Crater Lake

Ok – this might be one of those day trips that we maybe should have researched a little better.  I mentioned yesterday that Crater Lake was about a 3-hour drive from our campground.  Mileage-wise, it was only 117, so you know we had the slow-going twisty roads again.  We left at 8:15 am so we could spend the whole afternoon, and we knew they offer boat rides on Crater Lake.  Unfortunately, mid-May is still considered winter at Crater Lake and only one road and viewpoint was open.  So we were unable to drive the rim and the boat tours don’t begin until July!  One look at the pictures and I guess you can see why.  When we entered the National Park and saw how deep the snow still was on the side of the road, I realized I was a little optimistic, weather-wise, when I wore capri jeans!

Mike said it was a long drive to look at a lake.  True enough, but WHAT A LAKE!

Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States at 1,943 ft.  Thousands of years ago, a volcano named Mount Mazama stood on the site of Crater Lake.  After a violent eruption, the mountain collapsed, forming a deep hole 6 miles across.  The fascinating thing about this lake is that the hole was totally filled by rain and snow melt.  It receives no water from rivers or streams. This is why Crater Lake is considered the world’s cleanest and clearest large body of water on Earth.    The area gets an average snowfall of 44 feet per year.

We only had one viewpoint but it was quite a view.  Standing on the rim, the word that came to my mind was “pristine”.  The water was so smooth, so BLUE.   I hope that comes across in the photos.  The elevation at the water surface is 6,176 ft. so you know we were quite a bit higher than that as we were looking down on the lake.

Due to the diligence of one man – William Steel, Crater Lake remains unspoiled.  He pestered Congress (today that is called lobbying) and when they refused to bestow the National Park designation he went right to President Teddy Roosevelt and in 1902 Crater Lake National Park was established.    It was the only time a president intervened in the process.  Another tidbit we learned in the orientation video was the premise of the National Park system:  Parks are for people, not for profit.

While we did get a good overall view of the lake, we know around one of the bends not open was a rock formation called The Ancient Ship.  And the boat tour would have given really close-up views of the land mass called Wizard’s Island.

The entire drive to Crater Lake was very rural.  We went miles and miles without seeing any signs of human life.  Although we did see some deer!  When we did come to towns, they really were no more than small villages or hamlets.  We saw several schools and wondered, “How do they ever get teachers out here in the middle of nowhere?”  God bless those that accept the position.

So, the 64 thousand dollar question is, had we known so much of Crater Lake National Park was still closed would we have made the long trip?  I’m glad we didn’t have that discussion because if Mike’s Rule of Life #2 was the answer, (she’ll either get over it or she won’t) we would have missed a real hidden gem.

Tomorrow we head to Coos Bay on the Oregon coast for several days before going to Portland.  We had never heard of it but have had local people say it is a great place so we are going to give it a try!

Pictures today are all Crater Lake and all pretty self-explanatory.