Sea lion caves, the redwoods and Crater Lake

On Tuesday we headed back out to the coast. We stopped at the Sea Lion Caves in Florence, OR. The sea lions were out feeding in the ocean and we saw a few in the waves on the way down to the elevator that takes you down to the cave.

 We have seen plenty of sea lions so we weren't too disappointed that there weren't any in the cave when we were there. The cave itself was an impressive sight on its own and smelled a lot better than it reportedly does when its full of sea lions.

We arrived at the redwoods (and California) after dark and the rain let up just long enough for is to set up the trailer. The rain woke us both up sometime in the night and we felt sorry for any tent campers in the campground. The campground was a beautiful place to wake up in. We made our coffee and took a walk to check out the redwoods and the nearby Smith river.

On Wednesday we left California and headed back into Oregon to see Crater Lake. It cooled off as we were driving (always uphill, it seemed) and after a while we could see snow higher up in the mountains nearby. Then we started to see bits of snow out in the trees on the side of the road. Suddenly there was snow everywhere and the road had clearly been plowed earlier in the day.  We hadn't expected snow, but it made for a beautiful view of Crater Lake.

After Crater Lake we headed to La Pine to spend some time with my grandpa.

And then Thursday morning we took off for Boise.  Here are some shots from the drive.