Day 41 (July 14) Nothing, Nothing, Absolutely Nothing

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Yep. That's exactly what we did today.  Dot slept in till almost lunch and I worked on the webpage. Wifey made some killer mac & cheese for dinner and we had some ice cream for dessert. Oh, and we watched the NBA Finals.  Go Phoenix!!!

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The skies were a lot clearer than yesterday so maybe we will get out tomorrow!

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Day 42 (July 15) More Nothing . . . Well, sort of . . .

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We have decided that this week (our last) is a "Vacation" from our vacation . . . Dot had a couple of spa treatments and we went into town to shop for groceries for the remainder of our trip.  We also got the roadster a "Spa" treatment too.  Now she looks all shiny and new inside and out!

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Day 43 (July 16) My turn!

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Today I had my day at the spa.  Had a hot stone massage and a facial. Tomorrow we meet up with another friend from choir.

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Day 44 (July 17) Of Cows, Nibbly's, Capt. Jack, and a Frosty Freeze

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Today we walked down to the intersection where the road to our condo meets the main road at our resort and met a former choir member and her new hubby of two years.  Rick and Julie Norris-Rodgers decided that they would drive and we would be their guests for the day.

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They picked us up around 11am and we headed out on roads around Klamath Falls.  Our first stop was at 200 acres that Rick owns and is grazing the bulk of his cows here.  There were several females and their calves and a couple of bulls.  Most were pretty skiddish but a few came up and took biscuits out of our hands.  Dot even got to pet one of them.  Julie had one there that she had rescued from the vultures and that cow was clearly in love with Julie. He was rubbing his head on her and she was able to rub her down all around her neck and head.

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We then stopped for lunch at Nibbley's in Klamath Falls.  When Rick lived here this was his favorite restaurant. The lunch was delicious as was the decadent dessert. 

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Our next stop was a drive to the Lava Beds National Park. This place is about 30 miles south of Klamath Falls and is in the Tule Lake area of California.  It is historically known for Modoc War of 1872-73. We parked near the center of the former conflict took the short hike of about a half mile which took us about an hour. Because of a fire here last year most of the markers are missing along the trail and we did not have a map to follow.  There were a lot of lava rock strewn along the path which made it difficult for this foursome.

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Our last stop was a Frosty Freeze for some refreshing fruit freezes and then we headed back to the condo.  It was a busy but productive day and we made new friends with Rick and hope we can make it back up soon!

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Day 45 (July 18) A lake in an old volcanic crater

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Today we decided to get one last excursion in before heading for home.  We decided that a visit to Crater Lake was a must.  The last time i was here I only remember it was the Fourth of July and the road around the crater being trimmed on each side with ten foot high snow walls!

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That certainly wasn't case today.  We had nearly perfect weather with just a hint of smoke from the multiple fires around the state.  It took about an hour to get there complicated by me needing to gas up the car so we could get home. So, when we pulled into the one and only gas station only to find that they didn't have the required octane for my car was a bit of a letdown and a concern.  Thankfully, the clerk informed that most marina's in the area do have what I was needing and soon we were pumping gas from a nearby resorts tank. The only negative being the cost per gallon which was $10.1 and filling my tank was just short of $100! 

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When we finally reached the kiosk, it was after noon and after waiting for 30 minutes to get into the park, we were rewarded with some amazing views. Crater Lake is the most bluest lake we have ever seen. Dot compared it to the Caribbean waters from our last Anniverary Tour (2016).  The reason for that is because there are no inflows or outflows here.  Only rain and snow melt are it's contributors and the "bathtub ring" around the lake pretty much did not exist indicating the the lake was as full as it would get until the spring runoff next year.

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Also, if you can imagine an ancient volcano suddenly exploding and blowing over 2000 feet of top and then continuing to erupt until it had basically sealed the entire bowl allowing it to begin collecting holding water and you pretty much have the lake got it's name. Over more time we have left on this earth, it is quite possible that the lake level could rise from it's current depth of nearly 2000 feet. Sadly, the drought we are currently in will not help to make that happen.

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After spending some time in the gift shop for those last mementos, we headed for our condo, topped off the tank and started packing for tomorrow's trip home.

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Day 46 (July 19) The fantasy ends, real life begins anew

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We woke up early to basically finish this blog, had breakfast, packed the car one final time, and headed for home around 8am. We plan to make one more stop at Dot's brdothers house for a short visit and should be home before dinner.  Praying that the fires along our route do not impede our goal of home and some good sleep in our own bed tonight.

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There will be one more page to this site which will take a few days to do in which we will have some final thought about the trip as a whole.  Stay tuned!