staying at a hotel tonight. Not really by choice, but all the campgrounds and RV parks are full in the area. I guess Rogue River is a popular little city. We were too focused on getting gas somewhere that a place to stay wasn’t really thought of. The tank was almost empty, and we decided to take the gamble and still do the full rim drive around Crater Lake. And we made it, but without a campsite. Anyhow, now we don’t have to cook, and we have a nice shower, so it does have its perks!
And what a beautiful day it was to visit Crater Lake! We went up to Watchman Overlook for a higher viewpoint of the lake, down to Cleetwood Cove to touch the water (not swim, way too cold), and Sun Notch for a different angle with Phantom Ship in view. A couple of hikes and an easy drive along the rim. Honestly, a perfect balance and a great way to see the national park in one day. It was beautiful, and a perfect end to our stay in Oregon.
Panorama view of Crater Lake.
