Crater Lake Summer

Well, enough snow melted that I was able to get into the campground.  Yesterday, the folks behind me had a boy, 3 or 4, who was using an old skateboard from which the undercarriage had been removed to "snowboard" on the snow, about 3 feet deep, immediately behind Enterprise.  It is kind of strange to have temperatures in the 70's, strong sun, and snow on the ground.  At nighttime, it drops into the high 30's.

Anyway, enough about that.  I came here to see Crater Lake, as did many others.

I can't begin to describe the intensity of the blues in the lake.  The photos give a sense, but do not fully capture it.  Add to that the vastness, the quiet and the serenity... awesome.

Yesterday I drove to Watchman's Viewpoint to catch the sunset.  Approaching sunset, the lake looked very different.

The peak to the south has a fire watch tower on top.  Imagine hiking that to get your groceries!

Say goodnight, Gracie...

Normally, that would be the end of the post, but the folks in the car next to me had locked themselves out of their car.  They were dressed in light clothing, not suitable for nighttime above 7000 feet.  The temperature was dropping fast.  I asked how they were going to deal with it and learned that AAA was on its way, but would not get here for another 90 minutes.  It was windy and they were cold, and the sun had just set.  No way would it be safe for them to just wait there.  So, I invited them into my car and we visited for the next hour and a half until AAA showed up.  I guess there is still a bit of the Boy Scout in me.