Thursday, October 1, 2009

Wow…What A Great Day

Today we were up early.  We showered, dressed, ate breakfast, packed a lunch and headed out the door by a little after 9:00.

The trip today was to…

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Now, several have told us this time of the year you have to beware of the weather at Crater Lake.  But, we decided to tackle it anyway.  Well, today, I am so thankful we made this amazing trip, and as far as the weather, WOW, we couldn’t have ask for any better.

Come along as we journey

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up Hwy 62 to Crater Lake.

Our first stop came

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not long after we crossed the Rogue River.  It was at this little turnout

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where basically I had just ask for a bathroom stop.  We decided while we were here we would take the short walk across

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the bridge and around the trail.  At the top of the the trail was

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this beautiful water fall.  The Rogue Gorge forms a chasm 500 feet long.  It then

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narrows to 25 feet before dropping

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45 feet to the river below.

I am glad I needed the stop!

Now, we are on to

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the park.  First we found

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the visitor center.  We watched a short movie and I got my official cancellation stamp and sticker.  The ranger told us all roads were open around the rim drive.  He advised us to take the trip in a clockwise direction so all the pull offs would be on the right side of the road.  So with map in hand we were off.

I was just in awe from this point on.  As we turned on the road to take us to the Rim Drive we encountered

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yes, that is snow, and it is October 1!  There is already and accumulation of a little less than 1 inch.  What a beautiful sight.  We continued to drive on the observation area/gift shop to get our first glimpse

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of the lake.  Here is a picture of

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Wizard Island.

As we continued our drive around the lake every turnout seemed

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better than the last.  At one place we had to

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walk on the snow covered trail and past

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this beautiful field of trees to get

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this shot of the lake far below where we were standing.

Next stop was

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lunch.  I can’t imagine any better spot than this for our picnic!

From this stop on the West Rim we drove on to the East Rim to

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Cloudcap Overlook which is the highest point on the Rim Drive at 1,790 feet above the water.  Here the

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White bark pines fight for survival and are dwarfed and contorted by the harsh constant winds.

It was only here that

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we saw this little chipmunk enjoying the warm sun.

Next stop was

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Pumice Castle Overlook.  This is the park’s most colorful and fanciful feature.  The layer of orange pumice rock has been eroded into the shape of a medieval castle.

My favorite stop was

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Phantom Ship Overlook.  Nestled against the southeastern shore is this rock formation that closely resembles a small pirate ship.  The island is as tall as a 16 story building.  It is made of erosion-resistant rock and is 400,000 years old and is the oldest exposed rock within the caldera.

We continued on towards the end of Rim Drive still enjoying the

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rocks and the trees covered in snow.  We are so glad that we took the time to stop and enjoy yet another one

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of our National Parks.

3 comments:

  1. WOW! That is just amazing, and beautiful! You guys take such great photos, and your blog style makes us feel like we're there with you!

    Marci

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  2. We're really glad you got to see Crater Lake! Great pictures, except for all that white stuff, lol!

    Lots of hugs!

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  3. So glad you made it to Crater Lake. It's absolutely GORGEOUS!! Wish we could have made that trip with you.

    Debbie & Rod

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