Our last leg of our Oregon tour was Diamond Lake. Our first three campgrounds were all recommended by Oregonian natives and they were golden. This campground was listed as one of the top 100 family friendly national parks to camp at. One of the top 100 in the nation! It had to be good. Well, yes, in some ways it was good.
The scenery was stunning. It is a truly beautiful lake.
We found a really yummy pizza place that we rode our bikes to for dinner and pinball. Jonah means business with pinball.
Trav's highlight of the whole two weeks was his canoe ride with the kiddos. He loved their excitement and ownership of working together. I opted for a nap this afternoon, so they rode bikes to the marina and paddled back to our campsite. I woke up to the sounds of "Mom! Mom! Come look at us!!" They were so pleased with themselves.
Jonah also went with them but jumped out at the shore with me.
We then realized Jonah had to ride his bike back from the marina so we put him back in.
Not only was our campsite about 20 yards from the shore, but we had this lovely creek next door that we listened to going to sleep each night. I happened upon Jonah in his own quiet reverie. I would love to know what runs through his mind sometimes.
A few downsides to Diamond Lake. It was SO cold. We had some rain and drizzle all along our vacay so far and I kept promising the kids Diamond Lake will be so warm, it's Southern Oregon! Of course I never noted the elevation. As we pulled into the campground the kids exclaimed, "There's snow on the ground!!" And yes, there was. Unbelievable. The nights and mornings were especially cold and then it would warm up to the 70's low 80's during the day.
In addition to the cold we were EATEN ALIVE by the mosquitoes. It was miserable and we all came home with welts all over our arms and legs. Super annoying.
The Diamond Lake resort and Marina was a mile or two bike ride away on a lovely path along the lake. The resort itself though was really run down. It was sorely in need of a paint job, the beach we played on was kind of dirty, trash in the water, and the public bathrooms all had leaky toilets. There was an ick factor here hard for me to get over.
Back to the upside. This little playground was also a short bike ride away. We played till we couldn't handle the mosquitoes anymore.
If you enjoy fishing, perhaps Diamond Lake is one of your top 100 campgrounds in the country. There were lots of families happily out on the lake bringing in a ton of fish. Trav and I don't fish though.
We would definitely return to any of our first three campgrounds, but sadly, I think we'd be OK if we never came back to Diamond Lake:(
Back to the upsides. Crater Lake was only 40 minutes away, so we HAD to go. The kids were thrilled with so much snow in June.
She's a stunner folks. So so blue, it's surreal, and the reflection of the surrounding mountains in the water is gorgeous. I couldn't help but be in a stupor as I took it all in.
Here it is, the quintessential Crater Lake family shot. We queued up with the rest of the families for our turn. Loving my hair in this one.
We turned home after this pic and it felt SO good to pull into our driveway later that night, take a shower in our own bathroom, and sleep in our own beds. Yay for home!
We loved our Oregon adventure, and I know we'll definitely be making some return trips. I foresee Bend, and the Gorge as future camping destinations for us. But for next year it's Utah. My Lonely Planet Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park just arrived this week. Time to start planning...
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