Three Lakes

Ouch! My arms were too tired to paddle my surfboard anymore plus it was time to start heading  from Newport, Oregon to Lake Tahoe to meet up with more friends. Turns out when you are driving a 1974 VW van full of gear, the trip takes a bit longer than google tells you it is going to take.  Along the way to Lake Tahoe I  made stops at two additional lakes.

Lake #1 - The first was at Crater Lake National Park in Southern Oregon, which is said to be one of the deepest lakes in the continent. The original plan was to bike around the lake but due to rain and occasional snow showers I decided that would have to be another trip. I was able to catch a couple of sun breaks here and there to take in the views of the lake though and a nice hike from the rim down to the lake itself.

Lake #2 - The next lake was Tule Lake, California, just south of the Oregon border, however I never saw the lake. This is the camp location where my grandparents and over 15,000 other Japanese Americans were taken from their homes along the west coast and relocated to during WWII. Shortly after my grandparents were relocated, my Mom was also born here. Today, there is a very small museum with some artifacts, reconstructed buildings and information about the camp at the county fairgrounds. There is also small piece of land with a national monument plaque stating the location, however there is near nothing left standing. This was a humbling experience for me knowing the sacrifies my family made to get from this location 70 years ago to me today passing through selfishly snapping pictures in the middle of a 2.5 month vacation.

 

Lake #3 - After two long days in the van, I finally arrived in Lake Tahoe to eventually meet up with 5 friends for some incredible rock climbing.