Crater Lake Day 2

We spent the first official day of summer in the snow!

We made the 40 mile drive up to Crater lake today.  It is a gorgeous drive through the thick forest and a steady climb in elevation.  When we left our campground, it was 71 and when we got there, it was 51.  We headed straight to the rim as this park is Grand Canyonish...one major thing to see and you are looking over the rim to see it.  And the reaction is the same as when you see the Grand Canyon for the first time...you take in the gush of air and just say "wow".

The lake in the crater is the most clear blue you have ever seen.  The lake is very pristine as there are no rivers or streams that feed into or out of it and it is 1900 feet deep.  Basically it is thought it was a volcano that erupted and then the mountain collapsed.  This area gets so much snow each year (500 inches annually) so eventually, the lake filled up with the snow melt over the years.  It has maintained a perfect level with the snow melt and evaporation.  It is one of the oldest National parks as it was established in 1902 and  is Oregon's only National Park.  We took in the view for awhile and then went into the adorable lodge on the rim.  We then had a picnic and did a hike on the Discovery point trail around the rim.  There was a lot of snow on the ground so a lot of the trails were closed and the wildflowers were not quite in bloom which made me sad.  We took one last look at the lake and then went to the main visitors center and the kids got their ranger badges and watched the park film.

Then we headed back to camp because it is so much fun there and teeming with kids and families.  The rest of the night was dinner, packing up, a ranger program about fish, and Noah having s'mores with another family with a teenage girl he met (the second time this trip- teenagers!)  This has been a great little stop on our way back home and we will be back in this area for sure.   We think it is official, Tim has poison oak and is pretty miserable...has welts on his legs below the knees so we are trying to be extra kind to him...he's being a trooper!