July 27, 2011, Crater Lake

We have not had internet service for 2 days, so we are posting this on 7/29.

We tried in 1975. The water in the park was contaminated, and they closed the park.
We tried in 1989. The lodge was condemned, so we opted to try another time.
We tried in 1999. Ray's prostate cancer was being treated with drugs that kept us from traveling.
But we finally made it!

Part of the difficulty of visiting Crater Lake is the fact that it is located 50 miles from nowhere. You really have to want to come here. And we did.
What's so great about Crater Lake? It is one of the most pure bodies of water in the world, and one of the deepest lakes in the world. The purity of the water makes it appear unbelievably blue, and it is set in a landscape whose backdrop is snowcapped mountains, and spruce forests.

This year Crater Lake had 673 inches of snow--that's 56 FEET. There is snow on many of the trails that makes them unpassable, and there are banks of snow everywhere in the park. Today we arrived at about 1:30, and took the opportuntiy to drive around the lake, stopping at turnouts to snap some pictures.

We checked into our accommodations later in the day. We're staying at a nifty throwback motel about 15 miles from the entrance of the park (about 25 miles from the lake rim). This is the closest place, other than the Crater Lake Lodge (that had no rooms available). The people who run the motel are very friendly and helpful. The room is large and clean, and has a refrigerator and microwave, 15" TV and VHS. There are barbecue grills out front of the motel for your use. And since there are only 6 stations on TV (we ARE in the middle of nowhere), they have a cache of hundreds of videotapes that you can borrow to watch. The beds are comfy (and did I mention, clean?). What more could you want?  We were advised that the restaurant across the street was quite good, and reviews of this place had mentioned the same. We could choose that, or go another 10 miles down the road to Chemult. So we headed there for dinner. Good choice. They served up meals that were fresh and in gigantic portions, and the background music playing was awesome (Allman Brothers). Places like this are the reason we love to travel.