First, you should know, that I've been wanting to go to Crater Lake from the time I was a little girl. We used to have a big picture book with a lovely photo of Crater Lake featured as a double-page spread. I remember looking at that picture and thinking it must be the most fascinating place. From that time, I have wanted to go see it. I mean, hey, it's only in Oregon -- one state over.
We finally made it, on our way home from a family reunion on the coast. Yay! I figured out why it's taken me so long to get there... It's about an 8-hour detour from anywhere close to ANYWHERE! We actually took an extra day on our vacation, stayed an extra night in a hotel just to see Crater Lake. (Thank you, Brian!) And here we are...
-- It is the deepest lake in the US, second-deepest in the Western Hemisphere, and one of the deepest lakes in the world, at 1943 feet deep.
-- It has no outlet or inlet, and the depth rarely fluctuates within 20-30 feet, depending on snowfall.
-- It was formed by a volcano (obviously -- you can tell by the name, right?), and unfortunately I don't remember how long ago, but it was several thousand years ago.
-- It's freeeeeezing cold. They say that people who actually try to swim only stay in one or two minutes, max.
-- There's no really good way to get down to the water's edge. There's a steep trail down to a tiny, thin stretch of beach (that's where people attempt to swim), but other than that, the rim is on average 700-1000 feet above the water.
-- They have boat tours across the lake (we didn't take one, because we didn't hike down to the beach). I just wonder how they ever got that boat in the water? helicopters?
-- There's an old hemlock log called "The Old Man of the Lake" that has been floating on the surface for over 100 years.
See, doesn't it just sound like a cool place to see?! We took lots of pictures as we drove the 33-mile scenic road around the rim. Here are some of my favorites...
See that little island out there?
Closer up, it looks like this (below). It's called the phantom pirate ship, or something like that. It looks so tiny from way up high on the rim. But in real life, it's taller than a 16-story building...
This is one of my favorites, featuring Wizard Island. I love how blue the water looks in the sunlight. It was perfect turquoise blue, once the clouds drifted away.
Here we are, at the overlook for Wizard Island (which was actually a "newer" volcano that erupted within the crater -- one of several throughout the lake, though most don't reach the surface.)
If you ever feel like you'd like to see something pretty amazing, and you have some extra time, I highly recommend "swinging by" Crater Lake, Oregon.
4 comments:
Gorgeous lake! I might just convince Trent to "swing by" next time we go to oregon.
Wow, Kam! I know you were excited to go there, but I truly didn't realize how very GORGEOUS that lake was!! When you told me about your extra little day-trip as we all left the Coast (the first of August), I thought you were plumb CRAZY for taking the time to go EIGHT HOURS out of the way to see it, but now I see WHY!! And I'm SO GLAD you did it!
And i sincerely thank you for your interesting "Facts" regarding the lake!
I think it's funny how, when you told me after you saw it that it was nearly 2000 feet deep, I said, "Oh my goodness--if anyone ever tried swimming in something THAT deep, they'd surely drown!" and you said, "Well mom--a lake doesn't have to be THAT deep for someone to drown--people can drown in only THREE feet of water, you know!" It made me laugh when you said that, and I must admit--you're right! But thanks for all these fantastic pictures and for taking the time to document your trip like this. Love, Mom
Did you get a stamp in your National Parks Passport?
i see NO problem going WAY out of your way to see somewhere you've always wanted to see. Good for you, Kam!!
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