We are still in Grants Pass, OR waiting for the steering gear box to be repaired so we took another day to do some touristy things.
We have been to Crater Lake in the past but decided it was definitely worth another visit, so we drove the 82 miles from Grants Pass to the park.
“Five miles wide and ringed by cliffs almost 2000 feet high, the lake rests in the shattered remnants of a volcano called Mount Mazama, which erupted and collapsed into itself 7,700 years ago. Later eruptions formed Wizard Island and other volcanic features, now hidden under the lake. Crater Lake filled with rain and melted snow. At 1,943 feet deep, it is the deepest lake in the United States and one of the deepest in the world.” (Quoted from National Park brochure)
No matter how many times you see Crater Lake it is still a breath-taking sight! The water is so absolutely clear and it totally reflects the beautiful blue sky overhead.
(Remember you can click on the pictures to enlarge them.)
Views of Wizard Island and across the caldera.
We drove the 33 mile rim drive to catch all views of the lake. On one side of Wizard Island ( which is actually a cinder-cone) you can see the docks for the boats that carry visitors to the island during the summer. There you can hike to the top and peer down into the 90 foot deep crater in the top of the cinder-cone. But as it is late September, the boats are no longer running……bummer!
Nestled against the SE shore is Crater Lake’s ‘other island’, Phantom Ship. It resembles a small pirate ship, but is as tall as a 16 story building. It’s made of erosion-resistant rock, 400,000 years old- the oldest exposed rock within the caldera.
A fire watch tower keeping an eye on the entire area.
On the road in and out we noticed how high the road advisory and speed limit signs are……….think they get snow here!!!!!
Some of the critters who came out to visit with us……
Golden Mantled Ground Squirrel
Fall is definitely in the air, the vine maples are bursting with color!
It was a great day, the weather was warm and beautiful, we had a great time visiting another one of America’s treasures.
Just Us Kids………….
2 comments:
Ohh neat! The pictures really show the beauty of the area. We have never been to Crater Lake. Are there lots of campgrounds around the lake?
I'm sure there are lots of them, we passed a number of state parks which at this time of the year were mostly empty. We drove over from Sutherlin while our coach was being repaired.
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