September 2: No Place Like Home

The raw power, the speed, the ease with which My Baby hugs the corners – I couldn’t help laughing with joy as my Harley and I swooped around the curves behind Government Camp on our way back from Crater Lake today. As we headed west the setting sun created a bright orange sphere cradled by the evergreen trees of the Mount Hood National Forest. There truly is no place like home.

Heading south this morning my mouth watered with anticipation thinking of my breakfast in Creswell – a bacon ciabatta sandwich with a runny egg, home smoked bacon, Tillamook cheese and a fresh ciabatta roll slathered with butter.

After a delightful meal basking in the sun at the picnic bench in front of the bakery, I headed east on Cloverdale Road and then highway 58 past the sparkling blue waters of Lookout Point Lake. The road twisted and turned, and the air grew markedly cooler as the elevation reached 3,000 then 4,000 and finally 5,000 feet near Odell Lake.

I headed south on highway 97 then East on highway 138 to the north entrance of Crater Lake National Park. Even though I have been to the park several times, my jaw still drops every time I catch my first glimpse of the vivid glistening waters of the lake stretching out into the horizon from the edge of East Rim Drive. Fed by rain and snow, Crater Lake is the deepest, bluest, clearest lake in the United States and one of Oregon’s greatest treasures.

Although the East Rim Road was closed at the Cleetwood Cove Trailhead for road construction I was able to stop at Pumice Point on the east end as well as Merriam Point further to the west to gaze out at the pristine volcanic body of water as well as Wizard Island, a striking volcanic cinder cone.  

The drive out of the park was beautiful in its own right, with deep red and orange desert flowers creating a lovely contrast with the sun-drenched bleached grass on the side of the road. The green ponderosa pines in the horizon and bright blue sky dotted with white clouds above completed the color palette.  

I stopped in Bend at Jackson’s Corner for a fantastic dinner with one of the best appetizers ever. My heirloom tomato dish included fresh mozzarella, local cucumbers, sweet peppers, shaved onion, ginger-garlic sauce, and sweet herbs. I literally tipped my bowl up to make sure I got every drop.

Full of good food and happy memories, I drove north on highway 97 and then west on highway 26 through the Mount Hood National Forest, enjoying many different views of Mount Hood as the setting sun created an amber glow on its rocky face. I am so glad to be home.