There is only one lodge in the Crater Lake area and one more at the entrance of the park. At first, Jane and D.I. had  decided to stay one night at Crater Lake Lodge overlooking the lake, then drive around the lake the next morning and leave for home. They had tried to call the lodge a few times on the way to make a reservation, but all they got was a recording that asked them to wait and no one ever picked up.

When they arrived at the lake, they went to the Crater Lake Lodge first to check the availability of the room. It was a pretty large hotel - more than 100 rooms? - but the answer was, "All sold out for tonight". It seems that there are many visitors to the lake, a lot more than Jane and D.I. expected. The nearest motel was 15-20 miles away from the park. So they had to change their plan, deciding to view the lake first, then exit the park and head south, finding a motel somewhere along the way.  They then would leave for home the following morning from there directly, as it would be too much to come back to the lake and drive around before going home.