Home, Sweet Home (and a Stop at Bend)

Sunday, June 7th, was the last day of our amazing roadtrip across Amer'ca. We started realizing we had to work the next day and mild dread and plots to run away to Canada or Texas spontaneously occurred throughout the day.

I slept hardcore at Diamond Lake, and both Web and I agreed that sleepinging in the outdoors feels so much better than indoor sleeping. I'd agree more fully if it hadn't been super cold that night in tent that isn't very well insulated.

However, due to a combination of Sunday's Day of Rest implications and 8 days on the road (and possibly drugged olives) I passed out in the car most of the day and didn't record much by way of film or photographs. Documentary fail. Web accounts I was very passed out and slippig into dream sleep cycles quick. At some point I had a nightmare about a centipede and scared myself awake.

When I woke up, we had made it to Bend, OR. A little out of the way, yes, but we figured downtown might have something cool to do. As it turns out, Bend isn't interesting at all, despite being the largest city in Central Oregon. But we did find a Sonic for lunch, Web's first Sonic. For those of you that haven't seen the savory teaser commercials on TV, Sonic is America's drive-in and they have a plethora of choices of food and drinks:


We got some grub for the road:

home
Mmmmmm, limeade:


Mmmmmm, jalepeno burger:


Mmmmm onion rings:


After Sonic, which was a tasty meal, we headed towards my hometown of Vancouver, WA. Again, I must have slipped into a deep food coma or Sonic's secret sauce is roofies, because I was out cold until we got well into Washington state.

I'd like to proudly point out how that our state route signs are the profile silhouettes of a bust of Geroge Washington's head. They are cute:


Also, that the people of the Northwest have adapted to live in a climate without sunlight, much like bats and small albino cave-dwelling animals on Planet Earth:


In the Hazell Dell neighborhood of Vancouver, WA, where I am from and where my mother and brother live, there is a cornocopia of fast food joints, used car lots, strip malls, and big box stores. In fact, it reminds me of Cincinnati. Except we have an awesome fast food burger joint called Burgerville with seasonal milkshakes and the option of veggie burgers:


If you ever visit my next of the woods, you should try a Tillamook cheeseburger and a shake.

We got to my mom's house and unloaded all my stuff into the house. I took a much needed shower after conversating with my family for a bit. Web and I then joined his parents, also Vancouverites, for a homemade dinner. Yum yum. I have met the majority of the Web clan in a matter of 9 days, incredible.

Crater Lake & Diamond Lake Camping

We got into Crater Lake National Park in Oregon in the early evening of Saturday. The elevation got a lot higher, and we got a lot colder, since apparently snow at Crate Lake doesn't melt by early June. But here is the crater, the lake inside, and Wizard Island:


I have memories of Crater Lake from when I was a kid in the summer. We must have visited much later in the year, since it was hot and not just a few degrees above freezing. Crater Lake was formed by a volcanic eruption and the collection of water overtime. So the bacteria in Crater Lake are totally different since they have been isolated for so long. It is also one of the deepest lakes in the world.

Web took an unflattering picture of me in from of the lake, I look like I have Down's:


And my picture of him turned out a lot better:


The views are nice in the Cascades, one of the reasons why Oregon is better than every other state.


This peak was really high:


Crater Lake has a long way to go until the snow melts...


And another pleasant snow landscape:


We camped at Diamond Lake that night, just north of Crater Lake. Real camping, no KOAs. It was also swarming with bugs and was freezing cold. I actually wore 4 layers of shirts and 2 layers of pants to bed, and a hat! Here is the lovely abode:


And we made a sweet campfire and roasted wieners over it and tossed back a couple brews:


And we were starting to get a little sad since this was our last night on the road, nearing the end of our grand cross-country adventure.