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| Jeff kicking back at Crater Lake Lodge |
Diamond Lake was the closest reservation that we could get
to Crater Lake. Unfortunately, our first
day was cloudy and a bit smoky so we decided to read and do laundry. We would be rewarded later with an amazing
dinner at the Crater Lake Lodge. I had
been in a little bit of a funk, so curling my hair for the first time since
France felt like pampering. The lodge is beautiful and like the one at the
Grand Canyon – and probably others that I don’t remember. The interior walls
are either stone or paneled with pine bark.
As always there is a beautiful view deck with rocking chairs which we
enjoyed as well.
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| One the bike path |
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| Bike path around the lake |
On our second day, we had better weather and planned for a
bike ride around Diamond Lake. The path
was a bike trail and not my favorite. I
ended up riding through the campground instead of completing the loop of 11 miles with Jeff. My bike computer says I rode about 7 miles but
none of it very strenuous or fast. We
also did Trailer Tours in the afternoon which I think everyone really
enjoyed. Most everyone opened their
Airstreams and we all had fun seeing the various models that span over 50 years
in age!
The 33 mile Rim Drive around Crater Lake was by far our
favorite activity. We took a trolley
tour with Ranger Theresa which lasted a full 2 hours. For some reason, they have something against
guard rails here and I was nervous anywhere near the extreme drop-offs. Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the
US. Fed by rain and snow but no streams,
it is also considered to be the cleanest large body of water in the world.
In fact, Crater
Lake would more accurately be named Caldera Lake since it is contained within a
caldera formed 7,700 years ago when Mount Mazama at 12,000 feet collapsed after
a major eruption. Now, the rim sits at
around 7,000 feet (so a loss of 5,000 feet at the peak) and the surface level
of the lake is at around 6,000 feet.
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| Wizard Island to the left |
A later eruption created Wizard Island, a basalt island in
the western portion of the lake. Most of
the visible rock is pumice due to the presence of silica, however, there are
also sections of basalt and obsidian.
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| The Devil |
We saw several notable points of interest worthy of photos
along the way.
The Devils Backbone was
interesting due to the rock formation that tricks your eye to think it is a
dragon or the devil, or maybe a horse if that is more to your liking. In the center of the picture to the right, you can make out the evil eyes and long nose complete with flaring nostrils of the Demon.
We were very
lucky to see “the Old Man in the Lake”, a 40 foot mountain hemlock that has
been floating vertically in the lake for 120 years. It is a big deal because with wind, you never
know where or IF you will see the Old Man.
We caught up with him in a cove on the eastern side of the lake
somewhere near Gotto Cove.
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| Trust me, the old man is dead center in this cove! |
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| Pumice Castle is orange due to iron deposits |
Pumice Castle
and Phantom Ship were the last of the stops.
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| The phantom ship |
Jeff took a hike on the Garfield Peak Trail in the afternoon
while I played catch up on the blog. The
smoke from the fires seems to blow in as the day progresses, but Jeff was able
to get a couple of really good shots that show how blue the water is and the
green of the moss that grows around the lake edge.
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| Deep Blues and Greens |
Visiting Crater Lake was the highlight of our trip so far!
