Going On The Road with Monte & Rose

September 4, 2013

Crater Lake, OR

As we took a walk to the showers last night we were wowed by the beautiful colors in the sky.

But, OMG-We kept waking up as we froze our butts off last night. I got up around 3AM to put on socks. A few minutes later I got up to put on a sweatshirt and fuzzy pajama bottoms and was still very cold.

Broken Arrow Campground consists of a series of loops. We are the only campers in the G loop and there are only a handful of people staying in the other loops.

We got a fairly early start this morning for our day at Crater Lake.

Crater Lake was once a mountain so how did a mountain become a lake? 7,700 years ago, a massive volcanic eruption left a deep basin in the place where a mountain peak once stood.

The deep blue lake was created from centuries of rain and snow filling the basin. Crater Lake, at 1,943 feet deep at its deepest point, is the deepest lake in the United States.

This little guy was very friendly-too friendly.

We decided the best way to see the lake from different vantage points was to drive the 33 mile road that encircles Crater Lake. There are numerous pull-outs along the way.

Cloudcap Overlook-

This overlook is located a mile down a spur road. Here, whitebark pines dwarfed and contorted by the harsh winds, cling for survival.

Pumice Castle Overlook-

At this location the park’s most colorful feature can be seen. The shape of a “medieval castle” that is a layer of orange pumice rock.

Phantom Ship Overlook-

From our vantage point the “ship” looks tiny but it is actually as tall as a 16-story building.

This island of erosion-resistant lava, at 400,000 years old is the oldest exposed rock within the caldera.

Pinnacles Overlook-

To view the colorful 100 foot spires, we had to drive down a 7-mile spur road.

The Pinnacles were formed from volcanic gases rising up through a layer of volcanic ash, cementing the ash into solid rock.

Bird encounters at Vidae Falls picnic area-

We stopped to eat lunch at this peaceful picnic area.

Monte pointed out a gray jay in a tree a few feet away. Another one landed on a different branch of the same tree, then another one. Within a couple of minutes there were dozens of birds watching us eat. As I jokingly stated that they were looking for a handout one of the birds swooped down and landed on the sandwich I was holding. It startled me. My reaction was to throw the sandwich down that resulted in a dozen or so birds fighting over it.

Monte thought it was funny until the birds turned their attention to him. He realized the only way he was going to be able to finish his sandwich was to throw a few crumbs.

Vidae Falls-

A spring-fed creek tumbles over a glacier-carved cliff dropping 100 feet over a series of ledges forming a cascading waterfall.

Castle Crest-

This short trail loops through a beautiful meadow.

It was rocky and slippery in places along the trail.

Just as we were approaching the last part of the trail we spotted a beaver dart along a log crossing the creek. Unfortunately, neither Monte nor I had our camera ready.

Steel Visitor Center-

After stamping my passport, we watched a 22 minute orientation film that clearly explained how the lake was formed and how it became a protected National Park in 1902 through the efforts of William Gladstone Steel.