Day 16–It was the best of days, it was the worst of days …

We got an early start out of San Francisco, over the bridge on a very foggy morning.  Aryn napped in the car as we headed through California farms – miles and miles of farms.

The high-point of the trip past the farms was a stop at a Toyota dealer to replace a tire with a gashed sidewall.  That’s an unbudgeted $187.

Things got more interesting as we climbed up into the Cascades and passed Shasta Lake.

And passed and passed and passed it.

Those arms stretching for eighteen or more miles.

We drove through the Cascades, enjoying the mountains – tall peaks on either side covered in green trees.  Then we rounded a bend and from between the walls of green, Mount Shasta decided to change our perception of “mountain”.

We crossed into Oregon and even though we were behind schedule because of the tire, I took the turn for Lava Beds National Monument.

At the visitors center, we went a little way into one of the 700 caves they have there, but the tight schedule wouldn’t let us stay long.  Also they were having a star-gazing event that night, which I was sorry to miss.  At Carlsbad and through the desert, there was a full moon and then we were in cities, so Aryn hasn’t been able to get a clear view of the stars away from city lights. 

On the way out of the park we spotted a young coyote.  Then it was on to Crater Lake.  It was getting late in the day and the sun was setting soon, so we rushed through the drive, stopping only for a couple pictures of the river gorge.

As we got nearer the lake, I spotted something back in the forest.  Then more of it.  A little disbelievingly, I stopped the car and got out, calling for Aryn to follow me into the woods.  She followed, asking “What? What? Is that … snow?”

Yes, there’s still a bit of snow on the ground at Crater Lake.

The lake itself was pretty amazing.

As we left the drive around the rim at Crater Lake, it was starting to get dark.  That put us on the road down the mountain after dark.  Another long, windy, mountain road after dark that put us back on the interstate well behind schedule.

When it got to be after 10:00, I saw that Salem, OR was about 120 miles ahead and decided to target that for the night.  I pulled over and used the laptop to get on Priceline and find a, purportedly, 3-star hotel there for $55 for the night.

Purportedly, because it seemed a little dingy to me – it was a Red Lion Hotel, apparently a regional chain.  But the bed was comfortable and clean, so for $55 when the Motel 6 was at $60, I won’t complain. 

We got there at 1:00AM and I set my alarm for 6:00AM to get back on the road to Seattle.