And it was mostly clear when we got up to the rim.
Plus, saw a lot of country new to me by taking Highway 97 up to Klamath Falls to approach the park from the east. The drive was just under four hours one way.
The lake was formed when an ancient volcano, its magma chamber suddenly empty, collapsed in on itself.
It's one of the deepest lakes in the US.
The Rim Trail is a good way to see things.
You can see the sides of the old volcano clearly. Looks blasted.
On the way back south, the smoke got worse and worse, until it was like this.
However, we did see two bald eagles hanging around Upper Klamath Lake. Plus, I was able to fill up the truck with sweet, delicious Oregon gas at a Sinclair station just before crossing back into California. And cheaper. The truck averaged 21.7 miles per gallon on the trip - not bad for a full sized pickup with four people in it.
Stopped at a nice place in Mount Shasta to feed the girls. Bistro 107, and the place was packed.
The onion rings hit the spot.
Now you've got to see it on a clear day in the winter! I used to live just a few miles north of Crater and we'd snowmobile in. Spectacular.
ReplyDeleteIs the a rim trail? I had once thought to snow mobile around the entire lake. Take my time, do some camping.
DeleteYou should post a Travel Guide for seeing this beautiful area...where to stay, eat, sights etc. Looks too lovely to miss. Thx.
ReplyDeleteCrater Lake IS the deepest lake. Magma doesn't just disappear, it was erupted as lava. Then the now empty magma chamber collapsed into a caldera. That would be some explosion; millions of Cu. Ft. of lava ballistically burping into the sky. I think so much magma was rapidly erupted that the structure of the chamber wasn't just weakened but had disappeared entirely. Simply incredible.
ReplyDeleteIt is beautiful country. We have the Cascade cordillera to thank for that.
Nice to see my family's old stomping grounds.
ReplyDeleteThe smoke has now gone all across the the coast of Oregon. East wind blowing hard. Very strange weather for here, and more smoke than I've ever seen here.
The temperature here on the central coast went up 10 degrees right after dark.
Everybody know there is a lightly damaged B-29 laying at the bottom of that lake?
ReplyDelete