Our first night camping under the stars was a great experience. I woke around 6:30 AM just in time to see the sun rising above the Canyon walls. The lake looked like a sheet of mirrored glass reflecting the image of the canyon walls. I took a few minutes to just look at the beautiful surroundings then decided to break down my tent. While I was doing so, Lloyd opted for a shower up at the double wide. My tent broke down fairly quickly and in no time I had it and my sleeping gear strapped to the rear seat of my Goldwing. As Lloyd returned from his shower I found my way up the path to the  double wide for a shower and shave. The showers were free and clean. Something you rarely find in a camp ground. I have to say I am pretty impressed with this little camp ground.

Once showered, I headed back to camp in time to watch Lloyd secure his camp gear to his bike. We were now ready to hit the road and find some breakfast. We took a few minutes to gaze out at the canyon and Lake. The sun was higher in the sky and the canyon walls were now lit up y the sun light. We warmed up the wings then made our way out of the canyon to US-26. The ride out was gorgeous as the images of canyon walls and trees reflected in the mirror like surface of Lake Simtustus. Once on US-26 we road 11.7 miles into the sun and on to US-97. We were now entering the town of Madras in search of breakfast. We approached a diner named "The Black Bear Diner". We pulled into the lot and parked our Goldwings. The diner had customers and appeared to be very clean. Once we entered we were quickly greeted and seated. This time I got my country fried steak and eggs! The food was awesome and the orange juice was the best I have had. The prices were fair as my steak and eggs, orange juice and coffee came to a little over $11.00.

After a great meal we were heading west on US-97. 24 miles of almost straight as an arrow US-97 brought us to Redmond Oregon. This was followed by an even straighter 12 miles to Bend OR. I was wishing that US-97 would throw us a curve or some sweepers but it just went on for another 15 miles until we came across the Newberry Volcanic Monument. This was not on my Garmin Maps. I have placed a way point in the map file for this ride so those of you who use a Garmin will be able to find it with ease. The fee to enter the park was $2.50 per rider. We made our way up a red dirt road to the volcano's summit. The summit (Lava Butte) is 5020 feet above sea level and 3,600 feet above the desert floor. The last eruption was over 13,000 years ago. Every where we looked we saw lava rock and pumas. There are small trees sparsely placed growing in the crater. There wasn't a whole lot of vegetation in the crater with the exception of the trees and some weeds. There is a small building on the rim of the crater with information. Looking North we could see the Sisters Peaks. If you wish to see the Lava Tube you will have to walk a trail a ways. Someone there mentioned it was the longest Lava Tube in the US. If you do decide to visit the tube dress warm and bring a lantern not a flash light. The Lava Tube is about 45 degrees and pitch black dark!. We made our way down to ground level and over to the visitor center where we looked at some of the displays and artifacts. All in all this was a great break from the very straight US-97.

Speaking of which, we were back on US-97 heading west. 19 miles of US-97 brought us into La Pine. A very small town and a place to fuel up. We decided to push on and fuel up down the road. Crescent was the next town just 17.8 miles up US-97. About 10 miles from crescent my fuel injection light came on. Oh god! What now! The bike didn't seem to sputter and was running smooth as glass. I kept my eye on the temp as well and all looked great. Once in Crescent I fueled up and the darn fuel injection light went off. I called Handsaws and they recommended I take it to an authorized dealer and have it put on the computer diagnostics equipment.  That is great but I was in the middle of no where. My AT&T 8525 PDA phone was getting a data signal so I used Microsoft's "Live Search" to locate some nearby motorcycle shops. After a couple calls it was clear as day there wasn't one within a reasonable distance and it was back in Bend. Hey it was running fine and the light was off so I went for it!

There is not much about US-97 I can tell you other then it's lacking in turns and it runs through the desert. We followed it another 18.7 miles to the town of Chemult. Listen closely... There is a Texaco station in this town. Fuel up there. The pumps are closed at the Mazama Camp & RV aprk. Those of you who have smaller tanks and plan to ride to Crater Lake and around the crater will not have enough fuel to make it to the next station. I know of 4 Harley riders who were stuck at our camp grounds who will back this up. If your planning on leaving the park and heading up Hyw 138 the next fuel station is in Dixonville 82 miles from the park entrance. Another 9.8 miles up the road was Hyw 138, also known as Diamond Lake junction. Wouldn't you know it. Another perfectly straight stretch of highway that took us 14.7 miles to Hyw 232. This was the road that enters Crater Lake National Forest. We rode about 5 miles and came across what is known as the "Pumas Desert".  The ground was extremely flat with very little vegetation. The wind was ripping through this area with gusts of about 25 miles per hour. We took a few photos and then rode another 4 miles to where we came across our first view point. There was a pumas covered hill we walked up and  as we crested the hill we saw the most spectacular view! The Crater was incredible. The water was a very deep blue. In the crater near the west side is a small island named "Wizzard Island". Patches of snow still lay on the ground as the elevation provides for cooler temperatures. It was cooler and a bit windy but I was loving every minute of it.

We made our way back to the bikes and 8.7 up Rim Rd where we turned off on to Munsen Valley Rd. From here we followed camp ground signs for approximately 4 miles to where we came across the Mazama Camp & RV park. We pulled into the parking lot and dismounted the wings. As we were taking a breather, I was approached by another biker who was with about 5 others. It turns out I had met him out on road a year prior. And he visits my site from time to time. I first met him when I was riding Hood Canal. We stopped at a park (Potlatch) on the Canal and ended up chatting with a large group of riders. One of which was Douglas the very same guy who now I am shaking hands with. They were not camping but passing through and visiting the Crater. While I was visiting Lloyd scored us a camp site. The lady was fond of riders and gave us a RV site for $20.00. We said our goodbyes to Douglas and friends and headed for our camp site.

As we road through the camp grounds we noticed the signs warning of Bears in the camp grounds. Once we located our we set up camp. It didn't take us long and we had both tents pitched and camp was setup. Nothing to do now but site see and find dinner. We made our way back out of the cam grounds and back to Rim Rd. We headed east on Rim Rd and started to make our way around the crater. Its about 32 miles around and we were treated by a couple waterfalls and countless scenic view points that provided a different view of the lake. The deep blue color of the lake still amazes me. After many stops and photos e had made our way around the crater. We returned to the camp ground and stopped in to the restaurant in the very same parking lot. Tonight it was Pepperoni and sausage pizza. The prices were a bit spendy for 1 large cheese pizza it was $16.00

After diner we sat around the camp site and discussed the days events and whatever else spilled out of our heads. We were surrounded by trees and the crickets were pumping up the volume. Once again we were treated to a fascinating star lit sky that produced yet another shooting star. The temperature was dropping and due to the elevation we knew it would be chilly this night. It was nearing sleep time so we put all our food in the Steel lock box. This is so bears can't get the food. I was thinking, yes but they can get to us. I wondered to my tent with that thought in mind knowing the chances of that happening were slim. It obviously didn't bother me because I didn't lose any sleep over it.

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Tacoma , Washington  - United States (USA)