Before posting about Days 5 and 6, I want to share 4 more pictures of Crater Lake from Day 4. The first shows a little bit of snow still around here and there.

On Day 5, July 13, we drove to Ashland and parked at the Hargadine Parking Structure downtown to engage in some sight seeing. The roof of the structure provided a nice view of Mount Ashland over the tops of downtown Ashland.

After strolling up and down the hilly streets, having lunch, and yes — stopping in a shop or two — we enjoyed spending some time in Lithia Park, a 100-acre City park adjacent to downtown with grassy lawns, gardens, ponds, waterfalls, wooded areas, and trails.

I have to mention dinner at Harvey’s Place on Main Street. We ordered an assortment of appetizers and salads as small plates topped off with Harvey’s four-layer carrot cake, made by the owner’s wife, Anny. The meal was superb, the carrot cake the best I have ever had, and the service by Bella (who was new) oustanding.

Why were we in Ashland? I thought you’d never ask. To see The Tempest at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. We enjoyed a perfect evening at the outdoor Elizabethan stage. It was sunny, but most of the seating was in the shade by performance time. No jackets or blankets were needed — the temperature went from about 83 at the beginning, down to 74 by the end of the performance. Here are two pictures in the lobby before the doors opened, followed by two inside the theatre. The performance was excellent, as expected.

Day 6, July 14, began with a celebration of Bev’s birthday, followed by a return to the timeshare in Klamath Falls. But on the way, we took a detour to the Grizzly Peak Trailhead, which involved about 2 miles along an extremely bumpy, mostly gravel road. The name, Grizzly Peak, came from the fact that the last known grizzly bear in Southern Oregon spent about 50 years in the area before being shot in 1890 by a 17-year old. We enjoyed a portion of the trail, but did not go to the top — partly because we had not thought to pack a lunch.