Central Oregon road trip, day one.

A few months ago LivingSocial offered a good deal for Crescent Lake Resort. I looked up the location and it turned out I'd driven through the area on the way to Klamath Falls in the fall of 2009. I remembered it being a very pretty drive... until I got to Oakridge and had to stop for tire chains because the rest of Highway 58 was a snow-covered mess, anyway.

It being May after a long winter, I knew hiking trails would be a crap shoot. But hey, if hiking failed I figured there were worse ways to spend a weekend than sitting around a mountain lake listening to birds and reading my new favorite book. So without knowing much about the resort or the area, I opted for a semi-local aventura.

Three days, a bum knee and a cranky car later, I have to say it was half-priced money well spent.

I hit the road early Friday evening after a particularly long work week. The drive was uneventful other than - against my better judgment - eating at Carl's Jr for the first (and possibly last) time. My iPod Nano shuffle kept me company, fortunately favoring the upbeat likes of the Beasties and Modest Mouse most of the way to keep me awake.

A few hours later Crescent Lake Resort welcomed me.

Well, a crazy dragon welcomed me. Whatever.

As I drove up fishermen were packing up their gear and things were winding down, so I headed to my cabin and settled in to read up on local hikes and get some rest.

my humble abode: Summit cabin

mountain quilts: you're doing it right

I left the window open so I could hear the silence, and around 3am woke up, came to my senses, closed the window and cranked the heat. Silly, silly city girl.