The Family Camping Blog

On any top ten list of natural wonders, United States or worldwide, Crater Lake is right up there with the Grand Canyon or Victoria Falls. With a depth of 1,943 feet it is the deepest lake on the continent, and the seventh deepest in the world. Located in southern Oregon, Crater Lake is about 80 miles northeast of Medford on Highway 62, or 100 miles south of Bend on Highway 97. The lake surface lies at an elevation of about 6,000 feet and there are no tributaries feeding it, and no outlets coming from it. The lake is fed entirely by the annual snow-melt.

Crater Lake is so blue that it is stunning. Its blueness stems from its amazing depth and water clarity; reds, yellows and greens are absorbed in the depths of the clear water, while the shorter blue wavelengths get scattered, with some being reflected back up to the surface. The rim of the lake, which is accessible via a 34 mile road that parallels its perimeter, is about 1,000 feet above the water. This picture was taken in early July (from the south side of the lake), and you can still see some snow on the ground at the bottom of the photo.

This is photo taken from the north side of the lake, showing the rugged western rim and the "Phantom Ship" rock formation protruding through the water. There are numerous large turnouts around the lake, and the trip can take two to three hours, even if you don't stop at all of them.

We camped at Joseph Stewart State Park on Lost Creek Reservoir, located about 40 miles south on Crater Lake Highway (Highway 62). For a State Park campground, Joseph Stewart just might just be in class all by itself. Sites include 30 Amp power and water hookups, and they are very generously sized.

The campground includes a great playground for the kids, and even a rock fountain that the kids can climb on and cool off on a hot day. Very impressive, for a state park.

Between Lost Creek Reservoir and Crater Lake, along the Crater Lake Highway, is another natural phenomenon called Natural Bridge. This is a spot where the raging Rogue River dissapears underground through a series of lava tubes, only to reemerge several hundred feet downstream.

With Mt. Bailey as a snowy backdrop, Diamond Lake offers a wealth of recreation possibilities, including swimming on the beach at the Diamond Lake Lodge. Diamond Lake is located 20 miles north of Crater Lake.

Posted to Backcountry Trips at 02:24 PM |Permalink | Comments (1)
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We have put about 2,000 miles on the new RV, and even though we bought it as an ex-rental with 22,116 miles on it, we thought it handled well and was very easy to drive. It did have a few problems, though, including woefully inadequate factory shock absorbers that allowed the RV to continue bouncing after going over a bump ("floating"). A lack of compression-damping also lead to a rather noisy and harsh reaction to severe bumps, something we are all too familiar with on California's freeways. The other problem that we wanted to deal with was the "tail-wagging-the-dog" syndrom that is common to most of these RV's, due to the extended body behind the rear axle. Our RV has a 15-foot wheelbase (176 inches, to be exact) and the body extends 10-feet behind the rear axle. This extension, which is also about 10-feet high, acts like a large sail and exerts lateral force on the rear axle. A gust of wind from mother nature, or an 18-wheeler, causes the rear axle to deflect in the direction of the force which, in turn, causes the front of the RV to pull in the opposite direction, like a pendulum. After saving a few dollars for upgrades, it was time to drive north to Grants Pass, Oregon and Henderson's Line-up.

Yes, we drove about 450 miles to get our suspension worked on! But when it comes to RV's, Henderson's Line-Up is the recognized expert in the field. Proving that we're not the first to travel some distance to Henderson's, they have 30-Amp connections outside of their bay doors for those who arrive in the evening.

First up was the installation of Henderson's Rear Trac Bar, which is manufactured under their SuperSteer brand name. The Trac Bar, which is also known as a Panhard bar, keeps the axle centered laterally under the chassis. The SuperSteer bar connects to the frame on the driver's side, and the axle tube on the passenger's side, via the swaybar mounting bracket. The axle is still free to move up and down, but it can no longer deflect from side to side.

Next up was a full set of Koni FSD shock absorbers. FSD, or Frequency Selective Damping, is the latest advance in active suspension technology. While the Koni FSD's react to the movement rate of the piston (stifen as the pistion moves faster, soften as it moves slower) just like most shock absorbers on the market today, the Koni FSD's have a sensor that measures the internal pressure of the oil, allowing the shock absorbers to better determine if the piston is reacting to low-frequency body roll or high-frequency bumps, than by simply measuring the rate of the piston. The Koni's provide increased stiffness to low-frequencies, resisting body roll and decreased stiffness to high-frequencies, reducing harshness over bumps.

Last up was a complete front end alignment on their Hunter 811T alignment system. As expected on an RV with over 20,000 miles on it, the alignment was off quite a bit. There was 1.4 degrees of positive camber (tire leaning to the outside) on the left side, and 0.7 degrees on the right. Interestingly, there was increased tire-wear clearly evident on the inside tread of each tire. It seems plausible that the RV had recently received a (bad) alignment that overcorrected for too much negative camber (tire leaning to the inside) - which could have caused the increased wear on the inside tread of each tire. It pays to get things done right, which is why we went all the way to Henderson's Line-Up!

Posted to Camping Tips at 10:02 AM |Permalink | Comments (0)
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