Crater Lake, Friday, May 3, 2013

We had another full day of sight-seeing today.  I had fixed a picnic lunch of fried chicken today since we did not know just what services would be provided at Crater Lake National Park.  We knew that we would be limited in access to roads in the park because of snow and we were hoping that we would at least get to see the Lake that is visible about 50%of the time.

Driving northeast from the RV Park we followed the Rogue River and then came to the Rogue Gorge, a short drive from the highway.  The head waters of the Rogue are from Crater Lake and this gorge was a piece of the river’s journey to the Pacific Ocean at Gold Beach.  A short 1/4 mile walk along the gorge followed the water as it cascaded through the gorge. 

Continuing on to Crater Lake National Park we were seeing more snow the closer we got.  When we pulled into the Visitor’s Center the walkway to the center had snow on each side higher than we are tall.  We watched the movie about the Lake and then drove a few miles further to the Lake near the area of Rim Village.  Snow was piled up so we had to climb on the snow in order to get up to view the lake.  The views were just beautiful.  We had no problems seeing the lake today as it was a clear, cloudless day.   Roads that go around the crater are not able to be opened until the middle to end of June.  The average snow fall is 44 feet- this year there was only 70% of the average but it sure looked like an abundance to me.  Crater Lake is the deepest body of water in this country at 1,943 feet.  It is 6 miles wide and holds the bluest and clearest water.  The water source is from the rain and snow.  After our picture taking we stopped at the Rim Village and we able to eat our lunch in the gift shop/restaurant on an upper level with windows with views of the area.

Our return trip to the campground continued a circular route  passing the Upper Klamath Lake and scenic pine treed regions.  Tomorrow we will move back to the coastal region.