Great day at Crater Lake

June 25 -  Only 6 months til Christmas – time to start shopping!

Beautiful drive

It was nippy our this morning and since we were headed to Crater Lake where there is still snow on the ground we wore long pants and took a couple of extra layers so we could add or subtract as needed.  It really wasn’t as bad as we thought as it did warm more as the day went on. 

Our campground is about 40 miles to Crater Lake and it’s the closest private campground.  Along the road there were numerous forestry and related parks but our understanding is they do not offer sewer and some no water.  As we drove we saw how tight it would be to try and drive the RV in one.  I think we made the best choice.

Rogue Gorge

First stop on our way was the Rogue Gorge Viewpoint.  We got some nice photos of the volcanic area and the water was rushing

Almost all of Crater Lake

pretty strong.  The next stop was the Visitor center at the South Entrance of Crater Lake National Park and where the Administration office is.  The lot was pretty full and the air quite brisk.  After looking around the center and getting the appropriate brochures and info we went out and took a few photos before watching the movie.  They did an excellent job on the movie.  It thoroughly explained how the crater was formed.  It was due to volcanic activity 7,700 years ago.   There are no water sources connected to the lake.  It is solely from rain or snow that the crater fills.  It does not run off into any streams or rivers.  It is considered the purest water source in the nation and its clarity is the highest.  The water is so blue it doesn’t look real.  There really is no way to describe its

Along one of the roads

beauty.  Within the lake are 2 islands.  They were both volcanoes.  The large one is Wizard Island the small one due to its shape is Phantom Ship.  

Wizard Island

Since the eastern roads were not open yet due to their snow plows being broken, we could not complete the circle around the lake and they cancelled our boat excursion on the lake as the launch is on the east side.  There was not a speck of ice on the lake but there were a couple of small boats that we figured must be rangers.  We were quite bummed over it, but nothing we can do but buck up and enjoy what we could do and see.

We stopped at every possible point you could and took tons of photos.  In some areas the

Looks like a chipmunk

snow is still over 6-7 feet deep.  The only animals we saw were little squirrels that I thought were chipmunks but Bill said they are a squirrel.  There were also lots of birds,

Clark's Nutcracker

primarily Clark’s Nutcrackers.  I guess they are used to tourists feeding both them and the squirrels as they kept approaching along the walkways.

This stop on our trip was a “bucket list” item for Bill since he was 10 years old.  It’s taken 65 years for it to happen and he was a VERY happy guy today to see it.  His brother-in-law was from Oregon, not far from Crater Lake and told him about it and had shown him photos when he was 10 and he’s finally able to mark it off his list.  Now if I could arrange for him to meet Heather Locklear, I think he’d tear up the rest of his list!

We left out the North entry and cut back over to the main road that our campground is on.

LIttle cabin along the road

  We stopped a couple of places along the way, one for ice cream, and then we hiked back in to see the Natural Bridge which has numerous volcanic lava tubes where the water flows.  It was interesting to see and watch the power of the flow. 

Time to go home and check on Molly.  We left the AC on in case she got warm but didn’t appear to get over 70 so she was good and happy to see us.  A lot of new RV’s came in

At Natural Bridge

this afternoon and a lot left this morning.  I’m glad we booked 3 days so we could have some “down” time.  I did some personal stuff, just taking care of business and later I made a new Double Shot Mocha Cookie recipe I found.  Delicious!  Chocolate lovers dream – Bruce, I put some in the freezer for you!

Dinner was simple, grilled Italian sausage and broccoli slaw.  Of course, cookies for dessert!