Day 2 Crater Lake, OR

Come to find out we saw everything we could see yesterday, almost.  All the trails are closed (snowed in), and the rim road is closed, but you could hike the road for about 5 miles each direction.  We elected to hike to Vidae Falls, about 3.5 miles one way.  It was a nice hike down a paved, but closed, road with high snow banks on each side, with rocks or snow falling on the road as we walked (is that why it's closed?).  It was a good hike, again in the middle of a snow field in our tee shirts and sweating!  I elected to help clear some snow for the Road Crew........

Sandy carved our name at the falls

(from NPS Visitor Guide) Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States, fed by rain and snow (but no rivers or streams), the lake is considered to be the cleanest large body of water in the world.  The lake rest inside a caldera formed approximately 7,700 years ago when a 12,000 foot tall volcano collapsed following a major eruption.  The eruption may have been the largest in North America in the past 640,000 years.  The Park was established in 1902.

Today the water was not a mirror like yesterday, and we did not get any better viewing angles on the lake.  So here are some more great shots from yesterday.  Grab one for a screen saver!  Come later in July to be able to drive the whole rim road and do some hiking.  Truly a majestic sight.