Day 4:
After talking to our campsite neighbour we decided to visit the Lava Beds National Monument. It was a 20-25min drive back and forth + the time you stay there. The cool thing is that you can explore lava caves on your own and it was a really nice gimmick for the kids.
We followed Davis Road north and here we experienced the bumpiest part of the whole trip, right at the intersection Davis Road/ Red Rock Road, 41.75334, -121.73318.
Nothing that I was afraid of and surely something I hoped to see more, but if there was any part on the whole route I’d say “not with a regular car”, it was this. The rocks have been quite spiky, partially a bit higher. With my 35’s and that ground clearance I just rolled over it, but with street tires it would have taken you much more time to look and see where you drive.
It’s only a stretch of some 100 yards and afterwards the track proceeds in the way it has been before. So it will not be really time intensive “obstacle”.
And some minutes later we eventually arrived at my min. goal for the trip: the Oregon border!
After the poser pictures we stopped in Worden, got gas and has lunch at Cinders Café. The food has been really good, a lot of locals, friendly employees, … what do you want more?
AND: we got greeted a second time in Oregon :-D
We followed the track along Keno Recreation Area and Indian Spring Flat when we suddenly got stopped: right where you would Clover Creek Road, 42.18609, -122.00111, we had to face a fairly new looking sign:
2 or 3 other roads have also been blocked, so we went south on Clover Creek, took 66 towards Klamath and from there took 140 north-west until you make a right on Rocky Point Road after Odessa.
Our last station on the PCOR was Diamond Lake, where we met friends and had a good time.
We skipped Crater Lake as we have been there already and the kids have been eager to jump into the lake… But for those who have not been there yet: stop by! You’ll most likely not need more than 30min, but the stunning blue water, the view across the lava fields, …. Really impressive.
Day 5:
Next morning our friends took the regular road towards Crescent Lake and we decided to go there via the OBDR. At first we had a good time seeing miles long roads, sunshine and forest.
But then… what should I say… bright light from the sun got swapped out with bright lights from my dash board :-D
While going up a small hill the van suddenly turned off and couldn’t be started again. “Check gages. Check Gauges. Engine Check. …” --> no fun :-D
I let the engine cool down, refilled oil, checked the water temp, … all good so far and still nothing working. So I decided to stop the next truck and he luckily towed me the last 4 miles to the campground.
A beer (or two?!?) later, speaking to another guy we found the problem: a burned fuse… I didn’t had any replacements with me (but now…. NOW I have 200 of them in my tool box :-D), but a quick look into my handbook showed that the trailer light fuse is the same. So I pulled it out, put it in and the engine started!
Incredible: you have everything with you, gas, shovel, winch, spare, even toilette bags :-D but this 0.30$ article breaks you down :-D
Whatever… lesson learned…
In the end the next 2 nights at Crescent Lake were a perfect finish of our trip before heading south again!
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