Next morning I rode up to Crater Lake National Park, reaping the reward of simply being on the planet for awhile as I flashed my new Golden Age Passport at the entrance station… I rode the long way around the lake, appreciating the bumpy original road even as I waited to pass through a section being replaced. The lake is a true gem, pretty much just seen at a distance, given the steepness of the sides of the crater that holds the lake.
The roads back down from 5’100′ at the lake to near sea level in the southern Willamette Valley is among the prettiest I have ever seen, with lush forest, streams and waterfalls along the way. I took one lesser road a solid black line on the road map but really a windy forest road, maybe a lane and a half wide and fifty miles long. At times I was sure that I had taken the wrong road and was heading up into the mountains rather than down and out of them.
One of several cascading waterfalls along the road.
And another. This falls is on the Clearwater River, which feeds the North Umpqua. A sign explains that the underlying lave is the filtering source of the exceptionally clear water that makes the river a spawning ground for steelhead and a “world-class fishery”.
I seldom see this original Smokey the Bear image any more.
After three days of riding and about 800 miles, I arrived at the fair Thursday afternoon, unsure what I would find but excited to be there and to finally experience this legendary event in my life.