Great Crater Lake
Trip Start
Aug 16, 2009
1
22
35
Trip End
Oct 11, 2009
Where I stayed
J. Stewart State Park
The last time we drove through Bend, in 2003 with Andrés in a whirlwind drive across the country right before fall, it was a small town. Well, it has grown. We pick up some groceries and hit 97 south through more pine forests until we arrive at Crater Lake National Park, because it's on the way and we had bought a pass at the beginning of the trip for all the national parks for a whole year, so we figure we might as well. No idea what to expect (since we did no pre-planning of course). Goodness gracious, the lake took our breath away. So blue, so isolated, so high, so stunningly magnificent. The top of Mt. Mazama, a volcano, blew off hundreds of thousands of years ago, and the resulting crater filled up with rain water and snow. The drive up to the lake and then back down, is filled with beautiful vistas, and we even catch a glimpse of Mt. Shasta in California. We are specially captivated by the Rogue River Gorge. We make camp near Prospect, in Stewart State Park, knowing we must head out early as we have an appointment at Shasta Abbey tomorrow.
