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 it was perfection by richiecdisc
We awoke long before the sun the next morning and packed up our tent before the mosquitoes came out for their breakfast. We ate some cereal bars on our way over to the best of the overlooks that we had scouted the previous night. It pays to do your homework and we knew what would be the best vantage point for the sunrise. Now, all we would need was a little luck. Coming up over the rim on this very fine and cold morning, we gazed upon a giant blue reflective mirror. It was total, it was pure. We looked at each other and smiled. It was perfection. Leave a Comment
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 pretty at sunset but just not
perfect by richiecdisc
It was early July and prime time but with such a huge campground, we managed to get a spot. We set up and set out to take her first gander at the lake but soon found out that a third of the circular road around the massive crater was still closed due to snow. The Pacific Northwest had been particularly hard hit with snow that winter and temperatures in the spring had been lower than normal, keeping large tracts of snow intact. It would be a reoccurring theme as we toured the region in the weeks to come.
The good part of all this snow on the road was there was also a lot of snow in the peaks that fringe the frigid blue waters of Crater Lake. This helped offset the fact that the waters were not entirely still. It is a huge lake and there certainly were parts of it that were flat, but you did not get the total effect of looking at one giant mirror-like reflection. We did what we could of the scenic drive and enjoyed taking photos as the sun went lower in the sky. With warm light and snowy peaks, it was still gorgeous. It just wasn't perfect. (concluded below in Fondest Memory) Leave a Comment
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 early morning Crater Lake by richiecdisc
Driving towards Crater Lake National Park, I was filled with mixed feelings. I looked forward to showing this stunning deep alpine lake to my wife but my first visit to the park some 14 years earlier had been so perfect I couldn't help but anticipate a letdown. On that visit, I had no idea what to expect, having never even seen a photo of the deep blue wonder. It was on my path and in my National Park guide. I simply went. Coming up over the rim of the lake for the first time is akin to your first view of the Grand Canyon. It's breathtaking and you are speechless. It's that damn pretty. On that day, it was also a mirror, with not a stitch of wind. It was flat as glass and the most reflective body of water I had ever seen. I left the park feeling that there was no need to return, that it would never be any better and my breath would not be taken away so fully again.
Time passes and new people come into your life. Pieces of your past are lost but you also feel a need to show the special ones who you were. This current six-month trip around the US was in some ways based on that. To show my wife just how amazing it can be to be untethered for so long, surrounded by such beauty that you ultimately just surrender to it.
She also was contending with my memories of what had been up to that point probably the greatest summer of my life. Those memories included the person I had done the 1994 trip with for I was not alone. Thus far, my wife had through sheer will, determination and a lot of training, obliterated everything I had done that summer. After weeks of conquering the deserts of the Southwest, she shredded Yosemite with three backpacking trips and a summit of Half Dome. There was little doubt that so far, this summer had even usurped the great one. (continued below in Fondest Memory) Leave a Comment
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 by Hopkid
The passport itself is reasonably priced and the stamps are, of course, free. Each NPS facility has a stamp available at the visitor's center. If you don't see it just ask the ranger on duty. Some (e.g., Mt. Rushmore, Cape Hatteras Lighthouse) have special stamps with a depiction of the area/monument. Great fun!
You can obtain an NPS passport at any park Visitor's Center or online at the National Park Service Store.
Besides Crater Lake National Park, if you're in Oregon there is also Oregon Caves National Park which is about a 3-hour drive southwest of Crater Lake. The other two NPS sites in Oregon are not near Crater Lake. For a full list of NPS sites, go to www.nps.gov.
My favorite memory has to be the first time we saw the deep blue color of the lake itself. It was even more breathtaking with the rim slopes covered in snow and dotted with the green color of the fir trees. Magnificent! Leave a Comment
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Chipmunks (%Tamia striatus) and ground squirrels (Spermophilus sp) are found everywhere in the park. It is strictly forbidden to feed the animals.
Chipmunks do not carry usually dangerous disease for humans. However, they are potential carriers of Lyme’s disease. The two photos are close-ups on chipmunks.
Ground squirrels are more a threat and can transmit tularemia and plague to humans as well as several other less common diseases (Rocky Mountain spotted fever, rat bite fever, Chagas’ disease, adiospiromycosis and encephalomycarditis) Leave a Comment
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The Clark's Nutcracker (Nucifraga Columbiana) is a black and white bird that feeds mainly on pine seeds. With the thick cover of forest of Crater Lake National Park, no wonder if they are numerous. Visitors are not supposed to feed them but the birds are so familiar that they do not hesitate to steel food.
On photo 1, a Nutcracker had stolen a cracker from our table.
On Photo 2, it is going to fly away.
On photo 3, it went on top of a nearby whitebark pine, waiting for next food to steel! Leave a Comment
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 Wildlife Watching by mcpangieLeave a Comment
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 Crater Lake during the Winter by Rickman77
1. Snowshoe
2. Cross Country Ski
3. Snow Machine
If you don't like these activies or can't afford to do them, then don't visit Crater Lake in the winter time.
The winter season last from September thru April. Most of the roads in the park are unplowed and closed this time of year. From May thru August the park is fully open (weather depending).
If the three activies above to intrigue you, then visit during the summer time for a plethora of outdoor actvities. Leave a Comment
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 Crowded ! by ChuckG
For the tour on the lake, you have to reserve at least 4 hours ahead of time. Better book the day before or early in the morning or you will miss it.
For the ride around the lake, traffic can be crazy in peak hours of weekend. Again, early morning is the best. Most of my pics have been taken before noon. Leave a Comment
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 Wizard Island by Bill_M47Leave a Comment
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