Devil’s Postpile National Monument (DPNM)

Traveling to Devil’s Postpile during the busy summer season, requires use of a shuttle bus system. The shuttles are a good idea – the road into this area is one lane and winding, going over the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and down the western slope of the mountain range. 

Mammoth Lakes, CA

The town of Mammoth Lakes, located just east of Highway 395, on the eastern side of the Sierras, is a great stopover while traveling south on our way back towards Arizona.  This town is very much a tourist/resort destination. 

East Side of Yosemite NP

After arriving in the Mammoth Lakes area we decided to get a look at the eastern side of Yosemite National Park. Leaving Hwy 395, we traveled on Rt. 120 over Tioga Pass.  The road was very curvy with steep upward grades, plus there was some construction ongoing (quite a trip).  At the park entrance, the elevation was 9900+ feet.  This entrance put us into the high Sierra portion of the park.

Stopover in Alturas CA

From Crater Lake we overnighted in Alturas, CA.  It was a small park just off the highway, however getting directions from the park manager, who did not know street names, was an interesting exercise.  Complicating the matter was a festival in the city park which adjoined the RV park.  After many detours and tight squeezes we managed to get settled into a nice site.

Outside the Crater

Crater Lake NP extends well beyond the crater itself.  Depending on the season, various outdoor activities are available.  Being there in July was a great time to do some of the trails, check out waterfalls and some Mt. Mazama volcanic formations several miles from the crater.

Into the Crater

We had planned to do several easy to moderate hikes in the Crater Lake NP, but were drawn to going inside the crater.  There is only one trail, the Cleetwood  CoveTrail,  that goes down into the crater to the lake surface – and, it is rated as a strenuous hike.  The distance is 1.1 miles each way; how strenuous could that be?  Well, it involves a 700 foot elevation change and many switchbacks along the way.  But, it’s the only way to get there!

Crater Lake National Park

We spent the first few days of July at the Diamond Lake RV Park, chosen due to its’ proximity to Crater Lake NP.  We soon discovered that almost all of our time while there was spent exploring the park.  And, we also found that Verizon service in the park was nil, and in the RV park very limited and slow connections, so now we’re working to catch up a bit.

Goodbye to Sisters & Bend, Central OR

In the early planning for this RV trip, we decided to stay the month of June in central Oregon, near Bend, and do a bit of exploring. We were not disappointed. There was so much to see and do in this area.  Our priority usually involves the outdoors, and, boy oh boy, was this ever the location for enjoying activities in the fresh air and sunshine. We found lots of places to go: hikes, waterfalls, historical sites (recent and geological), and also the occasional microbrew establishment (which seems to be a core element in/around Bend).