Crater Lake and adjoing area question

My wife %26amp; I are driving the coast from Santa Barbara after visiting friends. Anyway, we%26#39;re staying the night in Eureka CA. then heading N with our goal to see Crater Lake NP. before heading home to Missouri. We%26#39;re thinking of staying either at a B%26amp;B called Blacktail Lodge out of Shady Cove or The Lodge @ Riverside in Grants Pass. Wherever we stay, this will be our base of operations for 2 nights (at the moment) so we can actually SEE Crater Lake NP and my wife can stop @ some wineries if there are any around. My questions are these: Anyone heard of or stayed at either of these locations AND is this enough time to actually SEE the park? We cannot take most of the trail due to physical restrictions but I might want to venture out and maybe do some fishing or an afternoon of rafting (lowest class possible) in the back country. The drive from H*** will start from here heading home so we want to be relaxed before enduring the last part of the trip.

OH, forgot the most important question, are there wineries around this area? I%26#39;ll have my bourbon but need the wine for my wife ;)

Thanks for any insight you can provide.

Crater Lake and adjoing area question

Well, Blacktail Lodge certainly seems to be in a good location for your drive to Crater Lake. You didn%26#39;t say WHEN you would be coming, so don%26#39;t know if the rim drive will be open yet. The south entrance will be and you%26#39;ll be able to get to the lodge. For seeing the lake, you%26#39;ll only need an hour or two (including lunch at the lodge). There are many trails around the lake, but early in the year you%26#39;ll need snowshoes or x-country skis. For the most part, the ';park'; is the lake and you%26#39;ll see all that%26#39;s important right there...if the weather is cooperative.

Also don%26#39;t know if the jetboats out of Grants Pass will be going yet (you won%26#39;t have time for the rafting). In such a short visit, I%26#39;d suggest finding a guide to go with if it fits your budget. Otherwise, the Rogue and its tributaries can be a difficult assignment for a newcomer. Again, if you%26#39;re coming in the next month, the ';back country'; may or may not be hospitable.

As for wineries, not a whole lot to offer in Southern Oregon (some of our experts might have a tip or two). They certainly won%26#39;t be on a par with the ones you%26#39;ll pass by enroute from Santa Barbara, through California%26#39;s wine country.

Crater Lake and adjoing area question

oregonpapa,

Thanks for your reply. I have figured out we could leave Blacktail Ldg in the AM (Saturday 25 July), see CLNP and head up to Bend where we%26#39;ll stay the night. Phirl suggested we take a NW direction to Gresham then start heading East along the Columbia River Gorge, which we want to see. I%26#39;m trying to plan that route right now as this would be our last day before heading East with some heavy driving in front of us. I%26#39;m now thinking of finding a place to stay for the PM around Gresham or eastward along the river towards Hood River/The Dalles area. It appears we would arrive around the river early enough to unpack the car and then see what we could before nightfall. The next day we start our drive to the East along I-84 with sightseeing until we head away from the river around Boardman. Since it will be a Sunday when we leave Bend I figure most of the traffic will be people heading home and the drive along the river on Monday would be less crowded but we always get an early start.

Is there a nice place from around Gresham eastward to stay in either OR or WA? Phirl said to take the scenic river drive which appears to start around Gresham. We%26#39;d probably do that on Monday AM if we can find a place around Gresham for the night. Also, about how far is Mt St. Helens from Gresham driving time? Not sure we can fit that in but.....

Thanks

Second try. I had my note done and all but one of the links entered and then erased it all, doggone it.

Gresham to the Johnston Observatory at Mt. St. Helens is about a 2 1/2 drive each way, maybe a bit more, depending on traffic. Add the visitor centers, sightseeing and lunch and you can see it%26#39;s a full day%26#39;s outing.

If that doesn%26#39;t work with your schedule, consider going through Pendleton on your eastward journey. Real cowboy country, with a great underground tour, wonderful Oregon Trail Interpretive Center on the Umatilla Reservation and classy steak house.

http://www.tamastslikt.org/

http://www.pendletonundergroundtours.org/

http://www.thehamleysteakhouse.com/

And here%26#39;s a website for the Southern Oregon wineries. I can%26#39;t give you any personal info on any of them, but your wife ought to enjoy perusing the various winery websites.

http://www.sorwa.org/

oregonpapa,

Thanks for the links. We sat down last night after I have made the reservations and plotted out the trip from Trail and now she wants to change it some.

From CLNP she wants to get North a little faster so I suggested the route via 138 W to I-5 and then North where I need to find someplace to stay outside Portland for the night. I sent her the wineries link and will wait to see what she says before making any reservations. She figured it would be a little fast getting North using this route without a stopover half way up in Bend. Then she said we could head East along the river from Portland taking our time to enjoy the river and go until we decide to stop for the night.

I%26#39;ll be in touch and thanks again!