Last Sunday we packed up and headed out on our last (and kinda only if you don't include baseball) trip of the summer. With Delta raging, there are lots of things we have wanted to do that just didn't seem worth the risk, but a trip to south/central Oregon where most of our activities would be out in nature was just what our family needed.
The first stop on the trip was Crater Lake. It's a good 4+ hour drive from here to Crater Lake and we got there later than we (I) wanted after a few stops along the way, but it was worth the wait. When we first arrived, the views were breath taking. It was hard to believe how clear and beautiful the water was. I read that it is because the lake has no water source that feeds it, so there is no sediment brought in. And, they don't allow any water craft in the lake, making the water in the lake cleaner than what comes out of your tap. I believe it.
After driving around for a while and stopping at several viewpoints, we reached the one place they let you hike down to the water and swim. I am not sure we were really prepared for the hike, but we weren't going to let the opportunity slip by. We hiked the over mile straight down and made it to the water. We sat on the dock and put our feet in. It was FREEZING. We had a contest to see who could hold our feet in the water the longest and then Merrick decided he couldn't let the opportunity pass him by without going for a swim. He slid in and swam around for a bit before deciding he had had enough. I, once again, couldn't believe how clear the water was and that I could see Merrick's body in the water as he swam around. Once we all had our fill, we hiked out, over a mile, straight up. It was a little brutal. Merrick was in pain from his frozen ears and Elsie definitely didn't want to walk. She walked some, I carried her on my shoulders a little, and Jeremy carried her on his shoulders a lot. Somehow we made it to the top. Once we got out I read on the sign at the top that we had just climbed the equivalent of 65 flights of stairs. Maybe we should have brought more than one water bottle, as I said, we weren't really prepared.
When we got out, we spent some time finding and connecting with Emily's family who finally arrived. Unfortunately, by that time, the smoke from nearby forest fires rolled in and you couldn't even see the water from the rim. We decided to leave shortly thereafter and went to our Airbnb in Sunriver and settled in for the night.
The next day we had a slow start to the day, we stayed around the house went into the hot tub. In the afternoon we went to the aquatic park in Sunriver. We had to be there early and wait in line and ended up being the last ones that made it in due to number restriction for Covid. It was a fun place with a lazy river and a few slides. The kids had a good time.
Our last full day, we went to Paulina Lake. We hiked around the lake to the hot springs on the other side. I have always wanted to go to hot springs and they didn't disappoint. The springs were right on the edge of the water. Some were tepid and others were HOT. It was awesome with them being right on the water though because you could make little inlets to the lake and bring in lake water to control the temp of your pool. After our hike back from the hot springs, the boys enjoyed doing some fishing, but didn't catch anything.
The next morning, Emily and fam headed out early. We stuck around town and did some bike/trail riding. I was impressed with Elsie's ability to keep up and with Carrigan's desire to try the trails. After our ride, we capped off our trip with hamburgers, fries, and milkshakes at a local drive in before heading home.
It was a great trip! We left planning to return next summer and I hope we can make it happen.
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