Another Crater...

July 18, 2012

Authors' Note: Again we have been challenged by lack of Internet access, so we apologize for the delay in getting this and subsequent posts online...enjoy!

As we leave Brian and the farm on Maag Road, we have a new appreciation for what it takes to be a successful farmer. As we drove through the fields and learned about the crops and what it takes to grow them, and how they sell them, the thought kept running through our minds..."That's alot of work!", and when you see all the various crops, and the hundreds of acres, and the cattle feed lots...whew! That's really alot of work! It was an impressive farm operation, and we admire Doug and Cory and the whole family and crew for making it all work.

We hit the road early to get a jump on our long drive to Crater Lake. It's a seven hour drive, but at least we will regain an hour with the change from Mountain to Pacific time. Our route will take us up into the hills northwest of Ontario and then across the flatness that is eastern and central Oregon...that is, until we get to the mountains...

The landscape along the way is really quite varied. We see wide open range on which cattle are grazing...we cross a few passes and drop down into small valleys with farms in the fertile flat land on the valley floor..and we drive through small towns no bigger than a few blocks long (and marvel at the fact that they are still in existence). And out here the roads seem to stretch on for miles and miles until they disappear into the horizon...

As we have learned on our drives this summer, there are always interesting scenic viewpoints on our way from anywhere to anywhere...that's the joy of driving through this amazing country of ours. Along our way today we come upon this marker that describes the great fissure we see alongside the road. Apparently we have found some more lava...how fortunate that we studied up on lava during our stop at Craters of the Moon about a week ago! This lava flow was cut through by a river which no longer flows here, so all that is left is this deep dry gorge...

After a few hours we begin to see the beautiful mountains of Central Oregon. There is quite a chain of snow-capped volcanoes that run through Oregon, and it seems there are always a few visible at any point in our drive. Here we see the Three Sisters in the distance...it's a little hazy for the camera, but much clearer and impressive to the human eye...

The guys who laid this road were very good...it looks as straight as an arrow for as far as the eye can see...

As we approach Crater Lake we see Mt. Bailey which is over 8,000 feet and still has snow on it. We also see Red Cone, which is inside the park, and snow patches on the pumice desert...

Then, as we drive up in the park toward the rim of the crater, we see it...Crater Lake! We have wanted to see this amazing lake for some time, and now we're here! The colors of blue in the water are amazing!

We continue our drive around the rim of the crater (actually it's a caldera, but we'll cover that in greater detail a little later) toward Crater Lake Village, which is where the lodge is, and we see that there is still quite a bit of snow around...this place doesn't even open until early June most years due to the more than 500 inches of snowfall this place gets every year.

This pointy peak is called Union Peak, and it is really visible from up here...

We arrive at the Crater Lake Lodge, and, while the lodge is quite nice, the first order of business is to take in the beauty of Crater Lake. This is a panorama shot of the lake from the patio of the lodge which overlooks the lake...and a couple of regular pictures too...

Now, let's look around the lodge a little bit. As you enter the lodge from the drive-up circle you are greeted by the folks at the reception desk...who, by the way, are very professional and very friendly.

The lobby is spacious, with a smaller sitting area to the left with a large fireplace, and a much larger area to the right which also has an even larger fireplace. The whole lobby is done in large timbers and logs, many of which still have the bark on them. It is large but cozy at the same time.

A trolley tour runs around the rim many times a day and stops at 4 viewpoints. We did not take this tour but they say it's nice to have someone else do the driving while you take in the sights of beautiful Crater Lake. While that would be nice there are a lot more than four viewpoints worth stopping at for pictures...in our opinion...

The Crater Lake Lodge only has 71 rooms, so it is typically booked full well in advance. Our room is located on the top floor facing the lake...it is a quaint attic room with a dormer and a window seat in front of the windows. And here's the view from our window...not too shabby...

Once we drop our duffel bags we head back outside, drawn to the lake like a magnet. We walk down the path toward the visitors center and we decide to stop in to the Sinnott Memorial Lookout which is a semi-circular view point perched about 50 below the path on the interior wall of the crater...it is a spectacular view, and the pictures really don't do it justice. The island in the lake is called Wizard Island because it looks like a wizard's pointy hat...

Now, seeing as how we're on sabbatical and should be enriching our minds, we take in a few fast facts about Crater Lake. First, the mountain that became Crater Lake is referred to as Mount Mazama (that's just a made up name assigned to the mountain that would later explode and become famous as Crater Lake...it happened so long ago no one recorded a name for the mountain).

Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States, and the seventh deepest in the world...1,943 feet deep.

Crater Lake is 6 miles long and almost 5 miles wide, and is actually a caldera, not a crater.

The lake surface goes from freezing to 66 degrees between winter and summer...but the bottom stays 38 degrees year round.

Crater Lake is considered to be the cleanest large body of water in the world because it has no inlet and no outlet.

Crater Lake contains 4.9 trillion gallons of water...yes, trillion. The lake level fluctuates every year because it gains and loses approximately 34 billion gallons of water each year...it gains water through rain and snow only, no streams or rivers..half of the lost water evaporates, and the other half is lost through seepage (more on the seepage thing later).

There are fish in the lake...so you're naturally wondering how that can be since there are no rivers feeding the lake. No, they did not appear spawn-taneously...many decades ago, when people were promoting Crater Lake, they decided to stock it and make this a fishing destination. Today there are predominantly two types of fish...Kokanee salmon and Rainbow trout...and today the Park Service would love to have them disappear. So, you can fish as much as you like, there is no maximum number you can catch or any size limit, and you don't need a permit. There are some challenges though...you can't take a boat onto the lake and there is only one place where there is a safe way to get to the lake level by trail...so the fish persist.

All this learning and breathtaking beauty really builds a hunger in a person, so we clean up and head to dinner in the Crater Lake Lodge Dining Room which is adjacent to the hotel lobby. Reservations are required, and we have made ours in advance so we are ushered right in. The food is very good, and the ambience is nice and rustic. Even though the dining room faces the lake, this old lodge has small windows set into stone walls so only three tables really have good views of the lake.

After dinner we can't help ourselves, we have to go for a stroll along the pathway near the lodge that overlooks the lake. In the evening light it is still breathtaking. We see the last tour cruise of the day on the lake...that tiny little white shape in the vast deep blue water is the tour boat, and we'll be on that tomorrow morning for a tour of Crater Lake from inside the crater (or caldera). Should be amazing!

 

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