You may follow along in our journey by visiting Julie's Journal page. It will include photographs, suggestions, mishap adventures and our experiences on the road and back-country trails.

If you would like to know more about the history of our adventure click here for the history page. How we planned, saved money, chose our equipment and prepared for ten months on the road.

These are some other web sites we found useful and/or have recpical links with.

Crater Lake National Park, Oregon and Oregon Caves National Monument, Oregon
May 18, 1999 to May 21, 1999

Written by Julie Hackler and Dave Fink

We drove into the park and noticed the closer we got in our 20 minute drive the more snow we saw on the side of the road. When we reached the park Fee Station the snow reached heights that towered above the top of the truck. We then realized that not much of the park was open due to the snow. But we decided to take a look at the lake anyway. We stopped at the Visitor's Center to be confronted with snow piled up to the second story windows of the buildings, the front door wasn't even visible. You had to enter through a side door for which they dug a snow tunnel. It was actually pretty neat. They accumulated over 640 inches of snow this year and over 130 inches were still on the ground. Only a portion of the Rim Drive was open but we did get a spectacular view of the Lake. It was so still the reflections in the water was a perfect mirror image of the trees and mountains. If we had a snowmobile or snowshoes much more of the park would be open to us, but since we did not we just enjoyed the spectacular view.

Since winter for Crater Lake last nine months out of the year it seems like a beautiful place for winter activities. Although we would have been able to do more in July or August, the vision of the show around the lake was a picturesque one I'll never forget. Even if you only get a day when passing through the town of Medford, Oregon I strongly recommend you to see Crater Lake with your own eyes. It's breathtaking.

From there we headed south to the Oregon Caves National Monument. There was only one campground in the immediate area that allowed trailers. The Grayback Campground, managed by the U.S. Forest Service, was only a short drive to the Monument and cost around $13 per night. Since you couldn't bring a trailer past the campground due to windy narrow roads we had to stop and drop the trailer off before heading to the cave. We spent the night and decided to go see the cave in the morning. The U.S Forest Service park was very nice, complete with a stream and a few short nature hikes.

During the summer the tours begin at 9am and last until 7pm from the 3rd weekend in June to Labor Day. They are about 90 minutes in length {Thanks to Jamie Levine who works at the Oregon Caves National Monument for giving us the new hours}. So you basically could go anytime of the day and catch one without waiting too long. We caught the 11am tour and had a very entertaining tour guide named Mike. Since no one else volunteered I stepped up to be the emergency flashlight holder and had to move to the back of the line so I could help Mike out in case the power went out in the cave. The temperature in the cave is 42º year - round. So the sweatshirt, jacket, hat and pants kept us warm while others in shorts and T-shirts weren't quite as prepared. The cost is $7.50 per adult. It was a memorable experience for both Dave and I. There are several narrow passageways and over 500 steps you must climb. They gave you one chance to turn back with a full refund and another 30 minutes into the tour without a refund. Unfortunately a very nice couple in their 70's had to bail out after they had a hard time seeing in the dark cave and not being able to keep their balance. They said they had been to Carlsbad Caverns and didn't have nearly as much trouble. They wished us well and were escorted out the midway exit.

The cave was quite interesting the tour guide made it very enjoyable. He was knowledgeable as well as comical. Being in the back enabled me to take my time and really look the cave over. I took a few pictures but because it was dark the camera had a hard time focusing. After the tour we were a bit hungry so we visited the Coffee Shop in the Oregon Caves Hotel. We got a great milkshake toped with whip-cream and a cherry, fries and a sandwich, delicious and inexpensive. We both were really glad we spent the money for the cave tour. It was a great experience. So far we only got a small taste of what Oregon has to offer, we both look forward to see what else it has in store.