On The Road Again: Ohhhh myyyyy gossshhh!!!

After our friends recommended that we take the scenic route along the Umpqua River to Crater Lake, we were off on one of the most spectacular drives we've ever seen! Our favorite drives always involve a beautiful river running along a road in the mountains. This drive went above and beyond our expectations! I don't know that we've seen a more beautiful river. Our pictures just don't capture the beauty of it. Can't begin to count the number of times we both said, "Wow!"

They also recommended that we stop at Steamboat Inn for the night. We are soooo glad we followed their advice! It is an inn right on this beautiful river. We also found out that they served family style dinner in the evenings. So we made our reservation and just relaxed and enjoyed our cabin until time for cocktails and appetizers in the library. It was such a fun evening! We met people from Raleigh, NC, Memphis, TN, Alabama (everybody from the south coming out to get cooled off!) and San Francisco and Eugene, OR.

We sat down to dinner with Susie and Barry (from San Francisco). What a fun couple! They are on their way to Seattle. He wanted to canoe in Alaska, she wanted to cruise. So he decided to compromise. They leave on their cruise this Sunday! :-) Way to go, Barry! Smart man! And thanks for making dinner such a great time!

Sitting across from us was Dawn and Patrick from Eugene. Talk about travelers! They put us to shame! So interesting and so many interests. They both fly fish which I have always thought was such a beautiful sport. We learned so much from both couples and didn't want the evening to end. We closed down the restaurant! Awesome meeting you Susie and Barry, Dawn and Patrick!!!

And for those who are interested in food, I just wanted to add what we had for dinner....Yummmm: Duck breast which so tender it just melted in your mouth - and all the trimmings! Wish I had my camera with me that night!

This morning started with a delicious breakfast in the inn and then a walk down to the river. Then we were off on the rest of this amazing drive to Crater Lake. It was sad to leave the river and head to Crater Lake but we were anticipating the Lake. We couldn't believe how much snow there was. Then we found out they had 654" of snow this year! CAN YOU IMAGINE???

We came around a bend and we both went, "Ohhhh myyyyy gossshhh!!!" There in front of us was the most breath-taking sight we have ever seen! I got a lump in my throat just looking at this beautiful creation that only God could make! The song "How Great Thou Art" immediately popped into my head. This spectacular lake that looked like a gigantic mirror in which you could see the reflections of the snow-capped mountains. Just AWESOME!!! The pictures are good, but don't do the river or the Lake justice. What an amazing day and what a gift!