Crater Lake National Park
	Mom, Dad, Mark & Wa
	Mom and Dad met us at Medford and we all drove to Crater Lake National Park in July, 2009. Mom and Dad flew a long way with several layovers to make this trip possible, and we really appreciate their effort! The voyage was a part of their 50th wedding anniversary celebration, and we had a fun and memorable adventure in this spectacular park in Oregon.
1. Many thanks to Wa for the great photos of Crater Lake which follow. She took many awesome pictures, and I wish it were possible to include all of them here!
2. Wa and I stayed at the Mazama Village campground. Mazama was the name of the mountain which collapsed and left the giant crater.
3. Mom and Dad stayed at the rustic lodge, which stands on the SW rim of the crater. They had a great view of the lake from their window.
4. Wednesday afternoon, Wa and I set up camp and then met mom and dad for dinner at the lodge. Upon first sight, Crater Lake is a deep, unbelievable blue. We stopped to take pictures from the rim road along the way.
5. I would like to hang-glide across the lake from the rim. I would also like to descend to the bottom of the deep blue in a small submarine.
6. When we arrived at the lodge, we found Mom and Dad already set up with wine in the lobby, and ready to order dinner from comfortable chairs near massive hearths with simulated wood fires.
7. After dinner we strolled about on the sidewalks leading to the rim's edge near the lodge.
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10. Thursday, we drove all the way around the rim road, stopping at numerous vista points, and contemplating hikes to be attempted in the ensuing days, such as the hike up to Watchman, Garfield Peak, and Mt. Scott.
11. Later that afternoon, Wa and I hiked up the short trail to Watchman. A single deer was ahead of us on the trail, and we followed for a while, taking several pictures. The deer did not seem to be bothered by our presence, and continued munching on grass.
12. The trails at Crater lake are open, breezy and a lot of fun to hike. The views are enchanting. The trail to Watchman fire tower is possibly the best easy hike to a dramatic view of the lake and surrounding forest.
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15. There is a very cool watch tower at the top of the trail built on a stone wall which looks like a little fortress.
16. The placards contain diagrams which show the names of all the peaks around the rim.
17. The watch room contains all the equipment for observing and pinpointing the exact location of a fire. There were two small wildfires burning in the park while we were present.
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20. A Clark's Nutcracker arrived to scope out the Whitebark pine cones around the tower.
21. Then a fledgling Nutcracker arrived and began vigorously requesting lunch. Apparently the adult was trying to wean the fledgling because the fledgling did not receive any pine nuts. The screaming for food went on for several minutes as the adult tore up an entire pine cone and pocketed all the nuts.
22. The male and female nutcrackers look alike. The pairs mate for life and share all the responsibilities of raising the Nutcracker chicks. One Nutcracker can collect 90,000 pine nuts from Whitebark pine cones in a season. A researcher claimed that a single bird placed seeds in 35,000 different caches. Whitebark Pines rely entirely on the Nutcrackers to disperse seeds - and hopefully to forget where they buried at least a few of those nuts!
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24. Friday, we all hiked together down the trail to Cleetwood Cove, to board a boat for a guided tour which Mom and Dad set up for us.
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30. A fun place to jump into Crater Lake is this rock, which is down the hill from the restrooms, beyond the boat dock.
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33. The water was about 62-64 degrees, and not nearly as shocking as i imagined. I brought swimming goggles, which enabled me to see the underwater cliffs descending into the deep, as well as several semi-interesting fish.
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38. The Devil's Backbone is a dike that formed when molten andesite pushed upward and then solidified. Material surrounding the dike subsequently eroded away, leaving the visible structure. This is the only dike in the wall which reaches from water level to rim, about 1000 feet long.
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44. Saturday morning, Wa and I hiked the trail up to Garfield Peak. The trail begins just behind the lodge, and requires 2-3 hours depending on how much dilly-dallying and photography one does. In this picture I am doing some delux arm-waving, which adds to the hike time. There is also some trail-tango which occurs throughout this hike.
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48. The trail to Garfield follows a high ridge along the rim with great views.
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50. The Phantom Ship is visible in the deep blue.
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52. Rock Sofa.
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54. A Whitebark Pine cone dripping with abundant sap.
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61. Garfield Peak.
62. Trail tango with invisible dance partner.
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http://www.craterlakeinstitute.com/