Crater Lake and Bend, Oregon

On Tuesday 1/2/18, we woke up early to start the drive to Crater Lake National Park. We left Portland at 6 am and made it the park around 11, so it was quite the drive! We were worried the whole time about the weather at the lake, as there's only visibility 50% of the time during the winter. The day before had been beautiful and sunny, but the forecast was mostly cloudy for Tuesday. We kept checking the webcam on the NPS site, and once the sun rose, we could see that it was going to be a great day! But the drive was long, since the north entrance to the park is closed during the winter, so we had to go around to the west entrance. 

When we made it to the park, we stopped at the first visitors center accidentally, then went the rest of the way up to Rim Village, where the second visitors center is. We were planning to rent snow shoes, but once we talked with the rangers there they suggested we didn't need them! There hadn't been new snow in days and so many people had been walking the trails that the snow was packed down for most of it. We were glad to save some money (since we had forgotten our national parks pass and had to pay to get into the park :/ ). 

We added a few layers, ate our Subway sandwiches and started our hike along the the rim of the crater. It was a sunny, beautiful day, and so warm, around 45 the whole time. The snow was tough to hike in, as it would seem steady for a few steps and then all of a sudden, you would fall through down to your knee! It was a battle making it up the rim, but we were able to go three miles to Watchman overlook. We were planning to hike up Watchman Peak, but the trail was completely covered in snow! So instead we just enjoyed the view and turned around (of course, not until Nick slipped and literally almost fell off the edge. It was hands down the scariest moment of my life, probably his too).

This was around noon, you can see the change in light on the lake as time goes on! 

Yes of course Nick needed to walk out onto this point.... I was very cautious!

This was a long stretch of uphill! Just had to photograph it in an attempt to feel better about how hard it was.

Nick videoing a rock he threw down this ledge

Took this while telling him to GET OFF the ledge!

This was looking down where Nick almost died. I couldn't get a good picture of it, but it was basically straight down and very windy. So scary!

So then we made the three mile hike back to the visitor center. It was really nice because it was all downhill! And the snow was a little bit better since it had been in the sun. By the time we got back to the visitor center we were pretty exhausted! But it was great timing for the sunset, and just enough time to ask the rangers for directions to Bend, where we were staying for the night. We didn't have service anywhere near the park, so this was sort of important!

Beautiful Wizard Island and Crater Lake at sunset

Nick and his antics...he built this so he could throw a snow ball at it and record it with the GoPro, haha! 

Then we made a 2 hour drive (Crater Lake is really out of the way) to Sunriver, a little resort town outside of Bend. We made it to our Airbnb after we grabbed some dinner at the nearby Pub and brewhouse. It was actually our first time choosing a pub for dinner, but we were so glad we did! We weren't sure we were dressed well enough to go anywhere else (coming straight from our 3.5 hour hike), but our airbnb host later suggested we eat there. Our airbnb was the BEST! We were so tired and just needed a good shower and a good nights rest (I'd caught a cold by this point), and it was exactly what we needed. We felt very blessed for such an amazing day!

The next day, we slept in and then explored the town of Bend. I had planned to either snow shoe or cross country ski for the day, but both Nick and I were exhausted and didn't feel up for either. It didn't help that the sun didn't shine at all and it was below 30 all day! We had also planned to do a few hikes in the area, but we just totally pooped out! So we went and walked around the awesome REI at the Old Mill mall, since it's in an old mill building and was really neat! Then, we went and looked around McMennigans, a random hotel/pub/restaurant/soaking pool/ movie theater that we always get told about when we ask for recommendations for things to do in Oregon. We had lunch there- delicious, tried fondue for the first time and loved it- and looked around at their soaking tubs. Such a randomly eclectic place! But still fun. Then, we walked down to Drake park and walked along the Deschuetes River. It was really too cold to be out for very long, but it was absolutely beautiful! Our airbnb host had told us there hadn't been any snow in Bend for 2 weeks, which was unheard of for the area. But since it was so cold, there was incredible frost on all the trees! Even the drive home was beautiful!

Even though it was so cold, the frost on the trees made it worth it! So beautiful!

So then we started the 3 hour drive home, through the mountains and some neat towns (note to self: visit Sisters in the summer). Fortunately, the weather was still clear, so we had no snow or rain or ice to worry about. My only worry was Nicholas' comments about being first in the long line of cars driving down the mountain! I kept reminding him it wasn't snake, or Mario cart... but we got home safely and without any problems. It was a great trip! We hope we can make it back to Bend in the summer!