Shasta Caverns, Crater Lake, and Oma

As with many other people in the US, Connor had a three day weekend for Labor Day. We around different ideas until we realized that we could see Oma. Connor and I last saw her in January and I had hoped we could visit her again after we were married. Mum had said she wanted to go up, so quick arrangements were made with my aunt and uncle and away we went. Of course we thought we'd do some sightseeing on the way up. Mum and I had talked about going to the Shasta Caverns for some time and Mum thought this trip would be a perfect opportunity to finally go for it. 

You can see how bad the drought is here in California. The treeline is where the water ought to be.

After purchasing tickets we walked down a long and dusty path, got on a boat, and crossed Lake Shasta.

After disembarking we piled onto a bus and drove up and up and up.

The view was fantastic. It was hard to believe that we started out on the other side of the lake.

Then we toured the caves. Mum had been before as a child and she didn't mention that at the end of the tour you enter a large cavern called the Organ Room. It was breathtaking. Once upon a time it was used as an Oddfellows meeting spot, long before paths were cleared and tours were given. And honestly, if you saw the way people used to go in, it was obvious why it was a place for secret meetings.

Connor is wearing his new Angel Island shirt

We got in pretty late, so we didn't see Oma until the next day. As usual, we surprised her. Later on she told us she didn't want to change her shirt because our hugs were still on it.

After a nice visit with Oma, we decided to go to Crater Lake. Connor had seen it in a previous blog post and wanted to visit himself. The crowds were legendary, so Aunt Janet and my Mum told us to get out and enjoy ourselves while they looked for parking. As soon as he saw the lake, Connor exclaimed, "It's like I'm in your blog!"

We got a few more doodads for the future patch project. I already had a Crater Lake patch, so we got a magnet for the fridge instead.

Since the trip, we've taken it easy. After three straight weekends of fun and adventure, we decided to spend time playing Super Mario Sunshine instead. We'll probably keep playing until the urge of adventure is overwhelming once again.

Crater Lake

I have been all over the place in the last two weeks and it doesn't look like it will let up any time soon. I was in Davis saying goodbye to friends and helping one pack up her house for moving day. Next week I'll be volunteering my time at a youth camp. But in between I went up to Oregon to visit my Oma. She's not been well, so I wanted to be sure to say goodbye before leaving for New Zealand. We had good, long visits. 

One of the days we were up there, we went out to Crater Lake. On the way we stopped by a natural bridge. The Rogue River briefly disappears as it shoots through a lava tube! It's pretty neat to see, but hard to capture in a photo. Below you can see the river entering the lava tube.

As we continued our way to Crater Lake we stopped again to see the Rogue Gorge, which is where the canyon narrows and water rushes by at a tremendous speed.

The power of the water is amazing to watch. This log had gotten jammed near the entrance to the gorge and water was spraying up into the air as it pressed into the wood.

After doing the two little hikes, we stopped at the lodge at Crater Lake for lunch. Afterwards, my aunt told us to go enjoy the view while she paid the bill. A fellow knitter stopped me and asked about my Pente sweater. (Id' finished weaving in the ends that morning, but hadn't blocked it yet.) It's always a good day when you get to talk about knitting.

I made sure to get my jumping photo in. Once again, I remembered to tuck my shirt in first.

It was cool and crisp up there, but that made it better sweater weather. Just before we left, Mum wanted to do a selfie. (Mum is not the most tech-literate, so I can't help but giggle when she says something like "selfie") She did a pretty good job getting us all in the frame.