Crater Lake National Park

On the way from Salem to Crater Lake, we thought it would be nice to get off the highway and take a lesser known, more scenic route.  Boy, what a mistake!   We made a wrong turn somewhere, and wound up driving through the mountains for hours on dirt and gravel roads. I was cursing my Garmin Streetpilot Navigation System, which had inexplicably stopped working in Washington...we sure could have used it here! We backtracked several times in an effort to get back on a known state road.  By the time we found one, we were closer to Crater Lake, but several hours behind schedule.  We finally got there late afternoon, and what a site it is!  A beautiful clear, blue lake, over 1,900 feet deep in parts.   Crater Lake was formed when Mt Mazama erupted thousands of years ago, and as the magma emptied out of the volcano, it colapsed into itself and formed a huge bowl-like caldera.

  Since there are no rivers or streams entering or exiting the lake, it keeps its pure, clear blue form.  Over the years the caldera has filled with rainwater and snow melt, and today it is pretty much in equilibrium.  It fills with rain & snow as fast as it evaporates, so the lake depth and volume stays fairly consistant. 

When we first arrived, we were greeted by several chipmunks, and they delighted in us feeding them trail mix (we later learned this was a no-no!)   They were tame enough to pet while they took peanuts out of your hand.  We then went to check out the visitor center before it closed.  We arrived too late to take the boat ride to Wizard's Island, so we just drove around the rim of the lake, stopping for pictures at all the viewpoints.

   We looked for, but did not see, "The Old Man Of The Lake", an ancient, petrified hollow log that has been seen floating around the lake since 1929.  (I saw it last time I was here, but not today!)  We also walked around the Crater Lake Lodge. Saw several spots where there was still snow on the ground. In mid August???  It wasn't cold at all, but there were several patches of snow in various places! 

Several years ago, a helicopter crashed and sank in the lake.  It has never been recovered, because it is just too deep.   The two men killed in the accident are still presumeably entombed there at the bottom of the lake.  The families have never pushed for recovery of the bodies, as they figure Crater Lake is as good a place as any to spend eternity!

 Took some pictures of the "Phantom Ship" formation, which is a small rock island at one end of the lake, so named because it looks like a ship in the mist when a low fog is rolling over the water.  Was able to fill up the gas tank in the park as well...good thing, we used up most of our gas lost in the mountains earlier in the day!