DAY-20 Crater Lake National Park

Day-20: Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Starting Location: Prospect Historic B&B, Prospect, OR

Interim Location: Crater Lake National Park, OR

Ending Location: Prospect Historic B&B, Prospect, OR

As mentioned yesterday, the rooms are small so once I was up, showered and dressed I headed down to the parlor with my computer and phone for a little Helium work and a cup of coffee. People were wandering around, coming and going and soon Greg was down as well. The rooms haven't changed much since this photo was taken. The inn is the building to the right of the dark colored barn.

At 8:30 we headed in for breakfast, complimentary with the room. I had French Toast (made with whole wheat Italian bread). It was good and the BACON was prepared nicely. The fruit cup side was served with whipped cream, nothing wrong with that, just unusual to have whipped cream for breakfast if it isn’t in a cup of hot chocolate.

Our plan for the day was to spend our time at Crater Lake driving the rim route totally circumnavigating the lake.  Before heading to the park we stopped for gas and a few snack foods. You’ll have to ask Diane if that man with the bear claw necklace and whistling the tune from Deliverance was actually staring at her.

By 11 AM or so we entered the park and made our first stop at the visitor center.  Our timing was good as the park service video, this one focusing on the formation of Crater Lake was just beginning. The crater is the result of a large volcanic eruption about 7,700 years ago. The volcano, Mount Mazama did not blow its top like Mount St. Helens but rather imploded into its self made cavernous depths once the underground lava dome had been depleted. The lake is very blue in part because of its purity but also because of its depth, up to 1,700 feet in a variety of spots.

We drove clockwise around the lake taking in the vistas and scenic overlooks until we could take no more. 

For a break we stopped at a picnic area and broke out the cheese, crackers, fruits and veggies. One of us couldn’t help it but just had to see if the local chipmunks would devour an almond, yes a lowly water starved almond.

Along the way we took a shot with the new "Selfie Stick".

Greg also took a shot with the "Selfie Stick"; looks like he's in his backswing with the shortest club in his bag in the following image.

Then we figured it out to take these shots of ourselves.

We finished the lake loop and took a side trip to The Pinnacles. Here we took a short walk but it's fair to say that we were either saturated with natural wonders for the day or possibly that the Bryce Canyon hoodoos far exceed the grandeur of the Crater Lake pinnacles and thus we just weren’t impressed.

"The Pinnacles"

"The Wavers"

"Water Fall"

Diane and Greg noticed this ominous image; could it be another eruption, the first in 7,700 years?

Before leaving the park we stopped to view a few more "wonders" before making our last stop at the park's general store for “bee-sting” meds, this time for Diane, and a snack or two.

"Government Funded Solar Project - Photons on Wheels"

On the way out of the park we saw a sign for the PCT, Pacific Crest Trail. Having just completed the book Wild, a story of one woman’s trek along the PCT, we stopped for a quick photo. No time today, we’ll have to hike the PCT another day, week, month, etc.

Just a few miles from the lodge at Prospect are the headwaters of the Rogue River. We walked along the Rogue for a few hundred meters, an area where the water falls through a narrow gorge.

We were back at the inn well in time for dinner at 6:30. Tonight I had the highly touted “Best prime rib in Southern Oregon”. It was hearty and actually one of the best prime rib cuts I’ve had in a awhile.

Sheila had fettuccini and honestly I don’t know what Diane and Greg had, it’s all running together. In any case I can say there were no desserts tonight. 

Following dinner we retired to our rooms. Diane and Greg had scored a much larger room for the second night, a room with two queen sized beds.