Rogue River Falls

'Tomorrow it's Crater Lake.' Famous last words in yesterday's blip.

It was the little yellow light on the car dashboard twenty miles out of Bend that foiled our plans, when it appeared to suggest that the water cooling system was faulty . With two passes over over 6,000 ft to negotiate to tonight's destination in the City of Rogue River via Crater Lake, there was consternation in the camp.

After a bit of panic and telephone advice, we were advised to drive 200 miles to the nearest BMW garage at Medford with a copious supply of water on board to top up if necessary.
Crater lake was therefore off limit, which was probably not such a bad thing as it appeared to be raining in its direction and we would probably not have seen it anyway.

To compensate we saw the snowy peak of Mt Thielsen, and Diamond Lake in the distance, before a comfort stop at the Rogue River Falls in Jackson County, Oregon.

While the car was being examined at the Medford garage, we went next door to an extremely dodgy looking Mrs Q's Restaurant with a garishly illuminated juke box in the corner and a plethora of neon signs on the wall, to have lunch at 2:30. I am afraid to say I had an all American pancake with maple syrup, which tasted pretty good, but which will lie heavily on my stomach and conscience for quite some time.

And so we missed Crater Lake for a faulty yellow light, but we had wonderful service at the garage with no repair required and no bill. That must be a first.

Crater Lake, the deepest lake in the USA , was formed by the collapse of the volcano Mt Mazama about 7500 years ago. It is almost circular, measuring 5x6 miles, and has an average depth of 1,148 ft. It also has very clear blue waters, and scientists can see for 142 ft into its depths.

It would have been lovely to see it, but then we would have missed Mrs Q's dubious diner.