Stuffed Stuff

Short Version:
A beaver and a cougar and a volcano and dairy gluttony

Long Version:
Left Lake Toketee with a bunch of new additions to our list of places to go ride, courtesy of Seattle folks Scott and Wendy and Fiona and Lulu, who arrived while we were asleep and were settling in for a couple of days' riding. They'd been en route to ride at Ashland - our next destination - but one of their friends had got there early, and had fallen from his bike and lost most of his teeth. We changed our plans and headed to California via Crater Lake instead.

A quick stop at the Toketee Ranger Station to confirm roads were open yielded viewings of a stuffed beaver and a cougar in a box, both of which were rather impressive. The cougar had really big feet. Armed with a bunch more pamphlets, we set off eastwards. Stopped and looked at several waterfalls but didn't go run up any, saw some pretty lakes and a weird-looking mountain, then paid our fee to a Ranger named Nanette and started up to Crater Lake.

Crater Lake is, like Lake Taupo, a bloody great volcano which has filled with water. Unlike Lake Taupo, Crater Lake is small enough (60m2 to Taupo's 240m2) that its craterness is obvious. Being atop a bloody big snow-covered mountain helps. The lake water was a stunning color, especially near the shores of Wizard Island and the submerged youngest volcanic vent, the Phantom Ship.

Drove down the southeast side of the mountain and into the Rogue River valley. Stopped for eating at a scenic gorge, then decided we had room to gorge and purchased ice-creams from a tiny shop. The shape of the salespeople should have been a clue, but observant me, left to collect the cones once completed whilst wife purchased drinks from the store across the road, didn't notice until handed the completed items just how much frozen dairyness had been crammed in to and on to each cone. Mine, a small cone, was bad enough, but some piglet had ordered a slightly bigger one, and what she got was basically a sugar-cone with a ball of ice-cream the size of a rockmelon perched on top. She made a valiant effort, but the sheer size of the thing, especially in combination with the filthy Dr Pepper* soft drink she'd bought had her feeling a little the worse for wear. Perfect time, then, for some winding road action down the Rogue River valley, across a couple of lakes**, and into Medford, where we found a Safeway*** and the sun.








* = This stuff is vile. Do not go there.

** = Americans not only build bridges across rivers, they do it across inconveniently-located lakes as well.

*** = And, therefore, free internet and delicious foods