2018 Diamond Lake

Friday, July 20, 2018

We have had the RV in for service twice since our return from the 2018 Winter Get-Away trip. The first stop was to replace the damaged driver’s side slide-out cover and to repair the jack leveling system.

The slide-out cover problem was apparently due to a hit on the roller assembly. This may have happened when we tried to find a spot to park at one of the more remote RV parks. I remember trying to avoid some very low over-hanging tree limbs.

The jack leveling system had a burned circuit board. Its replacement cured the problem.

The second service stop was for a more serious problem. Every once in a while we would begin to drive away from a camping site and find ourselves being bounced high in our seats. The front airbags had not held their pressure and we were riding on their interior coil springs. It wasn’t both front airbags, but just the passenger side bag.

The technician at Freightliner Truck Repair likened the bad airbag to a tubeless tire. If the tire’s pressure got too low, the bead’s seal with the rim could come apart. Adding air may not recapture the seal. When this happened with the airbag stopping to recharge the system sometimes immediately resealed the bag. Sometimes, however, it didn’t. More than one recharge attempt needed to be made. When stuck on a busy highway this created a problem.

Freightliner replaced the one airbag. The thought was that this would also help level the front end of the coach with the road. The passenger side has always had a bit of sag. When addressing the secondary level problem, the technician discovered that two of the coach level adjusters were also bad. When it was all repaired the front still sagged about ¾ of an inch. The chassis was perfectly square with the ground, but the body sat low on the front right. Apparently this was an assembly flaw when Winnebago put the coach on the Freightliner chassis.

The reason for the service diatribe was that we had an appointment to meet with Judy and Bill Eller on Friday, July 20^th, at Diamond Lake RV Park. Anne had booked reservations for a site many weeks earlier. We would spend a long weekend with the Eller’s.

Judy and Bill were married a couple of years ago. Judy, formerly Judy Mooster, has been a longtime friend and a once favorite tennis partner for Anne. Judy converted from tennis to pickleball when she moved to St George, Utah. Anne has also made a conversion to pickleball.

Judy and Bill have done extensive travel since their marriage. They are using their 5^th wheel camper to visit spots in the NW. On their way back to St George, they planned a stay at Diamond Lake. While there, they will make the short drive to tour Crater Lake National Monument. There is a lot to see in this once active volcanic stretch of the Cascade Range.

The July morning was warm with a sky filled with smoke. As the sun rose in the east it shone through the overcast with a bright orange glow. The valley temperatures have been over 100 degrees for the past week. Recent evening lightning strikes have set fires in the forests of the Siskiyou Mountains, to the south of Medford. When the valley winds are favorable, you can see the columns of gray smoke rising several miles into the sky. Rarely have we gone through a summer without sharing some of it with a nearby forest fire.

As we drove past Shady Cove and higher into the mountains, we wondered if, and when, we would break clear of the smoke. We had driven past Union Creek, and past the turnoff to Crater Lake. The highway was beginning its windy up and down course alongside the originating waters of the Rogue River. At a few places, the water would disappear. It found a path through a bed of lava left behind from the eruption of Mt Mazama, 10,000 years ago.  That eruption left behind the enormous caldron which formed Crater Lake. The young ripples of the river looked crisp and bright. Without realizing it, we had driven past the smoke of the lower valley.

   We checked in at the Diamond Lake RV Park office at around 1:30pm. The Eller’s had recently checked in, too. We were assigned site A2, Judy and Bill were in site G2. I was setting up the satellite TV antenna when I noticed a couple walking past. They were taking interest in our coach. It was Judy and Bill. They knew it was our bus as Judy had recognized the Oregon and the Oregon State stickers I had placed above the tail lights.

We visited for a while and we made plans to reconnect at our site after dinner. The evening was busy with conversation and with the playing of Dominoes. At the end of the evening we made plans to meet them at their site at 10am. We would use their Chevy pickup to drive to some of the nearby waterfalls.

Diamond Lake is at the base of rounded Mt Baily to the west and of the spikey volcanic remains of Mt Thielsen to the east. The lake’s edge created a highway junction between Hwy 230, coming from the western junction to the Crater Lake Rim drive, and between Hwy 138 coming from Roseburg to Crater Lake. Highway 138 travels through the Umpqua National Forest, alongside Clearwater Creek which feeds into the Umpqua River; collectively on their way to the Pacific Ocean.

As Clearwater Creek finds its way down the mountain sides to the Umpqua, it has created several majestic photo and picnic opportunities at nearby waterfalls. The first falls along the highway is Clearwater falls. We found two trails which led to the waterfall. One crossed the creek and led up and into the forest. Its path followed the crystal clear waters as they filtered over stones and under and over long ago fallen trees. This is the trail Anne and I took. The other path was via a well maintained trail which led directly to a timber overlook of the falls. This is the trail Judy and Bill took.

When Anne and I reached the falls we were at its base, by the creek’s side. Across the creek and above us Judy and Bill waved. There were a couple of logs spanning the creek and one had been used to cross over to the overlook. The options were between a nasty uphill climb back the way we had come, or that of a Robin Hood adventure across the log to rejoin with the Merry Men.

Anne went first. As she crossed, I first noticed that she was basically just shuffling her feet along each side of the arch of the log. I don’t recall seeing her reach the other side. My thoughts were consumed with how I was going to mount the 3 foot high log, and how was I going to shuffle past that long stretch of rotted wood on the right hand side.

People were watching. When you are conscious of being off balance, you will be. I worked very hard to present an impression of stability as I hoisted my right foot up to pair with the left. I was on the log. Now I just needed to stand erect without falling off. Slow wasn’t getting it. I just stood up. “Don’t look down.” My eyes were focused on each foot as I began the shuffle across the log. The worse part was indeed the rotten 4 foot stretch on the right hand side. The bark was loose and I didn’t want my foot to slide off the edge. I was wearing my Aussie boots. They are very comfortable on the solid trail, but I had no experience with them on the smooth bare edges of logs. I didn’t know how much I could trust their grip. So I shuffled. What a relief. I made it without confronting Friar Tuck.

The view of Clearwater Falls was excellent from the vantage of the railed wooden overlook. The trail back to our pickup was simple, but the memory of the log crossing will outlive the view.

Our second stop was a Watson Falls, followed by a visit to Whitehorse Falls. The trek at Whitehorse was via a trail which climbed up to, and across the highway. It then was a mile long round trip climb. I begged off the hike and spent waiting time on the benches in the large parking/picnic area.

This was a very relaxing afternoon. The Douglas fir trees speared their way into the blue sky near the crystal clear waters from the falls. Ferns and mosses dominated when near the creek. The undergrowth was very dense. It was peaceful to see nature so pure and natural.

We were dropped off at our coach with plans to meet at Judy and Bill’s at 5:30pm for dinner. Anne worked on a stitching piece and I did some Sudoku puzzles. Later I went outside and retrieved my tray of obsidian and my knapping tools from their storage bin. I began forming the outline of a spearhead. Within a few minutes the noise from the knapping had attracted a chipmunk. The fuzzy little animal didn’t seem to mind me being there and it came up to my feet when I would chip on the obsidian flake. It must have been hearing a high frequency “chirp” which it related to.

Judy had prepared a salad and spaghetti dinner. I brought along a bottle of red. Following the meal Anne and I were introduced to the card game called Eucher (sp?). Eucher is Bill’s favorite card game. The play was unlike any we had experienced. The rules and scoring were confusing, but the actual 5-card hand was easy and trump based. Games went fast and it was an interesting experience. I will have to look it up on the net when we get home. The evening ended shortly after darkness came. We made plans for dinner at our RV tomorrow night. With torch in hand, we found our way back to site A2.

We had left smoky conditions home in Medford. So we had thought. Sunday morning we awoke to the familiar smell of nearby forest fires. We couldn’t see the source from the campground. We were told than the fire was on the eastern side of Mt Thielsen. Our hope is that the conditions won’t become as bad at Diamond Lake as they were in Medford.

After breakfast we walked to the edge of the lake. There is a large dock facility at the nearby pizza restaurant. We were told by a bike rider near the shore that there had been good fishing on the lake. Apparently Rainbow trout has once again become the lake’s dominant specie. We walked the dock and we rocked the dock as we went to its outer limb. There were a lot of boats on the algae clouded waters.

From the dock we followed a trail which led us to a lake side RV park. The views would have been much better when staying at this park. We walked away from the lake and back towards our own camp site. We discovered that the Diamond Lake RV Park is very extensive. It was nice to get back and sit down.

Chris has told us he may drive to the lake this weekend. When we left for our morning walk I had left the door unlocked. Chris had come and he had found the note I had left on the table. He left us a note in turn. Chris, Michelle, Elliot, and Tucker had come to the lake with a couple of large blow-up floating craft. Chris’ note told us they were on the lake fishing for shrimp. They would return soon. This was exciting news.

Judy and Bill had arrived to join us for cards and dinner. Anne wasn’t sure when she should begin cooking our meal. She didn’t know what Chris, etal, may want for dinner, and when they would arrive. We decided it would be good to put the meal off for a while and fill the time in with some pinochle. It was to be a killer match with Bill and Rob against Judy and Anne. We all played well, but the ladies won when Anne came up with a Shoot-the-Moon hand. If this declared hand took all of the cards, then the match was won. However, if a single trick was lost, then the guys would win. Shucks! Anne had the cards, and she played them faultlessly.  

A knock at the door said they had arrived. They were all a bit exhausted but eager to share their adventure on the lake. Two watercraft had been stuffed into Chris’ small Nova trunk. One was a large blowup swan and the other was a blowup unicorn. Using a car powered air compressor, they had inflated their floaties at the main docks by the Diamond Lake Lodge. Movement across the water was accomplished by hand paddling. We couldn’t see the lodge docks from the pizza docks. The sight of the two craft and their riders must have been a special treat for lake side visitors.

Anne crafted dinner while the rest of us visited. The menu presented hamburgers, beans, asparagus, and basil buttered salmon filet. The table was set for five and space on the floor was used by the rest. The meal was very nice. I surprised everyone when I asked for a toast to Anne; wife, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother, on our 51^st anniversary. The fact that I had remembered the date was applauded.

Chris, Michelle, and the boys headed for Medford as the sun was beginning to slide behind the tree tops to the west. It was fun that they had spent part of their weekend with us. Now, it was back to some serious card playing. Bill and I were not going to let the ladies get away with another win. A dozen more hands and the guys had indeed kicked some hinny. That was it for the night. Judy and Bill had reservations for a Crater Lake boat ride tomorrow and Anne and I would spend the afternoon at the lodge. They will pick us up at 1pm.

The morning sky was slightly overcast with smoke from the nearby fire. Anne and I kept ourselves busy for the best part of the morning. Around 11am we walked to the Eller’s site to visit. This led to a challenge for a few hands of pinochle. At lunchtime, we walked back to our RV.

As we drove out on the park road we noticed that the fire camp had grown much larger. Dozens of small tents had been put up and there were sleeping bags out in the open. Without a local news source, we didn’t know the scope of the fire problem. When we drove onto the cutoff to Crater Lake we soon began to drive past the miles of forest destruction which was caused by the fire of a year ago. Thousands of trees stood naked, exposing the timber cluttered forest floor to the day’s full sunlight. There was no evidence of any attempt to begin removing the standing dead.

There was no Ranger at the park’s entrance kiosk. Today was a freebie. At each crater rim overlook space for more visitors was limited. Upon driving into the rim village we needed to circle the parking lot to find a place to stop to let Judy out. She wanted to make final inquiry about where to be, and when for their afternoon ride around the lake. Bill then drove Anne and me to the lodge entrance. They would meet us at the lodge when they returned.

There is an open patio at the rear of the lodge. Tall back, wicker rocking chairs line the low railed wall which overlooks the crater rim. We found two chairs and settled in for stories and Sudoku puzzles.

I had brought my field glasses and with them I could get close up to the boat that occasionally passed below. The long and narrow tour boats are the only craft on the lake. They carry over twenty passengers. As large as these craft are, they still looked very small from the height of the rim. The rim tour boats go around the perimeter of the lake. A Ranger provides narrative of rim features and of the nature of the lake itself. The perimeter of the rim is about 33 miles.

The lake was discovered by settlers in the late nineteen hundreds. Its formation followed the volcanic explosion of Mt Mazama some 10,000 years ago. Around 1880 scientists lowered a boat to the water and used it to investigate the lake’s depth. They used metal fishing line with a weight attached to sound the bottom. They recorded the depth to be around 1,990 feet. This made Crater Lake the deepest lake in North America. In the early 20^th century, Crater Lake was turned into a national park.

Every lake is put on earth for one reason; for fishing. There were no fish in Crater Lake and the Park Service was concerned that visitors wouldn’t receive sufficient entertainment by just admiring the lake’s beauty. So, the service stocked the lake with salmon and trout. Crater Lake has the most chemically pure water of any American lake. What are the fish going to eat? The presumed problem was solved by stocking the lake with crayfish, which apparently some fish species find delicious. It wasn’t too many years later that scientists for the government discovered that the crayfish were consuming other natural habitants of the lake’s shallow edges.

The fish survive and fishing can be successful. There is no license required to fish the shore of Crater Lake and the limit to one’s catch is set by how much can be packed back up the steep trail to the top of the rim. The only caveat is that fishing must be done with non-organic lures. We were told that a recent catch netted a 12 lb trout.

Judy and Bill found us at the lodge around 5:30pm. Our dinner reservations were for 7 o’clock so; we had some time to kill. The crowds had begun to thin out and the smoke density had increased to the point that the lake was no longer visible.  The time went by quickly and we were called to be seated.

The restaurant had water/menu girls and it had a wait staff. There was a pretense that this was a high brow place. It could have been, in another setting, however, the guests were 100% tourist and they were tennis shoes and shorts casual. I mention this because the menu selection and pricing was perhaps more suited to a Manhattan evening club. This menu was definitely not designed for the clientele it served.  We found the soup and salad quite good, and filling. What we saved on the meal, we spent on the dessert.

The sun was on its last legs as we drove toward the rim’s exit. The sun was an easy to look at, perfectly round orange disk. The visit to Crater Lake had been pleasant. Since our last trip to the lake, the lodge has been remodeled and the nearby store has been removed and replaced. Perhaps the smoke was the reason there was a scarcity of chipmunks on the rim overlook ledges.  The visit didn’t seem the same without the chipmunks.

When Bill dropped us at our RV, we prepared dinner and began to stow things in preparation for tomorrow’s return to Medford. After dinner we met for a last round of Pinochle and a game of Phase 10; a pleasant way to end a wonderful day.

Tuesday morning we were ready to leave a little past 9 am. Judy and Bill stopped to say goodbye. They are going to visit Bandon on their way back to St George. The have had a wonderful and full several weeks of travel. It will be nice when we get to link up with them again.  Happy trails.

We reached Medford by 11am. After parking the RV we brought the Honda CRV to the coach and loaded it up with food and clothing. It was hot, smoky and muggy this morning. Not having to walk the returns was a good idea. It didn’t take either of us long to get back into familiar routines.

Solly, Gabe, and Anne’ are visiting us for a week, beginning this weekend. We have many things to do to get ready for their stay. We are both excited to see them.