Monday morning arrived as we had hoped it would not - cold rain! We had hoped to spend the day at Crater Lake and surrounding villages. Instead, we were stuck in the RV, and to make matters worse, the satellite was not connecting due to the rain! No Crater Lake and no TV - not good.
After noon, I decided to head up the mountain despite the rain in the hope that I might catch a glimpse of Crater Lake. As I headed up the mountain, the rain turned to sleet! I hadn't seen "snow" for years, and wasn't at all happy to see it now! The road runs along the edge of the crater on one side and a steep drop down the mountain on the other - and with sleet! I made it to the top, but to no avail. All you could see were clouds. The crater looked like a bowl of clam chowder.
Back down the mountain - carefully - disappointed. Suz and I then bundled up and headed for the Diamond Lake Resort where we were told there was a "lounge." Well, there was, but on the scale of 1 to 10, with the Colonial Inn a strong 2, this lounge hit the scale at no more than 3 - but it had a great fireplace. While we were there, we decided that if the weather looked promising in the morning, I would get the coach ready to go, then we would head up the mountain in the chance that we could see Crater Lake. At the very least, we would have breakfast at the Crater Lake Lodge before heading to Coos Bay.
The morning arrived, and as luck would have it, the sky was clear - but it was cold! There was frost on the car, and trying to wind up the water hose was a real treat - like trying to bend a 2x4! But with persistence ... With the coach ready to go, with only the slides and jacks to bring in and up, we crossed our fingers and headed up the mountain at 7:45 am - what a great decision.
Not only could we see the lake, 
but the sky was crystal clear - a photographers dream as you can see.
Breakfast was also a great treat. 
The food was good and the prices were very reasonable. The Crater Lake Lodge was begun in 1911 and opened in 1915. 
It was completely restored in the last 20 years or so and is now like a miniature Glacier Park Lodge.Totally thrilled with our good luck, we headed back down the mountain back to the RV park and were on the road to Coos Bay by 10:00 am. We followed highway 138 along the Umpqua River to Roseburg. What a beautiful road. I have to say that Oregon's mountain roads have proven to be top quality and very scenic. From 138, we switched over to highway 42 to the coast and Coos Bay. I had plotted the route using Google Maps and it said once we hit highway 101, we were to turn onto Shinglehouse Road. We did - what a mistake. Shinglehouse road could give the "Tail of the Dragon" a run for its money in the twists and turns category. We drug the hitch on more than one occasion! From Shinglehouse, we turned on to Libby Lane for 9 plus somewhat better by also twisty miles. On the motorcycle, I would have been in seventh heaven - in the motorhome, towing the car - well ....
We finally hit Cape Arago Highway, and of course Google had no instructions. We turned the wrong way, had to make a U-turn - with the motorhome. Finally headed in the right direction, we found the Midway RV Park
in the midst of some of the worst looking RV parks I have ever seen. We began to dread our destination. But among the stones was a pearl! Midway is rated 9/10/9.5 by Trailer Life and for good reason - it is beautiful, and with our Good Sam discount, only $30 per night!We were fully settled by 4:00 (with the front of the coach cleaned).
We were told that the Portside in nearby Charleston was a good choice for happy hour and food - the advice was good! (Suz took the photo and cut off the name of the restaurant!). 
We had a great view of the bay 
and the crab legs were, as Suzanne would say, "to die for." We returned to the coach fully satisfied - until tomorrow that is, when we will do some sightseeing and then destroy some more Dungeness crab! Until then, Cheers!John, Suz and Dixie the Wonderdog
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