Oregon Trip- Day2

On Friday, after a sumptuous breakfast of fruit, strata, potatoes and biscuits with juice and coffee, we left for Crater Lake.

The first part of the drive was along the Upper Klamath Lake. As we started the climb towards the crater, the level of snow started increasing... after a while, the road completely disappeared from view and the trees were heavily laden with snow. It looked just like in the movie 'The Chronicles of Narnia' .. except there was no white witch here :-)

The visitors center and all other activities at the lake were closed for the season, but there were about 15- 20 vehicles when we reached the top of the crater. There were a couple of feet of fresh snow, and when we trodded through this, we saw the deep blue lake ahead of us... It was very chilly and even though we put on all our jackets and caps, we were still shivering. Also, since the snow was fresh, it was difficult to judge where the rim would end and the drop to the lake would begin!! Most of the people there were well equipped for the weather, with snow suits and snow shoes... unlike us. So we quickly took some pictures and then got back on our way.

As we started our descend, we were relieved to see a snow plough removing the snow from the road. But the drive was still pretty scary and we drove very cautiously. For a while, the snow began to reduce, and then all of a sudden, it increased!! We were confused and worried if we would have to put on our snow chains, but fortunately, past Diamond lake, the snow once again began to reduce. Once all the snow had disappeared, the drive was very enjoyable. We drove right by the North Umpqua river, through the green mountains.

We reached Roseburg around 4:30 and checked into our room at the motel. There was a JCPenny in the same complex, so we did a little shopping... It was Black Friday after all!! (The Friday after Thanksgiving is called Black Friday because of the unbelievably low prices on merchandise.. it's the biggest days for shopping)

For dinner, we went to Wagon Wheel. It is a cozy restaurant. The food was decent and the service was very warm. We liked their after mint the best!!

Click here for pics of Day2