Friday 8th October - Quincy to Crater Lake

Several participants had decided not to take the final leg of the tour to Crater Lake, so they departed for home this morning. We say goodbye and safe travels to Glen and Georgia, and Phil and Tom. The remaining 7 cars departed from Quincy around 8am, as it was to be a long drive.

The first leg of the drive from Quincy to Susanville passed through much of the area devastated by the Dixie fire which started more than two months ago, and burned close to one million acres. There were multiple traffic stops along the way caused by the cleanup crews felling trees, and removing other debris. 

Waiting for the pilot truck to lead us past more of the Dixie clean up

The debris had already been cleared here, but the blackened trunks remain standing

Here the burned tree trunks have been cut and hauled down to the roadside for removal

The repeated scene of vast areas of destroyed forest was disturbing enough, but we then drove through what remains of the small town of Greenville. The center of the town was almost entirely destroyed.

After leaving the areas affected by the fire, we ran into a couple more delays due to extensive road works. As a result, we arrived in Susanville close to 2 hours behind schedule. Dierdre and Norman set off for home from this point - safe trip home. Since sticking to the original itinerary would have caused us to arrive at Crater Lake after sunset, we decided to omit the visit to the Lava Beds National Monument so we could enjoy Crater Lake. The drive north on CA-139 was enjoyable and largely devoid of any other traffic.

A pit stop on the way to Crater Lake - note Michael Jenkins' Escalade

Michael Jenkins used his third vehicle for this leg of the Oil Leak - a record. Many have used 2, but three is unprecedented!

We reached Crater Lake around 4:30pm. The sky was clear and the blue water of the lake as blue as ever. Some took a short hike, while others just enjoyed the view from the Lodge.

View from our room at the Lodge - hard to beat!

The Lodge stands on the rim of the caldera of the collapsed volvano

The last berries of summer by the Lodge

The Lodge closes for winter in a few days, and some of the other facilities were already shut down for the winter. Unfortunately, COVID-19 restrictions meant the Lodge was only open to registered guests, so our final dinner of the trip was smaller than planned. At the end, we all said our farewells and hope to see each other on future Oil Leaks. Our heartfelt thanks go to Kjell for planning this adventure, and we wish him a speedy recovery from his injuries.

PS:

Before heading for home Saturday morning, Debbie and I took a few photos of Crater Lake for everyone to enjoy:

Sunrise over Crater Lake - I guess that's a thin layer of ice on the surface

A short drive on the rim to see the "Phantom Ship" - an island at the edge of the lake

Still signs of the heavy frost on the card after a 20 minute drive

Safe trips home everyone, and thank you all for making this another great Oil Leak!