A Tale of Two Mondays in Oregon
From shining sea to snow-capped peak in a week!
Oct. 5 - 8, Oct. 12-14, 2025
Oregon Coast and Crater Lake National Park
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” Proverbs 3:5
It was the best of times and the worst of times... Just kidding, our visit to Oregon was firmly in the best-of-times camp!
On Monday, October 6th, we departed Washington state just north of Portland and made our way down scenic highway 101 towards Carl G. Washburne State Park. The park is located in a beautiful sitka spruce and western hemlock forest just across the highway from the beach.
A gorgeous campsite and exacting test of trailer backup skills
The next day we hiked through the forest and out to the historic Haceta Head lighthouse, which was built in 1892 and still functions as a navigational beacon.
Instead of returning to our campground on the forest trail, we turned our hike into a loop by hiking north back on the beach. We passed a volleyball around, diverted streams draining to the ocean, and soaked up the sunny beach. The kids also found a King Bolete mushroom that was bigger than their heads!
Of course, Nate took a dip in the cold Pacific Ocean!
Our wonderful day was capped off with a stunning sunset.
The following day we visited a few interesting coastal locations such as Thor’s Well, a coastal peak, and some spectacular tide pools.
Thor's Well looks like a large bottomless sinkhole that drains the ocean but is actually a collapsed sea cave. Very cool, just be careful on the slippery rocks. Just three weeks before our visit, a man fell in and drowned.
We continued our southward coastal journey and stopped in Klamath, CA in between the three CA state Redwood parks and Redwood NP. We spent the next few days walking among the giant trees and were constantly left in awe of their size and majesty. More to come in a separate Redwoods post.
From Redwoods, we headed northeast back into Oregon and to a campground near Crater Lake NP. It rained all afternoon and night at our campsite, and the forecast told us that it was snowing at the almost 7000’ elevation of Crater Lake.
On Monday, October 13th, we knocked out school while waiting for it to warm up some and then headed up the mountain road around noon. We first encountered a light dusting of snow on the ground beside the road. As we climbed in elevation the the snow on the ground grew progressively deeper and then began to accumulate on the recently plowed road.
I kicked the truck into four-wheel drive for the last 10 miles to the summit. The storm clouds broke just as we approached the rim and treated us to this view.
For those unfamiliar, Crater Lake was formed when the volcano Mount Mazama violently erupted about 7,700 years ago, causing its summit to collapse. This collapse created a large, deep volcanic basin called a caldera. Over the course of thousands of years following the creation of the caldera, rain and snow filled the basin to a depth of 1,943 feet, making it the nation’s deepest lake. Crater Lake is considered one of the clearest large bodies of water in the world, with a visibility of up to 100 feet or more due to the fact that it has no inlets or outlets and is fed only by rain and snow.
We did a short hike along the rim of the caldera, threw snowballs, and had hot chocolate in the chalet. After an hour and a half on the rim it began to snow again. The lake was once again shrouded in clouds, so we headed back to the campground.
“That’s not a snowball, this is a snowball!” (In Crocodile Dundee accent)
Oregon left us marveling at the range and diversity of its beauty over 7 astonishing days. Safe to say, Mondays aren’t what they used to be!
Roberts on the Road
For those just finding us, hello! Inspired by the Year of Jubilee in Leviticus 25, our family is on a yearlong RV road trip in 2025-2026 to celebrate my husband’s retirement after 20 years in Naval Special Warfare, as well as our 24 years together during the ups and downs of it all.
With our 12-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son in tow, this trip to explore America’s national parks and beautiful places is intended to help our family reflect and reset as civilian life begins.
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For background info on who we are and where we’re traveling, we’d love for you to read the intro post. The full list of road trip blog posts can be found here. Thanks for stopping by!
