Pacific Northwest 2016:
Day 6 - Lake Tahoe

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Pacific Northwest 2016: [Day 1 - Seattle] [Day 2 - Seattle] [Day 3 - Portland] [Day 4 - Portland] [Day 5 - Portland] [Day 6 - Lake Tahoe] [Day 7 - Chico] [Day 8 - Reno] [Day 9 - Reno]

	Thursday, April 7, 2016: The sun was rising on yet another perfect day in Portland. It's not possible to get tired of seeing Mt. Hood every day.
	Debbie and the Orchard team attended the 4D OEM meeting in the morning until we all had to cut out to head to the airport or beyond.
	Near the end of the meeting, Tom checked out of the hotel and walked through downtown to a rental car agency past this pretty elk sculpture.
	Tom picked up Debbie and our luggage, and we headed south to the Rip City Grill, a food truck famous for their excellent tri-tip steak sandwiches.
	We both opted for "adding a style" for an extra buck. Debbie chose fungus style (Swiss cheese and sauteed mushrooms and onions), while Tom chose El Caliente (pepper jack cheese and sauteed onions and jalapeños). Rip City's reputation is well-deserved because these were tasty.
	Just before leaving the 4D Summit, our friends Ann and Brian gave us two adorable PetData squeaky dog toys. They accompanied us on our travels in the car for the next few days, then we brought them home to Claire, who immediately fell in love with them.
	Whoa. That's a vintage VW Rabbit. You don't see those on the road anymore. Our friend Norie drove one of those back in 1978.
	The highway meridians featured poppies in full bloom for miles and miles.
	There were also many adorable sheep around.
	This pretty bridge was just north of Eugene, where we'd be stopping for a bit.
	Come admire the many interesting buildings of Eugene with us. Here's a gas station converted to a craft beer establishment.
	Eugene GlassRoots appears to sell many lovely glass-based products and paraphernalia.
	This is the Red Barn Natural Grocery ...
	... and this is the Pizza Research Institute featuring converted K Line containers.
	We parked a block or two away from our first destination, ...
	... Ninkasi Brewing Company.
	Ninkasi is home of Ground Control beer, which Tom had received for Christmas from Doug a few months earlier. Sadly, it was not currently available.
	We made our selections and headed out to the beer garden. There was lots of available shade, ...
	... but on a day this perfect, we wanted to soak up the sun.
	Our beer selections were delicious. On the left is the Gingersnap Brown, with the Oatmeal Stout on the right.
	Tom approves! As we left, we bought a Ninkasi shirt for Debbie, two pint glasses, and a Ninkasi Chico bag to add to our collection.
	Our next stop was Voodoo Doughnut Tres.
	Unlike our previous two Voodoo encounters this trip, there was almost no waiting to purchase our donuts.
	Tom got an apple fritter doughnut, and Debbie got her third Voodoo Doll, of course. Yum!
	We drove along the Dexter Reservoir, ...
	... and past the dam that separates it from Lookout Point Lake.
	Of course, the Hamilton soundtrack was our trusty companion.
	We got a glimpse of Diamond Peak as we drove.
	Salt Creek followed us for much of the drive.
	Tunnel! We're getting too old to hold our breath for these things, according to one member of the marriage.
	We stopped several times, hoping for that elusive perfect picture of Diamond Peak.
	A brief stop at Lake Odell provided this pretty shot.
	Speaking of Odell, there's a wonderful gas station there with really nice people. Stop by the Odell Sportsman Center if you're in the area. You'll be glad you did.
	We had to enter the Crater Lake National Park area through the southern entrance since it was still considered winter here.
	Finally, we made it to the southern entrance, but we still had another half hour drive ahead of us.
	The snow was piled up high on either side of the road, getting higher as we got higher in elevation approaching the lake.
	It was worth the drive. We climbed up the small snow-covered hill from the road ...
	... to see this.
	Pretty.
	More pretty.
	Photos can't do it justice but Debbie tried.
	The restrooms at the visitor center wouldn't be accessible in winter if not for the little tunnels attached the buildings. You enter the small brown buildings shown here, ...
	... then follow the tunnel inside ...
	... until you reach the entrance to the real building.
	The Oregon license plates feature Crater Lake, so we snapped a photo of someone's license.
	Here's a handy demonstration indicating how large these snowdrifts actually are.
	The beautiful lodge was shut down for the winter. Bummer.
	We descended back to the valley floor, ...
	... which was covered with a thin layer of spooky fog.
	We turned left at the house with all the sheep, ...
	... and drove to El Rodeo restaurant in Chiloquin for dinner.
	Oh yeah, it was delicious. There was enough food for a second meal for each of us, so we brought it with us and had it for breakfast the next morning.
	It was nearly dark when we left, ...
	... but we got to enjoy the remaining sunset over Upper Klamath Lake.
	We spent the night at Microtel Inn and Suites in Klamath Falls. Our room was very large, and we were glad to find that it had a refrigerator and microwave for our leftover food. Day 7 >