Vanlog, Crater Lake National Park
It was an early morning from our boondocking site which we shared with a latecomer overnight. We drove further up the Oregon coast as far as Bandon with more spectacular ocean views.
We had a five hour drive to Crater Lake through some of the Umpqua NF where the wildfires had gone through. We passed one of the “incident camps” where the firefighters lived in tents. Then we had lunch at Toketee Falls, a 120-ft drop. Toketee means “pretty.” You be the judge.
We finally arrived at Crater Lake around 3 PM. We drove most of the 34-mile loop road around the rim. The lake is almost 2000 ft deep and was formed when Mt Manama erupted and formed a caldera. With over 500 in of snow per year, that’s a lot of snow melt that filled in the caldera to make the lake you see today. The deep blue colors are a reflection of its purity and the scattering effects of light off such deep waters. Wizard Island is actually a small cinder cone that formed after the main eruption. There is one place where you can walk down to the water to swim. We waded in. It was not as cold as you might think! We did the hike down in 22 min and back up in 30 min. 1.1 miles each way. Then we stayed for sunset at Cloudcap overlook before camping in the park campground. I was hoping to get Jessica a shower after three straight nights of boondocking but they are unfortunately closed “due to COVID.”
Another amazing sunset!
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