Getting a wicket

Finally, there comes a breakthrough, a wicket that a team so desperately needed. But the captain wonders, has the wicket come a little too late. Has the game already been lost ? Or is there still a time for comeback ? More often than not, there are no miracles in this game. And the moment you feel that a wicket has come a little too late, that is the correct feeling. Yes, more often than not, the game has already been lost! We live in an era plagued by match fixing. And this particular game was lost because of bowlers deliberately spoiling the party.

So much goes through a captains mind, both on and off the field. This match is gone. But what about the future games? Should the captain, aware of the players' wrong doing, act as the whistle blower? Or should he show a little more patience, give the players another chance and observe them for a few more games? Besides, a good captain just cannot speak his mind out. He has to keep things to himself. He has to pretend to be calm, even if he's not. He cannot vent out his angers and frustration. For whatever he says may potentially impact his whole side. It might destroy his team, it might ruin his career. He cannot just come up with allegations, every allegation requires concrete evidence. Even if he does come up with evidence, a game that has been lost cannot be won back again. Glory that has been lost cannot be restored back in a day.

Rebuilding a side plagued with wrong doing allegations takes years to do. It isn't an easy decision to bring to justice the players involved, particularly if the players have a lot of promise. However, one just gets the feeling that that's the right thing to do. The foul fruits have to be weeded out, the rotten mangoes can otherwise spoil the rest as well.

Success, however, is not just about doing the right things. Success is about doing the right things at the right time. The captain needs to wait, not just for this game, but for this series to get done. The best he can do for now is hope that his chaps had only been involved in this game, and would help pull the side through in the next game. Once done with the series, time will be just right to settle scores ..... by taking the bull by its horns.

A not so random quote ....

.... "You have a lot to learn, but fight is not one of them" ....

Death Valley National Park - The winter haven

Thanksgiving weekend is one of the longest long weekends that we get in the year; 4 days is a long enough time to make a good trip to almost any corner of the country. Unfortunately though during thanksgiving weekend, weather plays the spoil sport. Almost every touristic place gets too cold, leaving very few options to choose within the country.

Death Valley though is one place that is just perfect to visit during thanksgiving. And its proximity to Vegas means that one can get a good mix of the peace at Death Valley with the lively and frenetic night life of the Sin city.

So what exactly is death valley? It is the hottest and driest of the national parks in the United States. Its home to the second-lowest elevation point in the Western Hemisphere. The natural environment of the area has been shaped largely by its geology. Its diverse geologic features, desert wildlife, historic sites, scenery, and clear night skies are some of the reasons, why the place is visited annually by more than 770,000 visitors *.

My planning for the trip started about 2 months before thanksgiving with booking of the bare necessities (read flight). The plan was to spend 2 of the 4 days in Death valley, 1 day in Zion national park, and get 2 nights and a day in Vegas. I always end up trying to cover as many places in one go as I can, the optimization ends up in hectic trips a lot of times. But heck I just love it that way :).

So then accordingly, three of us guys flew to Vegas Thursday morning (thanksgiving day). We were in Vegas as early as 8:30 in the morning, but spent time renting car, shopping and waiting for two females in the group to join us, who were flying in from a different city. Post a late heavy breakfast, the five of us finally started our drive towards DV at about 11. The 3 hour drive from Vegas to DV visitor center at Furnace creek took us 4 hours: On the way, about half an hour before Furnace creek was our lodge (Amargosa Opera House) where we stopped, checked in, had lunch and then proceeded towards DV. The hotel was not the greatest, but there is a real dearth of lodging places near DV area. And because I'd got lazy in looking up for bookings near Furnace creek lodge, it just got too late for us and there was no other option to choose.

Anyway, we also got a lunch (with limited options) at Amargosa, and finally reached DV visitor center at about 3. We did not need too much of information at the visitor center, I had already done a detailed study of the places that just cannot be missed when at Death valley. These places were: 1. Sand Dunes at Mesquite, 2. Zabriskie point, 3. Dantes View, 4. Devils golf course, 5. Badwater basin, 6. Gold Canyon, 7. Ubeheb Crater. Ofcourse, just knowing the places to visit is not enough. It is also important to know the best time to visit the place. Based on this study, the plan was to be at the Mesquite Sand Dunes for sunset, and visit places nr. 2 to 7 the next day i.e. Friday.

The Mesquite Sand Dunes are at the northern end of the valley floor and are nearly surrounded by mountains on all sides. Due to their easy access from the road and the overall proximity of Death Valley to Hollywood, these dunes have been used to film sand dune scenes for several movies including films in the Star Wars series*. DV temperatures during thanksgiving are at about 75 F and the feel of hot sand beneath your feet, particularly when coming from sub zero temperatures is just heavenly. Besides, the sand dunes are a gorgeous sight. I have not seen the sand dunes at Florence Oregon, but the sand dunes here were the best I've seen in this country. The dunes should be particularly visited during sunset, or I should say half an hour before sunset. Sun sets in the opposite direction of the dunes, and the light on the sand gives it a magnificent glow. Perfect time for pictures.

As I'd said, we were at Furnace creek visitor center at 3. The Mesquite Sand Dunes are about half an hour north west of the visitor center and sunest on that Thanksgiving Thursday was supposed to be at 4:20. Based on this calculation, it should have been an easy coast for us. But it was not. For 2 reasons: There are a lot of good places to stop by right along the road to the dunes. Too tempting to not stop for taking pictures. Therefore instead of 30 minutes, it took us about 50 minutes to get to the sand dunes. Number two, even though sunset was supposed to be at 4:20, we discovered that the dunes were already under shadows by about 4:15. The crux is, I realized, to reach the dunes atleast half an hour before sunset. That's the best time to see the dunes and get the best pictures. We'd missed the best time to be here, on that Thursday. But decided we'd be back here the next day, well before sunset, at about 3:45 pm. That's another huge disadvantage of trips in winters: Days are so short, you have to be extremely meticulous in your planning .... and the resulting execution gets hurried sometimes. But anyway, not all was lost for us that Thursday evening. We had a ball of a time playing in the sand :) , and capturing some decent silhouettes.

On the way back to our lodge, we stopped at the Furnace creek visitor center. There are a couple of restaurants, a grocery store, and a gas station here. Must say, the restaurants are very impressive. We'd started from Seattle at 4:00 in the morning, it had been a tiring day. Having an early dinner beside the visitor center restaurant was thoroughly soothing and enjoying (ofcourse, given the limited number of restaurants, it takes quite a long time to get seated, to order and finally for your order to get to your table). After the filling dinner, we started back the drive to our lodge and were cosing in bed by about 8:30 pm. The next day (Friday) was going to start really early for us (5:30 am) and it was therefore important to get enough of good sleep.

Zabriskie Point is an absolute must see place in death valley. It is part of Amargosa Range located in east of Death Valley in Death Valley, noted for its erosional landscape. The location is featured prominently on the cover of U2's album The Joshua Tree. This location was also used to represent the surface of Mars in the film Robinson Crusoe on Mars*. The landscape you get to see here, along with the colours, is simply unbelievable. Sun rises in the direction, opposite to Zabriskies point and therefore the best time to visit this place is sunrise, or should I say half an hour post sunrise :). Sunrise was supposed to be at 6:15 am that Friday morning and Zabriskie point (about 2 miles east of the Furnace creek visitor center) was about a 30 minute drive from our lodge. After the experience of the last evening, we folks had got a good lesson that the sun does not wait for us to set or to rise. We were up at 4:30, checked out and left the lodge at sharp 5:30 to reach Zabriskie at 6. We quickly parked and got into position with our cameras to capture THE moment. We then experienced something that we'd not expected: Cold. And wind. It was supposed to be a beautiful day at DV with a max temperature of 80 F. However, in early November early-mornings, the temperature is close to 35 F and with the wind chill, our hands were badly frozen. Do not forget to take a good pair of hand gloves when going for a sunrise here. Anyway, we fought with the cold and the resulting running nose, to see the effect of sunrise. And boy it was plain stunning. The sight of the first rays on the mountain range and the resulting colors is something that I'll never be able to describe. My hands were too cold to take a good picture, and the effect of cold was so severe that we left the place in a hurry at about 6:30, just 15 minutes after sun rise.

In hind sight, we should have waited there for some more time. Till about 7 am. If you see my pictures, the lower half of the pic is still under shadows. It would have been stunning had the complete landscape been enlighted, which is why I would suggest to wait for atleast half an hour post sunrise. And its a sin to forget your hand gloves and good warm clothing!

From Zabraskie we rushed to the visitor center restaurant for breakfast and after yet another satisfying experience there, we were all set to explore Death valley that whole day. Place number 3 to visit was Dantes view: Yet another stunning location for its view. From Dante's View one can see the central part of Death Valley from a vantage point 5,500 feet (1,700 m) above sea level. From here Badwater Basin can be seen, which contains the lowest dry point in North America. Telescope Peak can also be seen from here which is 11,331 feet (3455 m) above sea level*. The drive from visitor center to Dante's view was about half an hour. There are a few short trails that stem from the parking lot to points which offer good photo opportunities. We headed along one such trail, took a few pictures, and were ready to leave in about half an hour. It was already about 9:30 then, as I said we had to hurry through sometimes because of the sheer number of places to visit and the limited number of hours on hand.

From Dante's we started driving towards the low lying areas of Death valley, namely Badwater Basin and Devils golf course. They're a good one hour drive from Dantes view: You have to drive almost back towards visitor center and then head 15 miles south. As you start heading south, there goes a small (about 8-mile) driving loop which is a scenic drive from where the artists paletter can be seen. We went on to explore this (in hindsight, we might as well have skipped this) and then headed to the devil's golf course which is on the way to Badwater basin.basin. The Devil's Golf Course is a large salt pan on the floor of Death Valley. It was named after a line in the 1934 National Park Service guide book to Death Valley National Monument, which stated that " Only the devil could play golf " on its surface, due to a rough texture from the large Halite salt crystal formations*. Let alone playing golf, the surface here is such that it is extremely difficult to walk over the surface. After taking a few pictures of the surface, we headed to Badwater Basin.

Badwater Basin is the least elevation point in North America, it sits 282 feet below sea

level. Unlike at the Devils Golf Course, significant rainstorms flood Badwater, covering the salt pan with a thin sheet of standing water. Each newly-formed lake doesn't last long though, because the 1.9 inch (48 mm) average rainfall is overwhelmed by a 150-inch (3800 mm) annual evaporation rate. While flooded, some of the salt is dissolved, then is redeposited as clean, sparkling crystals when the water evaporates. Also can be seen in the Badwaters basin surface are hexagonal saucers that are approximately 2 - 2.5 metres in diameter. These are part of larger-scale features that are also hexagonally-shaped and can be seen from Dante's View nearly 6000 feet (1800 m) above. The saucers are formed after the salty pan begins to dry and the salt crystals expand*.

The almost hour and a half drive from Dantes view to Badwater basin and spending almost 90 minutes, together at Devils golf course and Badwaters, meant that it was already 12:30 pm by the time we started to drive back from Badwaters. We had to re-assess our plans at this point. We were very sure that we wanted to be at the Sand Dunes at 3:45. The drive from Badwaters (south east end of the park) to Ubehebe crater (which is at the Nortwest end of the part) takes about 90 minutes I knew. And the drive from Ubehebe to Mesquite dunes takes another 45 minutes. Additionally, on a hot (and therefore a bit of tiring) day we also had our stomachs to fill. We therefore realized that, realistically, we would have to skip one of Gold Canyon and Ubehebe Crater if we wanted to see the sand dunes before sunset. And Gold Canyon it was that we decided to skip. The reason to skip Golden Canyon was that we were to go to Zion National Park the next day and everybody thought that the landscapes and colors we would get along the 1-mile Golden Canyon hike would be very similar to what we would get in ZNP.

So then, we started the 90 minute drive from Badwater Basin to Ubehebe crater. On the way, stopped at the visitor center for the third time to pick up a quick lunch .... and off we were to Ubehebe Crater, where we reached at about 2:30. Ubehebe Crater is a large volcanic crater of the Ubehebe Craters volcanic field in the northern half of Death Valley. The crater was formed when magma migrated close to the surface and the heat of the magma flashed groundwater into steam, throwing large quantities of pulverized old rock and new magma across the stony alluvial fan draped across the valley floor. The magma rose through a fault that lies along the western base of Tin Mountain. Movement on this fault was responsible for uplift of the entire Cottonwood Mountains range*. Honestly, we only got a glimpse of the crater and we were at its rim for only about 15 minutes. We were forced to immediately start our drive back to Mesquite.

By the way, the drive to the "Racetrack" starts from near Ubehebe crater. The Racetrack, is a scenic dry lake feature with "sailing stones" that leave linear "racetrack" imprints. The sailing stones are a geological phenomenon found in the Racetrack. The stones slowly move across the surface of the playa, leaving a track as they go, without human or animal intervention. They have never been seen or filmed in motion*. To me, the Racetrack and the rolling stones is the most prominent feature of Death valley. Unfortunately though, access to this area is not very convenient. Its about a 30 mile drive from Ubehebe crater along an unpaved, stony road therefore requiring only heavy duty vehicles with strong traction tyres.

So then, at about 2:45, we started the drive to the sand dunes, and this time there was no mistake. We got there at 3:15 , well before sunset and the one hour there till sunset was fabulous. Was completely worth coming back here the second time, after the miss the previous day.

As the sun set, it ended an exciting day for us in Death Valley. It was a day we well and truly utilized very well. I was a little disappointed that we could not do the Golden Canyon hike. In retrospect, we should have somehow saved an extra hour on Thursday. That would have enabled us to not come back to the dunes on Friday. Also, I realized later that Ubehebe crater is best viewed when the sun is overhead .... not on the horizon. Thus, from Dantes view, we should have headed to Ubehebe first, then done the lower elevation spots just before and during sunset (assuming we would have completed Mesuite Sand dunes the previous day itself). Overall, it was a memorable trip at DV ..... maybe if I get another chance to visit here sometime, I'll correct the small mistakes that were made in this trip.

From Death Valley, we drove straight for more than 4 hours to our lodge near Zion National Park (ZNP). For us, the next day was going to be another one to look forward to at ZNP. I would not however describe the details of ZNP here ...... those would better be described as part of a full Utah trip some day :) ..... plus honestly, it gets a little too tiring to spend 2 days in DV, then spend the 3rd day in Zion, then drive back to Vegas the 3rd night and spend that night in the casino's.

For a less tiring and a little less adventurous 4-day trip, the next 2 days post DV can be spent in Vegas. Day time on Saturday and Sunday can be spent relaxing in Vegas hotels, nocturnal activities in the Sin City need no mention ;). If you want to stay in Vegas 2 full days, yet utilize the day time, places close to Vegas such as Hoover dam can also be visited.

Some of our ZNP and Hoover dam trip pics:

ZNP Entrance

Zion Canyon

Zion Canyon from Canyon overlook trail

Zion-Mt Carmel highway

Hoover Dam

(* Ref - Wikipedia)

Oregon - Infinity Loop, Painted Hills, Crater Lake

Oregon is one of the most diverse states as far as variety of landscapes is concerned. Within an area of 400 sq. miles, one can find snow clad mountains, dense forests, vast deserts, beautiful beaches, sand dunes, lakes, fossil hills .... you name a landscape and you'll find it here. Its a state that is in true Pacific northwest spirits. If you're looking for options to spend a long weekend or so in summer, I would strongly recommend a trip to Oregon to experience the splendid north cascades.

When visiting Oregon, there are some places that *MUST BE* visited and just cannot be missed. These places are the Infinity Loop (Columbia River Gorge, Multnomah falls, Mount Hood), Painted hills, and Crater Lake. Then there are some other places that are also very beautiful but you *may* find similar or better spots than those elsewhere. Such spots include Canon beach, Japanese garden in Portland, the sand dunes near Florence etc. Depending on how much time you have, you may want to do some or all of these spots. Typically, even with a reasonably hectic schedule, it would take at least 3 days to do the 3 *MUST DO* spots I mentioned above. If you're willing to plan an extended trip of about 5 days then you may also be able to cover the rest.

Typically, to avoid taking a lot of vacation, I plan trips of mostly 3 days duration. Such trips can typically be done on one of the long weekends in the summer or by taking just 1 day of vacation adjoining a weekend. Because of this personal preference, I describe below a 3-day plan for an Oregon trip that can typically be followed over a summer weekend. Infinity Loop, Painted hills, and Crater lake are the places covered (in that order).

In short, the plan should be to reach Portland on day 1 and do the Infinity Loop. On day 2, drive to Painted Hills, spend most of the day there and reach a lodging place close to Crater Lake for that night. On day 3, drive to crater lake, spend most of the time there, and return to Portland by late evening. See the map below, starting from Portland. If you're driving to Oregon from an adjoining state such as Washington, you still have to go through Portland. And if you're flying to Portland, the map suits you perfect.

When's the best time to do this trip? I would say July is the best month to do this trip. Why July and not any other month of the summer ? The main reason I say July is because its mostly in the first week of July that Crater Lake roads open completely. Crater Lake region gets very heavy snow and it therefore takes as long as July for the landslides to subside and the roads to open. That said, the snow also melts quickly and Crater Lake is at its best when some snow is around the rim, making July the best month to visit this national park (NP). Anyway, more on that later.

Day 1 - Infinity Loop

On this day arrive in Portland first. If you're driving from Seattle, plan to start from there at about 8 in the morning. If you're flying from a distant state , try to take a flight that gets you to Portland before 11. The idea is to be at the head of the infinity loop by max 12:30 pm (the head of the loop is about half an hour from Portland airport). Once you arrive in Portland at about 11, treat yourself to a heavy lunch. Also stuff your car with a lot of food items: Food options along the infinity loop are quite limited and expensive. Noon-ish, start driving towards Infinity Loop i.e. towards I-84 exit 17.

So what exactly is Infinity Loop ? The infinity loop is a scenic drive that starts at I-84 exit 17. Columbia river gorge, Vista house, Multnomah falls, and Mount Hood are some of the places that can be visited when driving along this loop. Below is the map for infinity loop taken from http://www.mthoodcolumbiagorge.com/ . The complete loop is very long and given the limited on hand, covering the complete loop is not really possible. The portion of the loop that can be covered has been boxed in the map below. In my opinion, covering only this boxed portion is enough to get an overview of the region and it covers most "photographic" places.

So then, from Portland, start driving along I-84 and take exit 17 towards Troutdale to drive along the historic columbia river highway. Along this drive can be found amazing views of the Columbia river gorge. The Vista House (Crown point) is worth seeing. Continuing along the historic columbia river highway takes us to Multomah Falls, which is also quite splendid. Below is a picture I took of the Columbia gorge. Unfortunately for us, it was raining and moist at this time so the picture hasn't turned out great. But you can't control the elements can you!

If you start the infinity loop at about 12:30 in the afternoon, it would take about a couple of hours to do the 3 places we stopped at: Columbia River Gorge, Vista House and Multnomah falls.

Post Multnomah falls (which is along I-84 exit 47), the infinty loop continues along I-84 until exit 64. Taking exit 64 and following along Oregon 35 (and then US 26) takes us to Mount Hood. After taking exit 64, the views of Hood along Oregon 35 and US 26 are simply breath taking. These routes are lush with dense forests and driving here is an un-describable feeling. See it to believe it, simply should not be missed :)

Just within a mile of the intersection of Oregon 35 and US 26 goes a small road (on left) towards Trilium Lake. Again, do not miss this. Trilium lake lies almost at the base of mount hood. The view of Mount Hood from this lake is awesome. If you're lucky, you may see a reflection of the mountain in the lake. Below is a pic I took from the lake. Again, hasn't quite turned out of the world .... but you can get an idea.

Fyi, when I was doing this trip, we'd started from Multnomah falls at about 2:30 pm and when I'd glanced my watch at Trilium, it was 4:30 already (we'd stopped for coffee in between for about half an hour I guess).

Another good place to see is Mount Hood reflection in Mirror lake. This lake is just about a couple of miles from the Trilium Lake diversion at US 26 and should also not be missed.

Oregon 35 and US 26 are very well marked roads. Once on these roads you would see signboards for Lake Trillium as well as mirror lake.

From mirror lake drive up the mountain to Timberline Lodge. Timberline Lodge is as high as you can go up the mountain, as far as vehicles are concerned. Views of vistas from the mountain are serence and view of the mountain summit itself is quite beautiful.

Remember that you are going to spend a lot of time taking pictures along Oregon 35 and US 2, then along Trillium and Mirror lakes, and also at Timberline. Therefore even if you reach the mount hood area at about 4:30, you end up being at Timberline even post 7 pm or so.

That's it for the day as far as site-seeing is concerned. Now some big questions start to come: Where to have dinner ? Where to refuel the car ? Where to spend the night ?

Dinner options: Didn't I say pack some food when leaving Portland :) .... Kidding! Timberline Lodge has a very good restaurant of its own. I am not very sure until what time it is open but I believe it is until 9 pm in summer. We had a sumptuous dinner at Timberline at about 7, 7:30 pm during our trip. Remember though that Timberline is an expensive place. If you prefer keep things cost effective, it is always a good idea to dine in on the extra subs and stuff that you would hopefully have carried over from Portland.

Fuel: Going west, there is a gas station at US 26 right after the turn to head over to Timberline. I think gas at this place is expensive but there really aren't too many options :)

Lodging: During our trip, post dinner, we headed back along US-26 east and Oregon 35 to a bed and breakfast place called "Mt. Hood Hamlet Bed & Breakfast" where we stayed for the night. This B&B is about 45 minutes drive from Timberline Lodge (towards I-84 exit 64). When I was searching for accomodations online for this night, I wasn't able to find too many options so had to go with this B&B even though it was a tad expensive. But the B&B is very much worth its price: It is perfectly located with stunning views of Mount Hood and Mount Adams, the breakfast there tastes out of the world, and the owners are very courteous and helpful. Plus, the cosiness of this B&B is just what you may need after a tiring day of site seeing. During our trip, we had driven about 300 miles (starting from Seattle) on Day 1 and had stopped and photographed all of these places along the infinity loop. We were extremely exhausted and were in bed even before the clock had ticked past 10 pm :)

More information about infinity loop can be found in the pdf guide at http://www.mthoodcolumbiagorge.com/loopguide.pdf

Day 2 - Painted Hills

Plan to get ready and check out of the B&B at about 9:00 am. We'd asked Diane (our host at the B&B) to have our breakfast ready at 8:30. Enjoy your breakfast, it is just amazing at "Mt. Hood Hamlet Bed & Breakfast". It would make you feel that the hotel is really worth all the price paid :)

After breaking-fast, start driving towards Painted Hills which is about 150 miles from the B&B. The drive starts again along the same Oregon 35 towards Mt. Hood but then you need to take US 26 east (instead of west which goes towards Hood and Portland). Mt. Hood national forest appears to get even denser as we descend the mountain and after the descent, the drive seems to be going through a desert like terrain. Then suddenly, you get to see the 3 sisters on your right which appear almost as big as Mt. Hood.

Once you pass Madras and head west towards Painted Hills, there is a sudden dearth of restaurants and gas stations. Therefore, pack some sub's/sandwiches to take care of your lunch at Painted Hills.

Painted Hills appear simply magical because of the delicately colored stratifications in the soil. The yellows, golds, blacks, and reds of the Painted Hills are best seen in the late afternoon. Tones and hue may appear to change from one visit to another, as the claystones differwith ever-changing light and moisture levels. Good information about these structures can be found at Painted Hills Information.

If you'd left the B&B at Mt. Hood at 9'ish you would reach painted hills at about 1 pm. Take some time for rest and lunch, and at about 1:30 begin exploring the hills. As I said earlier, afternoon is the best time to see the hills. During my trip, I had not done much research about which trails to hike, what to see at the hills etc. For painted hills, such research is really not needed. You can just head to the painted hills parking lot and at the notice board plenty of information along with maps can be found.

Explore the hills between 1:30 to about 5:30. You'd spend time taking lots of pictures, the hills are really fabulous and feel completely out of the world. The striking feature about the hills is that they are so very different from the landscapes that we come across often. And that is exactly the point I was making about Oregon: The diversity is just unbelievable. From the forests and snow caps along Inifinity Loop to the fossilized painted hills within a matter of 3 hours is an unbelievable transition. I highly recommend exploring the Painted Hills when in Oregon.

As the light starts to fade a little bit, begin your drive ..... drive to Crater Lake. Ideally, one should wait at Painted Hills until sunset. But painted hills to any lodge near crater lake is atleast a 4 hour drive and therefore, its advisable to start your drive well before sunset.

Most lodges very close to Crater Lake are expensive. I had therefore booked a motel in Chemult, which is about 40 miles north east of crater lake. We'd started from Painted Hills at about 5:30, stopped on our way to Chemult in between for a coffee break near Madras, and reached the motel at about 9:30 pm.

The lodge in Chemult (Chemult Motel) is not exactly great but good enough to spend a night. And that is what is required: An inexpensive place, close to Crater Lake, to just have a good night's sleep. Also, there is a subway, and another good cafe opposite the lodge which would save your day as far as dinner is concerned. During our trip, post dinner, off we'd gone to sleep at about 10:30 pm, it had been another hectic but well spent day ..... 350 more miles had been driven.

Day 3 - Crater Lake

The next morning, plan to check out from Chemult motel at about 8. As I said, there are a couple of restaurants in Chemult which which should take care of your breakfast. There is also a gas station right next to the Chemult motel. Refuel and get ready to enjoy the ultra amazing crater lake. Its about a 45-minute drive from Chemult to Crater lake north entrance. Try to get to the lake by about 9, 9:15 in the morning. My personal opinion is that Crater lake is at is best between 9 am to about 12 pm.

When you first see Crater lake, the feeling you get simply can't be put in words. Its absolutely jaw-dropping. We were totally stunnned, left completely speechless, on getting the first view of the lake. Never ever had I seen, leave alone seeing, never ever had I thought that water can be sooo blue, deep blue. Who on earth can say water has no color! The huge, deep blue lake combined with the snow along the slopes of rim drive is a view that I would never forget. And its a view, that would make me visit Crater Lake several more times. Stunning, gorgeous, out of the world it was. I'm just out of adjectives. To top it all for us, it was a completely cloudless day with clear skies .... tailor made for a crater lake visit.

Once at Crater Lake, you don't really need a guide to explore it. The lake lies all in front of you, inviting you, enticing you to make loads of pictures. The lake is bordered, all along its circumference, by a road called the rim drive. I think the total rim drive length is about 30 miles. There are numerous points/overlooks for visitors to stop by, make pictures and appreciate the magnificence of the unbelievably stunning crater lake.

Below is the map of the crater lake rim drive.

A few important tips when visiting crater lake:

1. When driving from Chemult, you would enter the park from the north entrance and thus the first point that you end up being at is the North junction (pointed in the map). Make sure that you drive the rim in clock wise direction. That way, all view points are easily accessible, and I think you reach at every spot at the perfect time of the day

2. I said at the start of this blog, July is the best time to visit Crater Lake. Crater Lake would only be half as beautiful without the snow along its rim. In an intense summer, almost all of the snow may melt away by mid August. Also, in my experience, 9 am-12 pm was the best time to visit the lake. For some reason, the water did not appear as blue to me post noon as much as it had appeared to me in the morning.

3. Every lookout point along the rim drive is very beautiful. But if I have to pick a few points that should just not be missed, then they are the Wizard Island from Watchman overlook, Pumice and Palisade points, and the Phantom ship overlook. Then again, you get some amazing views of Wizard island from another angle from the rim village visitor center.

4. You may be forgiven for forgetting to get food when coming here, you may be forgiven for forgetting to bring water when coming here. Thats fine. But there is one thing that you should just not forget: A mosquito repelant. Just like I had not seen water as blue as that of crater lake ever before, I had not seen mosquito's of such big size and such big in number for a long long time. They'd make your trip miserable if you don't have a repellant. Just no excuses for forgetting it.

5. Wear blue colored clothes when visiting Crater Lake. Trust me, your photos at the late would come really good with those :)

6. With reasonable number of stops, it takes about 4-5 hours to do the complete rim drive. Thus, if you started at about 9:30 am, you should be done with one round of the drive by about 1 pm. Thats a perfect time to have lunch beside the lake at the cafeteria at Rim village visitor center. I quite enjoyed the sandwich here, maybe because it was very tasty or maybe because I was very hungry.

The waters of the lake are just too beautiful and one just doesn't feel like leaving this place. One just feels like taking more and more pics of the magnificent lake (if you're someone as addicted to a camera as I am).

But about 2 pm is a good time to leave for Portland. I've heard that sunset is also quite beautiful at the lake but I never got a chance to experience it myself. Then again, Crater Lake to Portand is about 4 hours drive and therefore, because of the limitation of just a 3-day trip spending time at the lake post early afternoon is a luxury people like me cannot afford.

During my trip, we left Crater Lake at about 2 pm, reached Portland at about 6 and I was in bed at my home sweet home in Seattle at about 10 pm. For guys wanting to fly out of Portand, there are quite a few late night flying options out of PDX.

More details and a more complete information about Crater Lake National Park can be found at http://www.crater.lake.national-park.com/