Oregon: Klamath Falls and Crater Lake

May 18, 2026: I was eager to get to Oregon. My plan is to spend most of the summer here, starting in the east and progressing west as the temperatures rise. I don't know if this plan will work since the coast of Oregon tends to be very popular in the summer, but I'm flexible. I might make some trips to Nevada and California to check out weather patterns and properties.

Yeah, I know Mt. Shasta (in the above photo) is not in Oregon, but it can be seen from Oregon! I loved looking at it every morning!

Klamath Falls is a real feel-good town with lots of everything: Walmart, Natural Grocers, Goodwill, library, shops, parks, auto mechanics, and a whole lot of very nice people. It doesn't have that creepy feeling like Eureka did. The downtown area is small, not overly crowded or traffic-congested. Too many shops have rental signs in the windows and there are an overabundance of bars and taverns, but it's not yet deserted like some. The weather was beautiful around 68 degrees during the day, but getting a bit chilly at night around 39 degrees. I made an appointment with the local, well-liked mechanic in hopes of getting Big Blue road-worthy and I ordered a rice cooker that will be delivered to Staples so I needed to hang out for several days.

May 19, 2026: I could have gone back to the Indian Tom Lake camping location on the California-Oregon, but I thought I'd try a few more sites, hopefully, without as many bugs. The first option was about to take me straight up a mountain dirt road for seven miles and I decided while looking at the turn-off that would not work. It's only been two weeks and I'm already tired of dirt! With my coolant leak and constant overheating, I avoid hills! One learns to adjust to the circumstances for survival!

The second option was another twenty minutes, but was right next to the Sprague River. Located in the woods right off a paved highway, the driveway in was short, but rough dirt with potholes and ruts about a foot deep. However, it was dry enough for me to negotiate with my 2-wheel, all-terrain tires going slowly and watching for the flat areas to keep the van balanced so it doesn't fall into a hole. Note: There are driving skills one must master while driving a van in the woods!

By looking around it was clear the locals use it with campfire rings, some garbage, and an amateur building site. I'm sure it's a good fishing location. Upon my arrival it was quiet and peaceful, but this is always a risk. I'd worry more if it was the weekend, but it's Tuesday. I switched sites for some unknown, instinctual reason and not an hour later a pick-up comes barreling down the dirt road, right over where I was parked and out the overgrown dirt road on the other side. I've learned to trust my instincts. The truck never made another appearance, but the next morning another van was parked in that first site.

I washed a bucket of dirty rags. I love these microfiber rags and use them for everything including waxing Big Blue every time I wash her. I'm loving Turtle Wax Spray & Dry because it tends to repel dirt! I've used other waxes that attract the dirt and make it stick. I don't like putting the chemically- soaked rags in with my dirty clothes so I keep them separate then handwash them as clean as possible before deep cleaning them at the laundromat. I like a campsite with trees so I can hang them to dry. This is hard to find in the desert. 

So the site was wonderful until it wasn't. At 2am I awoke to the smell of smoke. Hmmm...I wondered if someone built a fire in the other spot? Or a house nearby was using their fireplace, but there were no houses in the area? OMG! I hope it's not a forest fire? Maybe it's my imagination? During covid I had all kinds of phantom smells and one of them was smoke.

I woke up at 5am and the smoke was thick. I vaguely remember a "Smoke on Roadway" warning sign coming in, but never encountered smoke or I would have never stopped for the night. I decided to leave. Down the highway another sign "Prescribed Burning. Don't Report". So they burn and contaminate the air on purpose. Great. Isn't this how the British Columbia fire started last year which destroyed millions of acres? Just where I'd want to live! I know this is done to manage future forest fires, but it still stunk. It took driving twenty miles east to get out of the smoke. The van and my hair stunk for too long.

See the line of white smoke beyond the trees?

Back in Klamath Falls, I hiked the birding trail at Moore Park, and of course, got lost up in the suburbs. I took the first downhill right and ended up in someone's backyard. Yeah, well, that's nothing new. Went back to Indian Tom Lake for the next two nights. Each night RVs, campers or vans pulled in behind me.

The auto shop was a waste of time. Instead of telling me they couldn't do what I needed after I painstakingly and in great detail explained what I wanted, he just made the appointment, made me sit around waiting for days. He seemed like a bit of an idiot, very nice, nodding his head, and smiling too much which made me think he had no idea what I was saying, but I felt confident they could do something. It ends up the only thing they could do is an oil change and a very expensive tire rotation. I've sworn off dealerships because I think they are sleazy, but that seems to be my only option now. What a waste of time and money! I made an appointment for the Ford dealership in Medford. The dealership in Klamath Falls' first opening was in JULY!

But I did get my new rice cooker! Oh, I love it! The brand is Narcissus. I hope it lasts longer than the last two (Dash and Aroma), but this one doesn't have that cheap button-lever and instead has a digital menu. I made my first cooked meal in about two weeks with rice, chicken and vegetables. It was delightfully delicious! I think getting away from the invection cooktop will be healthier as I did too much sauteeing in olive oil. Olive oil has gotten really expensive!

May 23, 2026: Early the next morning I hiked Moore Park birding trail again. This time I didn't get lost. I met some dog-walking women who suggested I go to Crater Lake. I've heard of it and have seen photos, but couldn't remember why I knew the name. OK! Why not? It's on the way to Medford and I have several days until my next dealership appointment. Crater Lake was gorgeous. Reminds me of the Grand Canyon only a lake:

The blue is so vibrant and still it looks like one could walk on it.

I camped just outside the national park in the national forest. It's hotter here and the yellow pine pollen all over everything is suffocating. I kept waking up in the middle of the night not breathing. It must be the pollen. It's all over my van. Lots of mosquitoes.

Visited the Natural Bridge on the Rogue River. I wasn't sure what it was, but it was quite fascinating. The river runs through lava tubes so when the river is low enough you can see the tube hole openings in the rocks and the rock goes over the flow of the river through the tubes like a bridge. You can't walk on it since it's all fenced off. The cement path is nice and there are hiking trails around. There is a cross with the name "Sam" at the site. I tried looking up "Sam" at "Natural Bridge at Crater Lake" and found the story on an eight year old autistic child who was hiking with his father, ran ahead, and disappeared! Can you imagine the horror. I don't know if the cross is referencing the same Sam. How sad.

When I pulled into the Natural Bridge parking lot at 7am there was a van that had stayed the night so I thought that would be a good idea, on cement, bathroom nearby, no pine pollen everywhere. I planned to hike one of the trails the next morning. I parked for a couple hours then an RV pulled in. Right next to me. Of course. With the loudest generator on the planet! Ankle-biting rat dogs yapping out the window. The driver kept smoking walking away from his RV to not inconvenience his passengers with his stink, but strolled around my van. So absolutely thoughtless! I was hoping they were just stopping for a moment, but after a half hour I'd had it with the rude noise and air pollution. I drove about three miles up the highway back out into the woods. I always try to find spaces for one vehicle so I don't have to suffer the bad behaviors of others especially when they pull in late at night. This spot was nice, quiet, private, secluded and beautiful until the next day when the ATVs started racing up and down the dirt road. I really hate dust!

See Big Blue at the far end of the road?

The next morning, on to Medford for my van repair appointment!