Pacific Coast Adventure - Day 5

Crater Lake

Breakfast this morning was wonderfully nourishing as has been our breakfasts every morning.  We could get used to this real fast! We boarded our chariot and made the 2-hour drive south and then east along route 42 toward Crater Lake National Park.  Lunch today was going to be on our own so we made a brief stop in Roseburg at a Safeway to pick up some picnic supplies. Well stocked, we continued onto the entrance of Crater Lake National Park traveling along the West Rim Drive. The mountain road we traveled to the Park Visitor Center gave us a casual reminder to a road we traveled on our Colorado/Utah tour two years ago. Moki Dugway in Utah was a road traveled those of us lucky enough to be a part of will not soon forget. (I just heard stories but I can imagine what it was like).

Crater Lake is a caldera lake and is the main feature of Crater Lake National Park. It is famous for its deep blue color and water clarity. The lake partly fills a nearly 2,148-foot-deep caldera that was formed around 7,700 years ago by the major eruption and subsequent collapse of the volcano Mount Mazama. No rivers flow into or out of the lake; the evaporation is compensated for by rain and snowfall at a rate such that the total amount of water is replaced every 250 years. At 1,943 feet it is the deepest lake in the United States and the seventh deepest in the world. (No, I didn't take this photo but it's a pretty cool aerial view).

Traveling along the West Rim Drive brought us some of the most striking vistas of the tour. Mere words cannot describe the beauty. Instead, check out some of the photos below. Wizard Island, which is viewable from just about every overlook in the Park is a volcanic cinder cone forming an island at the west end of Crater Lake. The top of the island reaches 6,933 feet above sea level, about 755 feet above the average surface of the lake. The cone is capped by a volcanic crater about 500 feet wide and 100 feet deep. A tour boat is available to take visitors to Wizard Island for about 6 hours, including the ride over and back. The only issue was, it's a little over a mile down to the dock and then the same back up. Owing to having to remain on schedule we decided it was best to view Wizard Island from the Lodge. (I did take this photo, though)

We continued on the West Rim Drive until we reached the Rim Visitor Center where we disembarked to enjoy our picnic lunch and a bit of hiking (but not too far). Of course I used this opportunity to get my (and Frank's) National Parks Passport Book stamped as did a few of the group. This is a wonderful way to remember the visits we make and have made to our National Parks. I know Frank enjoys getting these stamps at the Visitor Center and it appears a number of our group feels the same way. Only 1/4 of a mile's walk to the east brought us to Crater Lake Lodge, or The Old Lodge as it is popularly known. There, several of us stopped to enjoy our picnic lunch while others found a setting more amenable to enjoy their lunch. Did I mention that on the West Rim Drive we saw patches of snow on the side of the road? I guess we are higher up in elevation than I thought.  After our picnic lunch, some time to shop and enjoy the vistas we again boarded our coach and headed south along route 230/62 to our home for tonight, the Springhill Suites by Marriott in Medford, Oregon.

The drive took us along the Rogue River just past Shady Cove. The River and Gorge were formed by Collapsed Lava Tubes rather than through erosion. An interesting bit of information this.

Well, we've made it Medford in time for dinner and a restful night's sleep. Dinner was at Porter's at the Old Train Depot, in Medford. This meal was included and we had the choice of Prime Rib, Chicken or Sea Food Pasta. After dinner we did a group photo on the steps of the Train Depot, then climbed back aboard our coach. On the way back to the hotel we had an optional drop off at Wal-Mart since it was next door to our hotel. As for me, I headed back to the room to get ready for our next day.

Tomorrow takes us to another one of our National Parks, Redwood National Park.  Stay with us. We'll keep you filled in and more pics, too.