Tiller & Crater Lake

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Trip Start Sep 15, 2007 Previous
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  Crater Lake, Oregon, United States
Wednesday, October 31, 2007

After finishing our last enty we had to race to Medford to meet my dad for dinner at Shoji's. I was excited to see my dad, excited for Silas to meet him, and excited to eat at Shoji's! (When I was growing up my sisters and I LOVED Shoji's and I also worked at their restaurant in Bend when I was going to school there) We mapquested the route from Jacksonville to Shoji's, but we ended up getting lost anyway- I think it was because we thought the first 4-5 directions sounded really easy so we didn't write them down- whoops! Dinner was good- just as I remembered it. Afterwards we went out for coffee before heading to my dad's house in Tiller. (an hour away) I was really excited for Silas to see Tiller, but unfortunately that would have to wait till the next day because it was already dark by the time we got there. But I think he was still able to see that it's SMALL! The next day my dad wanted to take us out for brunch in Canyonville and we were trying to decide between going to Seven Feathers Casino or the Feed Lot. Silas got a funny look on his face when he heard us say that there was a restaurant called 'Feed Lot', so right away my dad and I decided that that's where we had to go. What better place to get a feel for the area than at a restaurant called Feed Lot!
On Tuesday we left Tiller and headed to Crater Lake, but not without making a quick stop at Phil's Frosty in Shady Cove! Phil's Frosty is an ice cream place that's been there since I was a little kid. I was telling Silas about how when I was a little kid and my family would be coming home from Medford I would alway pray that my dad would stop at Phil's Frosty so we could get ice cream. We almost never stopped there, but I always had hope in my heart every single time we'd drive past. Anyway, it was only about 10AM when we got to Shady Cove and Silas was embarrassed to be buying ice cream in the morning like that. I didn't think it was weird at all until the lady behind the counter dished up the ice creams and called out that they were ready. By that time there were like 3-4 other people in line and they all kind of snickered and one of them even said, 'Who's eating ice cream for breakfast?' But by god, I got my Umpqua ice cream and that's all that matters!
So once we finished our ice creams we made our way to Crater Lake. We were kind of worried about how much of it was going to be open and if there were going to be campgrounds and stuff, but the weather was so nice I kind of forgot about all that. I was really looking forward to Silas seeing Crater Lake- I grew up near there so I'd seen it countless times, but it was his first time. When we got there we were pleasantly surprised to see that there were very few other people there. It was definitely the least crowded park we've been to so far, it was really nice.
Crater Lake was looking as beautiful as ever. I think Silas really liked it, but I'll have to let him tell you what he thought for himself. We found a free campground just outside of Chemult and spent a COLD night there- our coldest so far. Now we're on our way to Bend, home of the Deschutes Brewery!!
Allison

It was nice to meet and spend time with Allison's dad, Wes, and see her childhood stomping ground, Tiller. It looked a lot like I had imagined from her stories. We spent most of the time going out to eat at local restaraunts and driving on different roads in the area. The first day after breakfast at "The Feedlot" in Canyonville, Allison took me to S. Umpqua Falls. The next day Wes gave us a tour of the Forest Service building where he works and the Tiller Forest Service museum. Allison, Wes, and I then took a drive to a place called "Colliding Rivers," where two rivers merge. Allison remembered it being very dramatic, so she really wanted to show me. It turned out to be not so dramatic. But it was a nice drive. After dinner in Roseburg we continued home on some backroads and saw the store from the movie, "Fire in the Sky". The best part of the visit was getting to see pictures of Allison when she was young. The pictures included the infamous hiking picture. The next morning we said our goodbyes to Allison's dad, and his cat, Andy and headed up to Crater Lake. The weather was bad when we left so I was afraid it would be snowing at Crater Lake, but it turned out to be really nice. We made a quick stop at Natural Bridge on the Upper Rogue and then went to the lake. I couldn't get over how blue it was. Definitely a beautiful spot. I'm glad we got to see it when the crowds weren't there. A big chunk of the road was closed so we couldn't see everything, but that just gives us an excuse to come back. Like Allison said, camping last night was cold! Being in the southern climates I think I started to forget that it's almost November and winter is setting in.
Silas

Post your own travel photos for friends and family Pictures

Allison's dad at the Feedlot	Silas at S. Umpqua Falls	Allison in the homeland	Stowaway Andy
Allison & dad	Upper Rogue	Crater Lake	Allison at Crater Lake
Allison at Crater Lake 2	Allison & Silas	Silas ponders the blue	Allison & Silas 2
Wizard Island	Allison at Crater Lake 3

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