Crater Lake: Don't you make my brown eyes blue!

Just a quick update. We’re now in Bend, Oregon, getting laundered up, charged up, and stocked up. The usual for when we do a stop over in a town/city.

Since my last post, we have headed inland from the California coast and up to Crater Lake National Park in Oregon. Amazing place.

Crater Lake is actually a caldera, or volcanic basin, created when the 12,000 foot high Mount Mazama collapsed 7,700 years ago following a large eruption. The lake is fed only by rain and melting snow, with no inlets or outlets. So, with an average snowfall of 533 inches per year, it’s no wonder that it’s almost 2000 feet deep, making it the seventh deepest lake in the world and the deepest in the United States. The lake averages more than five miles in diameter, and is surrounded by steep rock walls that rise up to 2000 feet that comprise the remains of the caldera’s rim.

But the most amazing feature is the water’s intense blue color, the result of the lake’s great depth, the purity and clarity of its water, and the way solar radiation interacts with water. I never imagined that water could be naturally that blue.

Since my bum ankle still precludes my doing much hiking, I found real joy in just finding a nice shady spot along the rim trail and taking in the view. Meanwhile, Jim did a few hikes, including one that was ranger-led up to one of the peaks of the caldera’s rim.

I’d say the highlight of our time there was taking a swim in the lake itself. There is only one access point to the water: the one and one-half mile Cleetwood Cove Trail, which leads to the boat dock (they offer 2-hour guided boat tours) and a rocky beach. I didn’t actually swim: just sat on a rock and soaked my ankle, which was great therapy as the water temperature averages 38 degrees. Jim of course went for a swim and even jumped off a 20-foot high cliff popular with the more daring minded.

Now, we are headed up north: First to Columbia River Gorge. Hopefully, my ankle will be well enough to let me do at least some shorter hikes. Of course, that’s wine country too, so if I can't hike, at least I can find solace at some of the wineries along the way.

From there we plan to get to Mt. St. Helen’s and then over to Olympia National Park. From there, it will probably be time to head back east, hopefully stopping at Glacier National Park and then Jackson before heading home. Can’t say when that will be. Probably last of August or first part of September.

For now, things are good. The Honey is puttin’ along. We just need to get out of this heat. Oregon is experiencing a real heat wave. In Bend today, the temp is getting close to 100 degrees, and in Portland, it’s suppose to get to 104! So, after getting all our housekeeping-type chores done, we’re heading for the high country of the Cascades on our way up north.

Love hearing from you all.


Crater Lake and Wizard Island, a cinder cone that formed after last big eruption.


The Pinnacles: Spires of fossilized ash


Swimming Beach at bottom of crater


Jim taking a dip in Crater Lake: Brrrr!