We left Weed early this morning and got on Highway 97 towards Bend. All through the 60 miles or so to the Oregon State Line we could see Mount Shasta looming up in the rear view mirrors. It was some distance into Oregon before we finally lost sight of her but by that stage we could now see snow-capped mountains ahead of us in Oregon.
We had ridden these roads 5 weeks ago when we first set off and although we’re now used to amazing sights we could still appreciate the beauty of the scenery we were riding through. We turned off on the road towards Crater Lake and climbed up into the mountains. After a while we actually began to see snow by the roadside and by the time we reached Crater Lake we were in a snowy landscape which was such a contrast to the 90F heat on the road we had just turned off, not to mention all the deserts we have ridden through recently.
Crater Lake, as the name might suggest, is a lake that has formed in the crater of an extinct volcano. It has a smaller volcano, called Wizard Island, inside it. The lake is the deepest freshwater lake in the US and because of that it is remarkably blue. It is also breathtakingly beautiful.
On the way up there we clocked 5000 miles since we first set off. Dropping back down from there we had about 100 miles to cover before we got to Bend and we arrived there mid-afternoon after having ridden about 240 miles today and a grand total of 5117 miles since we first set off 5 weeks ago.
After checking into our hotel we headed off into Downtown Bend for a well-deserved couple of beers and a very large and expensive meal which involved probably far too many oysters and shrimps.
Tomorrow we will be mostly wandering around Bend, handing the bikes back and eating and drinking too much……
Over the Hill and Far Away.......... 
Sad to think there will be no more posts. Safe travels home and plan your next trip soon!