Altamont

This morning started off well. I packed up and rolled about 07:30, grabbing "clear" (no additives or ethanol) premium 92 octane fuel and breakfast at the corner store. Then I headed north, slowly climbing in elevation towards Crater Lake National Park.

Around 09:00, I began hitting clouds, which were misting, but not enough to put my rain gear on. I did, however, stop to put my heavy gloves on. The temperature was dropping and, even with the heated grips, my fingerless gloves weren't enough.

Another couple of thousand feet and I was wet, cold, and ready to not be rising to Crater Lake. But I kept going. As I watched the snow banks getting deeper, I wondered if I should be riding on the wet road because of black ice, but the Park Service lady assured me the temperature wasn't supposed to drop until it would snow on Sunday 😳. Okay.

So, I kept going, higher and higher, through the avalanche area that was still heavy with snow, up to the Visitor Center on the rim of the Crater. Of course, the entire Crater was filled with cloud, and because of the snow along the edge of the rim, the sidewalks were either closed or buried, so I didn't actually get to see Crater Lake this year. I did get my passport stamp though, so check a 19th state off the list. Yippee.

Although the Rim Road and North Entrance we're open today, I had had enough and backtracked out of the West Gate and turned south to go north. I was headed for Bend, but decided to go into Klamath Falls for gas. I'm was wet and cold, but drying and warming, so when I found a Loves truck stop, I stopped for a out 2 hours to eat, make some calls, send some emails, and look for lodging.

I found a tent site at the nearby KOA for 2 nights, and another 2 nights at the KOA near Bend, so my weekend is set.

Right now I'm sitting in the KOA store/office with my computer adding photos to and getting caught up with these posts. I'm not sure what I'll be doing tonight, but I'll be warm and dry doing it 😉.

Update: I had chicken korma and garlic naan at an Indian place in downtown. Yum 😋!

So long [for now], and thanks for all the fish! ✌️

Day 91 mileage: 155.9 (total 21248.5)
HD Dealerships: 0 (total 195)
National Parks: 1 (total 39 in 19 states)
10 Rides for 2022: 0 (total 5 of 10)
MCGTTX Stops: 0 (total 23 of 50)Read more