Crater Lake, Oregon

We crossed the border to Oregon yesterday and camped in Crater Lake National Park. A crater that was formed 7,700 years ago because of a volcanic eruption was filled with water to make a lake. The lake ranges in elevation from 2,100 to 2,500m. The view of the lake is breathtaking and everyone that sees it for the first time says "wow". The lake rim still has some snow on it. The water is very blue and more than that - cold. There are 2 islands in the lake, one of them is called "wizard island" and the other "phantom ship" and you can see why in this photo.
The lake is so wide that we couldn't capture it all in one shot.
In the afternoon the kids participated in a junior ranger program to receive the park patch. They met with a ranger and couple of other kids and he explained them about the mammals living in the park. In the evening they had to participate in another ranger led activity and do some work sheets and then they earned the patch.
In the morning we took a bike trail to the pinnacles area in the park. The pinnacles were formed at the same time as the crater. Those spiny rocks look so fragile and it's unbelievable that they've been standing there for thousands of years.

Weed

It's been the 4th day that we're staying in Weed with the kindest person ever - Bruce. We hooked up the RV in his driveway. This amazing guy is so welcoming - he makes us feel home and shows us all the beautiful places around. There's so much to see here - lava tube caves, waterfalls, volcanoes, rivers, wildlife, interesting vegetation and more.


We hike half a day and then we go back home to rest, read a book under a tree shade with the stunning sight of Mt. Shasta in front of us (when the smoke is not too bad). Then we cook dinner and later indulge in the hot tub.


The kids enjoy playing around, watering the plants, reading and taking a ride in one of Bruce's old cars. Adi was very excited about sitting at the front for the first time in his life.










Dagan enjoyed getting his hands dirty by helping to fix the big old car. Yay!! It's working again!
We're waiting for Denise, Bruce's wife to come back so we can enjoy her company too.

Lassen Volcanic National Park

We spent a night at this spectacular park known for its dormant volcano which last erupted about 100 years ago. We camped by a cool lake that only Aviv and Dagan had the courage to swim in since the water was extremely cold.


We hiked for about 3 miles to Bumpass Hell which is a sulphuric steaming pools area with boiling water and mudpots. The area is very warm due to that and smelly too.
There's lots of wildlife all around - chipmunks, squirrels, deer and many others.

The next day we stopped for an a-la-cart lunch and a short hike in the 45 meter McArthur Burney falls. Looking from above, the great view of the falls is breathtaking and as we got down and closer to the falls we felt the air getting cooler and cooler with a refreshing spray.

The 4 °C water was a bit too cold for a swim (and some wild nature crawling living beings didn't help as well) but just dipping the foot in the water was very refreshing in the Californian summer.



In the afternoon we arrived to Weed where Bruce was waiting for us. But that calls a separate post.

Bruises

Look what happens to kids after less than a week in nature. Finally they do what normal kids do - spending most of their time outdoors running and riding bike.
Adi's knee, injured while riding bike, front view:

Aviv's knees, injured while riding bike, front and rear view:










and finally - Aviv's arm after crashing from the upper bed to the floor:

We hope no one arrests us after publishing these pictures...

Clear Lake

Last night we camped on Clear Lake shore. We had picnic dinner just in time to watch the beautiful sunset.
We had baked potatoes & wieners, couscous, olives and tomatoes

The French Laundry

Even though we decided to have a low budget trip, our friends C&K came up with an irresistible suggestion - to eat at Thomas Keller's restaurant - The French Laundry in the Napa Valley. We had a reservation for dinner on July 15th. It was still early when we arrived to the restaurant so we could explore the surroundings in daylight. They have a nice garden and the restaurant is very pleasant. Dagan was terrified the moment he found out he would have to wear a jacket and kept whining about it the whole evening(-: This was the tasting menu for the evening (click on image to enlarge it):First appetizer (not in the menu) were cones stuffed with cream cheese and minced salmon on top
Oysters and pearls, one of the best dishes on the menu
Beets salad
another choice was moulard duck foie gras
Dafi modeling the restaurant's trademark - clothes peg















and our polite waiter
Sashimi of atlantic fluke, lobster, quail and veal heart




















About half the courses were desserts: melon sorbet, chocolate mousse with popcorn ice cream, red berries cake, creme brulee




















Coffee cookies, chocolate covered macadamia nuts and other sweets










...and butter cookies to take home. Yummm...
After all that and 3 bottles of wine (not for Dafi...) we felt mellow, tired and satisfied!











The best part was finding out that the Relais e Chateaux vouchers we got as a goodbye present from our friends in Brazil were accepted at the restaurant and we didn't have to pay for the meal! It made everything even tastier(-: Thanks guys!

Bodega Bay and Sonoma region

We spent the night in a camp ground in Bodega Bay:
Then we continued to Sonoma region where they grow vines to make wine.
We stopped by Sonoma Lake:


and one more from the road: