Day One continued...

Not having access to internet means entries may not be posted on the day they were written. Every attempt will be made to post each day’s entry.

Day One continued…

The lady at the visitor center at Midland was very helpful. Apparently we chose a weekend of some bike gathering at Crater Lake so our plan B to get a hotel in the area is pretty slim. We will be camping at Diamond Lake campground for one night. The children will get the chance to show off their abilities to make and break camp.

We traveled this morning through Redding, California and up through Lake Shasta. It is a beautiful area with pointed hills covered in rich green pines and a deep blue lake surrounding them. I suppose it is really a reservoir since there is a dam. We will have to come back to this place to camp.

For lunch we stopped at a town just below Weed. The local KFC/Taco Bell was fresh. The bathroom wasn’t the best but it worked. The children wanted us to stop and get a t-shirt that says “I <3 Weed”*. About thirty minutes away Dad mentioned that we needed to pick up stickers from the places we visit to plaster the sides of our trailer to cover all the unwanted writing on the sides. The “I <3 Weed” would have been an interesting start of our collection but we missed it by “that much.”

Our trailer is the main reason we got our late start. I had planned on taking bikes on this trip and the bike rake only holds five bikes. Not enough for everybody and besides we have camping items to take along. Uhaul had a trailer we could rent but Hubby would rather put that money towards owning one rather than travel around with “Uhaul” plastered all over the trailer. So instead of renting Hubby found an old enclosed motocross trailer on Craigslist for $500. It came home with a rats nest and a few holes in the wall; then Hubby with his bounteous talents put a beautiful new floor in with hooks everywhere to tie things down. Not sure of the condition of the tires, hubby got some new ones and Jennifer packed the bearings. Something she learned to do at college.

Prior to heading out, all of the children helped get the house super clean so the house sitter could enjoy their stay at our home. Thank you soooo much A.

Back to today’s travels… after lunch we traveled up Hwy 97. As soon as we crossed the Oregon border the landscape changed from the hilly mountains to a vast valley, probably an ancient lake bed.

Klamath Falls is the town past our friendly visitor center. Interestingly there are no falls in Klamath Falls. It is understood that their where some small falls prior to the dam being built creating a lake that makes the falls no more.

*PS, <3 means “love” or “heart” such as I <3 N Y. If you put <3 in your status on Facebook you will get a little heart instead.

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It is a late start. Friday was the first day we had a reservation at the Diamond Lake campground, only thirty minutes from Crater Lake. It is now Sunday morning. Yesterday afternoon I called the ranger station to let them know we wouldn’t be there last night so they could let it out for one night if someone wanted the site. I missed calling them in time on Friday and I was afraid I might lose the whole reservation. We had the site reserved for three nights. Setting up a tent for the one night remaining will be a chore so I’m looking into other options?

The original plan was to head up to Portland, Oregon for two nights after Crater Lake, only thirty minutes from Diamond Lake. I’m wondering if we should somehow camp for fewer places and spend more time at each place. I’m not sure if I did good planning? It has been awhile since I’ve had to do this much planning for quite some time.