Boy, That's a Deep Lake (Crater Lake National Park Post)

Once we had our fill of the big trees, we headed toward Crater Lake, and once we entered Oregon, the atmosphere just felt entirely different.  There were so many people in California, and even in the remotest parts, you could still feel the overcrowding of a city.  In Oregon, it seemed much more laid back, and within minutes of crossing the state line, we felt the difference.  

We had planned to stay in a State Park campground, but due to the massive wildfires which are striking Oregon, the park was filled up as it was the camp of the firefighters, as well as being a popular spot for camping.  So, we kept driving toward Crater Lake, and Dad turned into the first campground we saw.  It is good to come back on the grid every once and a while.  Oregon as well is in a drought, and so there was a ban on personal campfires, but every Saturday night, this particular campground has a central campfire and hot dog roast complete with entertainment.  This particular week, it was the Oregon Old Time Fiddlers (District Four).  

Square-dancing with Karen

                                            

Timber was content to sit next to me and listen to the fiddle tunes. 

                                               

Sunday morning, we got up for cinnamon buns, coffee cake, and muffins, as well as coffee, tea, and hot chocolate as part of the "Koffee Klatch" which was held at the campground.  We sat with a couple who live in the closest town to the campground and during the summer go up for the weekends.  They recommended to us a couple of places to go on our way to Crater Lake, namely the natural bridge  

and the Rogue River Gorge.  Lucky Timber got to come along to see both!

On the natural bridge loop trail

This cave was formed by a lava tube

I wouldn't want to fall in!

Water flows under this rock to form the bridge, and comes out from under the ground on the other side in caves formed by lava tubes.  When the area floods, the water goes over the bridge.  

Someone went swimming

This is called the living stump.  The stump of this tree was close enough to the tree behind it that the roots were able to continue to get nutrients, and so the tree stump continues to grow.  

Down in the gorge

Crater Lake National Park is on an volcanic hotspot.  The park is located among many volcanoes, some of which, including Mount Mazama, which holds the lake, are considered dormant, and even due for an eruption.  The Lake, which was formed after an eruption of Mount Mazama about 7,000 years ago, is located within the caldera which formed after the volcano collapsed in on itself.  Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the US at 1,949 feet deep.  It is the seventh deepest in the world.

First views of Crater Lake
The island seen is called Wizard Island and is a smaller volcano which exists within the caldera.

After an excursion to get gas, we re-entered the park from the north entrance, so I got a new sign!

This interesting feature is the pumice desert. After the eruption of Mount Mazama which formed Crater Lake, pumice was scattered across this area, preventing plant growth.

Around the park, there are snow poles, Karen, Dad, and Harvey are standing next to this one for a frame of reference. 

As there was still snow in the park, Mom built a snowman

Harvey and the snowman

I (pretty easily) convinced my family to go on a moderate, 1.6 mile round trip hike to a fire watchtower, which boasted panoramic views and especially, good views of the sunset.   The next series of pictures is from the hike.  

This bird is called the Clark's Nutcracker, or Nucifraga columbiana.  This bird gets its name from explorer William Clark, and is quite common within Crater Lake National Park. It lives mainly in the pine forests of mountains.  Notably, they are able to crack open pine cones to get seeds and will store their seeds in the ground for later, often hiding a surplus in case of theft by other animals such as squirrels.  

Harvey is the little white speck to the left.  Under examination with Dad's binoculars, Timber sat in the driver's seat the entire time looking up at the trail, waiting for us to get back.  

Family portrait with a view of the lake

Another Clark's Nutcracker

Panorama showing the lake and watch-tower.  The sky looks hazy because of the many wildfires in the area.  

The watchtower was frequently staffed to spot wild-fires as recent as 10 years ago, but now a shift to more modern methods have stopped its use.  

Little fuzzy pom-pom flowers

This is what we hiked, you can see the fire-watchtower at the top.  

We spent the night in one of the park's campgrounds.

  Behind the sites, you could see Annie's Creek Canyon.  Despite it being right behind our campsite, I couldn't find it, and so Dad and Timber led me to it.  Dad then left to take the RV off the blocks and left me to take pictures. Along the rim of the canyon was a trail.  In hopes of getting back to the campsite, I walked along the trail (a different one than Dad, Timber and I walked on to get to the canyon).  I ended up walking too far and got lost, ending up in a different loop than the one we stayed in.  However, I ran into a surprise!  

The deer, was maybe 20 yards away!

Phantom Ship

We drove out to Pinnacles Point, where we embarked on an easy walk with an elevation gain of 10 feet.  (How Strenuous.)

The pinnacles, which are volcanic spires, reminded us of Bryce Canyon.  

A deer was down in the valley, licking the rock for its minerals.  

Karen thought this tree had an orangutan face in it.  

Pumice Castle

Harvey at the highest paved point in Oregon, Cloudcap Overlook at 7,900 feet.

Sadly, our trip to Crater Lake marked the stop of our heading west, as we have begun our journey eastward.  Calculating route to Home is the saddest thing you can hear the GPS say when you're having fun.  

Ciao, 

Amy