| Crater Lake National Monument, OR |
| 10/03/03 We woke up this morning at Crater Lake Campground called Matzuma. We were so excited to get up and start riding bikes this morning. It took a little while to get up but soon we hooked the girls up to their perspective trike or bike and took off down the road to deposit some garbage. Ginger did really well hooked up to Springer and was running along side Kim about 4 mph and Sam was with me on the bike just ahead. It was so much fun going as a whole family. Ginger still needs to be acclimated to running so we are starting her out slowly and we did just one loop with her. I took Sammy around another loop then headed back. We hooked both dogs up to the camper while we got the truck ready for the day. They got their endorphins in from the trike ride and started playing and tackling each other. They were so cute we took them off leash and soon they were chasing each other and chewing each other on the legs. They were so happy! |
| It was time to go exploring Crater Lake and we pulled the trailer aside and took our truck and camper down the road. Crater Lake was beautiful in the morning. We hiked up a short ways and saw the beautiful silent blue waters and the new volcanic cone Wizard Island far below us. |
| On each side of the rim were beautiful cliffs carved by the violent flow years past when Mount Matzuma exploded and became this crater before us. No rivers reach these waters and the stillness reflects perfectly the shoreline and chiseled cliffs. You can only imagine how deep the peaceful blue waters reach but the depths are unequaled in the United States. We took in many different overlooks and saw different cliff faces and peaks within the caldera. |
| We saw one sign about the Old Man of the Lake which is a fallen tree that has been there for an unknown amount of years that floats peacefully within the crater. Just a small stick is visible of the entire large tree floating in the still waters. We stopped in the midst of some trees and let our girls run in a small opening. Out of the corner of my eye I saw something watching us and looked into the eyes of a deer. The girls were oblivious to what I saw and we quickly herded them back to the truck. |
| We were in desperate need of some food and decided to stop at the Pinnacles overlook for lunch. We had no idea what to expect! Beautiful spires erupted out of the sides of a ravine with reds greys and white. These structures stretched down farther than we could see. They had a gravelly covering and looked very fragile to the weather and erosion. They looked like old castles rising up to greet us. We had lunch of egg salad sandwiches while Sam guarded us outside the camper pretending to snooze. After lunch we took the dogs on leash down the Pinnacle trail and looked at the various structures. It looked like a really good trike trail but it stretched on and on. At one point Sam and I took off down the trail to see if we could see the end leaving Kim and Ginger sitting on a log. We couldn�t see the end and soon came back. Ginger was so excited to see Sam that she lunged at her with her two front paws in greeting. There were some happy puppies. They do not like to be separated from each other. |
| We decided to look at the sunset over Crater Lake and headed back for the viewpoints on the east side overlooking Wizard Island. The sun was just setting over the hills as we arrived and saw the pink clouds and sun�s rays over the lake. |
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| We stopped and admired the view sitting on the stone barrier on the cliff edge. It was chilly as the sun set and I had my parka with the hood up. The wispy clouds were reflected perfectly in the still waters of the evening and the surrounding cliff edges were crystal clear in the waters below. As the sun set further we headed back towards camp. There is so much to explore here but we have definitely played too hard and need to rest for the night. We had dinner of mushrooms onions and garlic and made some salad for our drive tomorrow. It has been another beautiful day on our trip and sleep is calling me. |