We’ve stayed at Page Springs Campground for 5 days while waiting for a campsite to open closer to Crate Lake. We get to move on to Sunset Campground at Lake of the Woods on Monday (July 20) which is about 30 miles from Crater Lake.
It’s been an interesting stay at Page Springs. The sun is so intense out west, that I spend most of the time in the van or under the awning. I step out into the sun and I can feel myself starting to bake. It gets up to the high 80s or low 90s during the day, but my fan can move enough air to keep things comfortable.
Occasionally, a humming bird will buzz by the van and twice a day during the week F-15 fighter jets will scream overhead at low altitude. That was a big surprise the first time that happened. There is also a baby calf wondering the campground, though I’ve only seen it once.
Over the last three days, we’ve had to deal with smoke from wildfires caused by lightning strikes. Luckily, none of the fires are close enough to Page Springs to worry about. And the Oregon wild fire map is no longer showing the Garfield fire at Crater Lake, so I won’t have to deal with that!
A nice retired couple has been camping across the road from me. Maggie and Ron have been on several trips to the area and have been encouraging me to drive the Steen Mountain Loop. I was reluctant to do it in the van, so they invited me and Sam to join them on a drive today.
From the campground at 4000 ft, it doesn’t look like the road could possibly go up to 9700 ft, but it sure does! They took us to see Kiger Gorge and Wildhorse Lake. Both areas were formed my glaziers. There was still a bit of haze from the smoke, but definitely a worthwhile drive!
I’m getting restless, so it will be nice to head a bit north of Klamath Falls. I’ll be able to stock up on groceries and we can visit Crater Lake on Tuesday!