7-3-17

The sun was up long before my 6:30 alarm. We were cozy warm in our sleeping bags and the temperature was around 44 degrees. The showers were supposed to open at 7 so we took our time getting up and gathering our clothes for the day. We drove up to the campground entrance to find that because of a water shortage, there were no showers available. I was a little disappointed but we must adjust so we dressed and walked over to the restaurant for a breakfast of pancakes and eggs. We learned at breakfast that because of the hard winter and the snow Crater Lake has had, the boats on the lake were not scheduled to open until 7-7 which means we are too early. 1/3 of the rim drive isn't open and most of the trails are still snowed over. We had to readjust our plans for the day. 

After breakfast we drove up to the Steel Visitor center. We arrived at 8:10 and it didn't open until 9:00 so we killed time by taking the Lady in the Woods Trail. This is a short Trail highlighting the building and how they integrate into the park as well as to a rock that a guy carved into a lady relaxing. We took a picture and then went back to the car to grab our extra jackets because it was still cold. 

Finally in the visitor center we watched the park film, Lorelei finished her junior ranger and we got some advice on things to do. We haven't had a day in the last 25 where we didn't have a jam packed schedule so the idea of just sitting around and relaxing while appealing is very foreign. We finished up there and drove up to the Rim visitor center so Lorelei could attend a ranger program and we could see the views. 

We walked along the Lake and then sat on the wall overlooking it waiting on a special ranger program about how the volcano became a crater. Then we drove the rim and hiked a little on the trails that were available. Due to the heavy snow this year almost nothing was clear if snow. We ate lunch at an overlook about 1:00 and decided we didn't want to kill the rest of the day waiting around with nothing to do so we went back to our tent and packed up. When we took our tent down we found that the tent pole I mended with duct tape the night before was snapped in two. We headed towards Lava Beds National Monument and when we got cell service we booked a room for the next three nights. We are done tent camping. We did it for 23 days, putting it up and taking it down at least 21 times. It has two patches, two broken poles and we are heading into the heat of California. 

We got to Lava Beds with 45 minutes for Lorelei to do her junior ranger before they closed. We just squeaked it in and then went on two short Lava cave hikes afterward. We pulled in to the Big Bear Diner for a nice dinner and then laundry and a little bit of route adjusting for the next few days before going to bed around midnight.