Crater Lake National Park, 2016

WOW. I think I said that word at least 40 times over the past weekend. Crater Lake is amazing. We spent 3 days there and it was great. We had amazing weather - super clear skies which make for optimal lake-viewing because it increases the blue-ness of the lake. We were super surprised that there was still snow on the ground!! It was strange to see people in tank tops having snowball fights in 80 degree weather on the 4th of July.

On our way there, we stopped at Toketee Falls and the Umpqua Hot Springs (it was far too warm to stay there for long, though!)

Then, we made our way to Crater Lake, to witness the blue for ourselves.

Unfortunately, part of the Rim drive was still closed due to snow and fallen rocks/trees from the winter storms. Crater Lake NP gets an average of 44 feet of snow every year! The lake itself has no source of water besides the snow melts, so it is some of the cleanest, clearest water in the entire world.

The lake was formed nearly 8,000 years ago when a 12,000 ft. mountain called Mt. Mazama erupted - the eruptions happened in such a way that the mountain basically became unstable and collapsed, crumbling into the giant magma chamber underneath itself. This formed a huge crater which eventually began to fill with water over hundreds of years as the snow melted every Spring. 

"Born of chaos, fire, and smoke, Turbulent nature dids't invoke Mazama's fall -- art thou shoulds't be, Silent, mysterious, sapphire sea." - Poet Belle Menefree Meyer, 1932

I think if we went again, we would go later in the summer (late August is probably best). There isn't a whole lot to do when part of the road is closed (including access to some of the "must see" things in the park) and some of the trails are still closed with snow. We still did a few trails - some at lower elevations and some where we just hiked over snow! Unfortunately, there were some we were hoping would be open but were still snowed in.

One of the lodges in the park has a big porch with rocking chairs that overlooks the lake. We ended up sitting there and reading in the evenings, drinking wine and enjoying the views. :)

Oh yeah, and we made a really cute new friend:

Crater Lake is gorgeous and breathtaking. As Jack London said in 1911,

"I thought I had gazed upon everything beautiful in nature as I have spent my years traveling thousands of miles to visit the beauty spots of the earth, but I have reached the climax. Never again can I gaze upon the beauty spots of the earth and enjoy them as being the finest thing I have ever seen. Crater Lake is above them all."