Illini 4000

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Day 61

There is no cell service, so this blog has been posted a day late.It was frigid when we woke up at 7:15. We slept in to somewhat avoid the cold, although it was in the 40s as we rolled out of the tents. Somehow we avoided freezing to death, and had a special treat for breakfast - milk and cereal! We ate standing in the sun, laundry room, or van to keep warm. The cold weather quickly abated as we rolled out and had to take off all the warm clothes we had never yet worn on the trip. Today we rode in memory of Mitchel Christensen, whose mother, Sophia Georgio, we had the pleasure of meeting back in Hazelton, ID on day 51 of our ride. Today would have been Mitchel's golden birthday. Since he was 8 1/2 months old he had been battling neuroblastoma while always maintaining an extremely positive attitude which was contagious to everyone he encountered.Today was the best day ever. We rode to Crater Lake National Park, which was only 64 miles! The first part was on the same road as yesterday (US-97) with a tailwind, then we turned at mile 28 onto a road that went on seemingly forever. It was the road that climbed up to the park. We ended up climbing a long distance at a relatively forgiving grade, and it was totally worth it for the view of Crater Lake. This lake is completely indescribable. It is the cleanest, bluest lake that we've ever seen. And it is a volcano inside another volcano, which is totally rad. We hiked up to a lookout and looked out upon the beautiful landscape, for miles upon miles. We could almost see California, and feel the excitement of final days to come. We are in Oregon for longer than any other state.After climbing a lot, we descended on a road with many steep drop-offs and switchbacks. We finally arrived at Mazama Campground, where we pitched tents at the campsites... After a fiasco of not knowing which sites were ours. We ate hotdogs, danced the night away, and toasted the marshmallows Marissa and Christy bought for the team!