After we left the Oregon Coast we headed inland somewhat to Chiloquin. This was a good location for visiting Crater Lake National Park. We stayed at Collier Memorial State Park which was nice and woodsy. For the first time since we left Florida we had the right kind of trees at our site to use the slack line kit we got for Christmas. The kids enjoyed this so much for the 2 weeks we were there, and made lots of friends too because all the neighbor kids wanted to come over and play on it too.
Fat Cat loved this site because there were so many chipmunks to chase!
Why does she always look so mad?
For a couple of days we had some really nice neighbors that let us borrow their inflatable kayak for the river right behind our site. Now we REALLY want to get one of these!
The campground had a nice hiking trail along the Williamson River which led to a logging museum which was part of the state park.
The walk along the river was beautiful and the water was so clear!
Williamson River
The logging museum was really interesting. You walk through several different areas from different time periods and learn the history of logging in Oregon.
The boys played in the river one day while Chris tried some fishing. The water was freezing! I’m talking ice cold, instant brain freeze the moment you put your feet in the water cold! Jake was the only one brave enough to go all the way across to the other side of the river.
Jesse jumped in and jumped right back out!
Jake yelling about how cold it is.
You can just barely see Jake out in the distance making his way very quickly back across while Chris was fishing.
One of our favorite things we did in Chiloquin was visiting the Klamath & Western Railroad. On Saturdays they offer free train rides. These are like model train railroads that you can actually ride on. The people that run this really seem to enjoy sharing their hobby with others. I was so impressed with the level of detail along the railroad, the length of the ride which was about 20 minutes long, and that they offer all of this for free! They do however take donations which they certainly deserve. The boys said they felt like we were riding through Grampa’s Christmas village train track while we were there. It was so much fun!
Of course the highlight of our time and the reason we came here was to visit Crater Lake. But that deserves a post of its own, so please stay tuned.
4 Radical Roadschoolers and a Fat Cat 
The campground with the river right behind sounds heavenly. So many fun activities. Crater Lake is somewhere I want to visit eventually, so I appreciate your posts about Oregon 🙂
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The campground we stayed at was about a 45 minute drive to Crater Lake. I bet with your campervan you could stay closer, right inside the park which would be awesome. The benefits of traveling small! 😉 Thanks for your comments!
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I noticed on your map you have not been to Oklahoma. If you head out that way, the ONE place in the Sooner state to go to is the Wichita Mountains. I went to grad school in Texas for 4 years and when I discovered the Wichitas, they got me through, as I missed the mountains desperately. They are rugged and beautiful and they boast world-class wildlife. Also, be sure to eat at the Meers Store!
http://www.summitpost.org/charon-s-garden-wilderness/274583
http://www.summitpost.org/wichita-mountains/171222
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Thank you! I just added this to my Oklahoma Pinterest board so I’ll remember when we make it there.
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