Crater Lake, OR -to- Yosemite National Park -to- Newport Beach, CA

After Crater Lake, a drive through California before first night stop in Reno, NV on the way to Yosemite National Park

Potato sheds in CA

Of course we don't let the dog on the bed in the hotel.

No cell service and GPS locators in the park, but here's where we are

YNP covers nearly 1,200 square miles and is roughly the size of the state of Rhode Island

Beautiful granite cliffs

The famous El Capitan

Yosemite Falls - the highest waterfall in North America at 2,425 feet

After leaving Yosemite, we headed to south central CA - Bakersfield - a balmy 102 degrees in the valley (Jeep tops back on and AC on full blast for Maxie)

Half dome in the background (leaving Yosemite)

Huge black widow spider at the Bakersfield, CA hotel (yikes!!)

Over the mountains on the way to Los Angeles and the California coast

Maxie in Los Angeles looking at the Hollywood sign 

Hollywood selfie (you can barely see the Hollywood sign on the hills due to the smog)

Griffith Observatory sits on the south-facing slope of Mount Hollywood and commands a view of the LA Basin including downtown Los Angeles

Astronomers Monument

A trip to Los Angeles wouldn't be complete without a drive to Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive

Ross' comment about Rodeo Drive, "Huh, it is shorter than I thought it would be."

Maxie eating lunch at Nordstrom Cafe outdoors in Newport Beach, CA - he's a huge Nordies fan, especially now since the waiter brought him two pieces of bacon...

Fashion Island at Newport Beach, CA

So many boats, so little time

Ross likes taking pictures of random alleyways

Newport Beach

Interesting plants at our hotel

Night at the resort

Back on the road again, Maxie's personal fan helping keep him cool

Some ritzy digs here

Smog-filled downtown Los Angeles

Love palm trees

"Whoa, these fish are as big as I am"

Maxie riding the escalator in the dog-friendly mall on the way to get some Chick-fil-A

Balboa Island in Newport Beach

Salem, OR -to- Crater Lake, OR

New Jeep packed up and ready go - so much luggage for 2 people and a pug!

Jeep top off and we are ready to roll to Crater Lake

Max is just fine with his high perch on the back seat

We started at 181 miles and finished the road trip at over 2,400 miles

Diamond Lake

Going into the mountains of central Oregon

With no RV, rest stops were common

Snow markers on the side of the road

Established in 1902, Crater Lake National Park is the fifth oldest national park  in the US and the only one in the state of Oregon.

Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the US and is fed by rain and snow (no rivers or streams) - leading to its intense blue color.  It is considered to be the cleanest large body of water in the world.

Crazy that snow is still on the ground

The lake rests inside a caldera formed 7,700 years ago when a 12,000 foot tall volcano collapsed following a major eruption.  Later eruptions formed Wizard Island (seen on the left), a cinder cone near the SW shore.

Look closely and you can see the golden-mantled ground squirrel

The Lake averages more than 5 miles in diameter and is surrounded by steep rock walls that rise up to 2,000 feet above the Lake's surface.

Better shot of Wizard Island

At 1,943 feet deep, Crater Lake is also one of the 10 deepest lakes in the world.

The average snowfall at Crater Lake is 44 feet per year.

Driving along the 33-mile rim drive....no guardrails......yikes

Ross said, "Let's drive Penny off road"...then she began to sink into the soft ground.....first use of her 4-wheel drive.

"What??  Snow??"