Oregon Part II: Crater Lake National Park

It's seasonably warm here, nearing the 80's during the day. We kick on the AC in the afternoon and then in turn put on the heat first thing in the morning to take the evening's chill out. I love fall. This place reminds me of Vermont, in a way, with its rolling hills and small towns nestled between valleys. There is some foliage here but nothing compared to vibrant frondescence of Vermont's Northeast Kingdom. It is also very very dry, which is also uncommon here but most of the Pacific Northwest is in a severe drought. It's funny being a New Englander, I am always expecting unpredictable weather, when the days are sunny and clear day on end, it seems odd to me.

It was another perfect day, like every other, on our drive to the the 6th inducted park to the National Park Service, Crater Lake National Park. We drove a ways up in elevation so the temperature dropped to the mid 60's. "Whoa" and "wow" were the immediate verbal reactions to all of us upon seeing the electrifying blue color of the lake for the first time. Indian legend says the mountain bluebird was grey before dipping into the waters. Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States, 1,943 feet deep to be precise. According to the Park Service, it is also considered to be the cleanest large body of water in the world. Two species of fish call Crater Lake home, rainbow trout and Kokanee salmon, which is a landlocked version of sockeye salmon. The lake was actually a volcano called Mount Mazama. It erupted 7,700 years ago and collapsed in on itself, creating the caldera. It is thought that this major eruption was the largest in North America in the past 640,000 years. There were later, smaller eruptions, creating Wizard Island, which is actually another small volcano within the lake. The crater was eventually filled in with rain and snow. The annual snowfall for the area is 43 feet! Though, last year the park only received 16 feet, an all-time record low. Hello climate change.

As much as we would have liked to camp and spend more time at the park, it was a perfect day trip. We drove the 33 mile loop around the circumference of the lake, stopping at various turnouts to to sightsee and to hike. We hoofed up to the fire tower to get the best and highest view of the giant crater. We also had get down to the water's edge, which there is only one access point to do so. We followed the switchbacks down to the icy blue water, not looking forward to the climb up. Brian was determined to jump in so he, of course, did a backflip off a rock ledge into the clear abyss. Well, I couldn't leave my man hanging, so I stripped down to my skivvies and jumped in too. It was absolutely freezing but totally worth it. We headed back in the late afternoon to meet Emily back at the camper for a crockpot chicken soup dinner.

Brian received his flight itinerary to go back to work so we spent the next day running errands and getting things in order. Our least favorite day. Though, we did sneak in a wine tasting to take a load off. I made Brian his favorite dinner, chicken marsala, and then we set our alarms to 0300 so Brian could get to the airport for his 0530 flight to Tampa.

I am all settled in my temporary home at Glenyan RV. My site has FULL hookups! Originally I was supposed to be located in a site with only power and water. Learning that I now have sewer absolutely made my day. It's the little things in the RV world. I've found the NPR station on the radio, applied for a couple seasonal jobs and have fallen in love with the area. I will also start planning our next leg of the trip, which is still very much up in the air. Right now our outlook is to go to Hawaii for Christmas. We're still unsure of all the details, including how long we will go for, how we'll travel around there, and how many islands we might visit. We are also thinking of doing an inner loop south to interior California and parts of Nevada. We are trying to dodge the winter the best way possible. Brian is out for 60days, it was a short trip home and now a short trip out. He and his relief are splitting the holidays so Brian will work Thanksgiving but will be home for Christmas. Overall our trip up the west coast was good. We had a lot of issues and things were very stressful at times but we saw some amazing things and met some great people. Of course, just as things are back to normal, we have to end. Hopefully we can pick up right where we left off.

Thanks so much for reading and voting for us in the Find Your Park Centennial Project Contest. We really appreciate all the support and love from our family and friends. We love and miss you all. Stay tuned for more adventures with B&D. 

Wizard Island

They found a frame. 

Brian's backflip into the lake. Crazy SOB!

Yes, I jumped in too. 

Phantom Ship: Crater Lake's "other island" resembles a ghostly tall ship. The island is as tall as a 16-story building and is made of erosion-resistant lava, 4000,000 years old, the oldest exposed rock within the caldera.