Crater Lake National Park, OR


Wow, just wow, at the first view I had of Crater Lake in Oregon. There was quite a climb and it took over an hour to get here from my last campspot. I spent the day going to the overlooks to see the view of the lake as the sun was rising overhead. Solid blue skies, and solid, stunning blue lake!

Today was by far the warmest, in the mid 80's, which I thought was unusual at 7000' plus elevation. The narrow roads have virtual no shoulder, in many areas, and edge seemed to drop off a cliff. I had to really focus, while driving, eventhough the elevation made me feel lightheaded. Gosh, do people just fly over these cliffs?

There was still plenty of snow on the ground and Jo Jo actually got his first taste of a snow pile. I am sure this desert dog didn't know what the heck....The water along the edge of Crater Lake was that pristine aqua green turquoise. It was such a beautiful sight!

I decided to do a two mile hike towards the Plaikni Falls, which was a slight ascent, and a beautiful view of the falls at the end, in a high elevation forest. There were wildflowers and dozens of butterflies that hovered around puddles.

There wasn't a campsite available in the park, so I wound up heading back out, and staying in the Umpqua National Forest, and actually found a dispersed campsite very close to the entry of north Crater Lake.

This morning I entered, early, checking out the western end of the park, including the visitor centers, and Vidae Falls. I completed another 1 + mile hike this morning, with Jo Jo, at the "lady of the woods" trail, before heading out on the road again. So, I traveled around the rim of this gorgeous lake, which is really an extinct, collapsed volcano. I'm heading a little further south towards Klamath Falls. Its definitely become warmer, as I seek out some shade and higher elevation. Yep......on the road again....!









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