August 14-15, Crater Lake, Oregon

Well, what can I say!

Blogging is a lot of work so I rewarded myself with this t-shirt.

We arrived at Diamond Lake RV Park August 14 and went for a drive around the Lake. It was a hazy day; the lake was peaceful, surrounded by mountains and thick evergreens.

Bill just HAD to get his feet wet, so he shed socks and shoes, rolled up his jeans and waded out. It had to have been icy cold, but he's from Michigan and he swore it felt good. Brrrrr.

We had such a lovely afternoon and stopped by the local store for some ice cream. YUM!

Bill, Joe and Bruce

August 15,

We started out early to tour Crater Lake. It was simply gorgeous!

The lake was formed by the collapse of a 12,000 ft. tall volcano (Mount Mazama)which erupted some 7,700 years ago. The caldera, resulting from the collapse, collected rain and snow and is now the deepest lake in the U.S. and the cleanest body of water in the world.

The annual snowfall averages 44 ft. in this area and there was

plenty of it still here in August.

Plenty!

The little island you see above is called Phantom Ship because it looks like--yes, an old pirate ship. It is made up of erosion-resistant rock, 400,ooo years old and is as tall as a 16-story building.

This is Wizard Island because it looks like -- yes, right again - a wizard's pointed hat! It is a cinder-cone volcano that erupted out of the lake about 7,000 years ago. There is a 90-foot deep crater in the top.

Guess what this little critter is! If you said a chipmunk - WRONG! This is a Golden-Mantled Ground squirrel and these little fellows will come right up to you and stick a paw out for food. As I moved in for this shot, he held up his paw as if "stop right there lady, that picture will cost ya".

This formation is called Pumice Castle because it looks like a medieval castle (I think it looks like a row of orange chipmunks). It is pumice rock that has been eroded into this interesting shape (chipmunks/castle - you choose)!

So long to incredible Crater Lake. Tomorrow we head to Coos Bay, then on to our final destination - Waldport, Oregon