In a continuation of the summer of reunions with old friends, we took a little trip down to Crater Lake National Park to meet up with the Pugels. Dustin and Shelly are some of our dear pals from our Kentucky days. Apparently we hadn’t seen each other in THREE YEARS, so this reunion was extra amazing. And the location didn’t hurt.
Eric and I first visited Crater Lake on this same June weekend way back in 2013 (our first full summer in Oregon). We took the Pugels on a few of the same hikes we hiked then (but skipped the freezing cold night of camping outside).
We hiked (and slid) through lots of snow up to Watchman Peak, which overlooks Wizard Island and gives some pretty great views of the lake. To be honest, it’s hard to find a bad view of Crater Lake. After 4 years in Oregon, I have to say this place is probably still the most amazing thing I’ve seen here. And there’s a lot of competition in this beautiful state!
We also hiked up to Garfield Peak, a mountain just under 8,000 feet high. Last time around, Eric and I didn’t make it to the top because of all the snow, but we had a few more tracks to follow this year. Obviously, the view from the top was jaw-droppingly amazing.
Also, if you hike in the snow with me, I will make you throw snowballs for a photo.
After an afternoon of hiking, we headed to Beckie’s Cafe for dinner, conveniently located right across the street from our cabin at Union Creek Resort. Our tiny little cabin (#21) was in a great location right next to Union Creek, with a lovely little fire pit overlooking the water.
Thanks so much for spending the day with us, Pugels! We miss you already!
For more Crater Lake fun (and some throwback photos of beardless-Eric), check out our camping trip at Mazama Village and our day of hiking around the spectacular lake back in 2013.
-Ally
Cheryl says
Oregon! You might like it here…. 🙂
Idaho: A handful of summers, a lifetime of memories… 😉
Ally says
Don’t worry, Cheryl! A post on our epic Idaho weekend is coming soon!