Ashford, WA –> Crater Lake National Park –> Union Creek, OR

We woke up in the morning debating if we should go back into rainier or continue on our way, since our hotel was about 50 feet from the park entrance sign. It was foggy and wet, but blue skies started to peak through with lots of fluffy white clouds. We decided to get on our way through Washington hoping to see a view of the elusive Mount Rainier, but it most likely disappeared into the clouds. We continued to drive while looking out for it behind us, but we had no such luck. We continued our drive through lots of state forests on the way, and out near Portland.

I received more news about my employment, stating that I needed to do more testing for my job and would need to stop in Eugene, Oregon to do so. We got stuck in a lot of traffic on route 5 past Portland, but luckily we had service to negotiate around the hour delay on some back roads. Passed some strange tourist attractions- one of the ones to note was the Enchanted Forest, which looked slightly terrifying to the passer-by. We got off the highway to enter Eugene, which had a bit of an Ithaca, NY feel to it, did the testing and got back on the road. We drove a bit and then realized we were getting a little grumpy due to hunger, saw signs for Creswell bakery in the town of Creswell, Oregon. It was a cute bakery with a local flare and ingredients. I got a cold roast beef sandwich (local raised beef) with lettuce, Tillamoock cheddar, and chipotle aioli. Billy got a vegetable egg sandwich on brioche. We ate in the car and took turns driving to allow for eating. We continued through the state forests on our route, and stopped at an overlook of Diamond Peak in the cascade mountains. We stood out on the shore of the lake and saw the snow-capped mountain soaring overhead. We also saw our first sighting of poison oak, which we very much appreciative of the warning signs with pictures of what it looks like. Not something super common on the East Coast! We continued through the forests, which then turned into pine forests with sandy soil, reminding us of the pine barrens of the Jersey shore. Crazy how different pine forests can look so different from one another. We continued our drive on the volcanic scenic byway into the park.

We entered into Crater Lake National Park and started our ascent to the rim of the crater on the western rim road. It’s crazy that the road was closed until a week ago due to snow. The park has an average snow-fall of 43 feet each winter! The road is lined with tall wooden sticks that I can only imagine mark where the road is for the snow plows and snowmobiles. Some of the pine trees grow so crooked and twisted, it’s easy to think they are completely submerged in snow for most of the winter. The road twists and turns with switchbacks negotiating along the mountain to ascent to the rim of the crater that used to be a volcano.
Mount Mazama was a volcano that was estimated to be 12,000 feet tall, which erupted in a huge volcanic event about 7,700 years ago. The eruption blew off the top part of the volcano, decreasing its’ height to a little over 8,000 feet (making it an entire mile shorter in height!), and left a gigantic crater (a caldera) behind. The lava sealed off the bottom of the crater, which filled with water creating Crater Lake. Crater lake is as deep as 1,943 feet deep, and has visibility of 143 feet (which holds the world record for the clearest water). It’s crazy to think that if you are afraid of heights, and you could see that deep, you could be afraid to be in the water! What a strange sensation that would be!

We approached the rim of the crater coming from the north entrance road, and pulled in at watchman’s overlook, which sits at one of the high points along the crater rim, we got out of the car and got our first look at the deep cerulean blue of the expansive lake. Wizard Island sits down in the crater, flat on top and trees lining the steep sides. You can tell why it’s called wizards hat. It is actually a volcano that was created from later eruptions after the original large one that created the crater. I’ve never seen anything so blue before. This must be what they based the crayon color off of it’s just the purest blue. Apparently it is so blue because the other colors reflect well, but blue does not. The water also does not have any rivers or bodies of water that flow into the lake, which keeps it clear of deposits getting washed in. We continued on down the west rim drive, to get to rim village hopefully before the visitor center closed. We got a little lost finding it, and it was a little after 7 before we got there. Unfortunately, the visitor center closed at 5, so no cancellation stamp for today. We did see the rim village gift shop and the crater lake lodge due to poorly marked signs and not having a map. We stopped in the lodge and snapped a photo of a map, and looked for the trail head for the Discovery Point trail. We walked along the paved trail that followed the rim of the crater, snapping photos in the setting sun. We continued on the trail, which was almost eerily quiet after the other parks we have been in the last week. We didn’t encounter another person once we got on the trail. The sky lit up in pastels as it hung on the horizon of the west side of the crater. The light came through and illuminated the trees, wildflowers, and the top of wizard island. We caught a glimpse of the phantom ship in the blue water in the distance. We decided instead of continuing on our hike even though we wanted to, it would be best to try to get out of the park before it was dark. We made it back to the car parked outside the visitor center and headed down the west rim drive past the steel visitor center and out of the Annie Spring entrance station at the south end of the park.

The sun was setting in the sky, illuminating the mountainside with a bright and warm orangey red color. The roads twisted and turned, going through switchbacks and losing elevation quickly. We exited the park and turned onto route 62. The route was lined with trees, and as we continued on the road you could see in the remaining light that the area had been severely burned with a forest fire recently. We later learned that the area had several forest fires last summer, and the area was filled with smoke this time last year.

We arrived to the Union Creek Resort a little after 9pm, expecting to find an envelope taped to the door for another night, however the woman was still there wrapping up, came out to greet us with our key and maps of the area. We climbed up the stairs to our rustic little room at the lodge, and settled in for the night. Really nice place to stay- was actually like a resort with cabins, lodge, a restaurant/bakery, ice cream, and even maps for the things to do in the area.