Day 37

It was very cold overnight so we woke the girls up with hot chocolate in their sleeping bags. Dave cooked a tall stack of french toast while I put together sandwiches for our hike today.  After the girls prepared all our backpacks for the hike they had just a few minutes to practice their log rolling.

We had a schedule to keep today so once we picked up Grammie we headed straight to the visitors center to watch the park's movie. With our long day we were thinking we wouldn't be able to fit it in any other time. I didn't know that much about Crater Lake except the island in the middle was a volcano. I found out the whole mountain - Mt Mazama - was a giant volcano that erupted and collapsed to leave this huge crater. The island  cinder cine in the middle was formed with later eruptions similar to the lava dome in the center of Mt. St. Helens.

The lake was the most impressive part holding some of the most pure water in the world. It is the deepest lake in the U.S. at 1,934 feet and has exceptional water clarity with scientists recording sight more than 100 feet deep. The lake has no streams flowing in or out.

Next we parked at the Cleetwood Trailhead to hike down to our boat that would take us to Wizard Island, named because of its sorcerer hat shape. The hike was only 1 mile but there was a 700-ft elevation change. The walk down to the water was very easy with switchbacks all the way down which meant it was going to be a strenuous hike up!  I couldn't get over how blue the water was and how clear! These pictures don't even begin to capture how beautiful blue it was.

Once we reached the bottom we had some time to look around the area. There was a large amount of people on the trail and I saw now most were coming down to jump off Jumping Rock and swim in the frigid water. I'm all for jumping off a rock and swimming but I think I'll save it for warm water. Ryan said she might try it after the hike.

All down the trail and scurrying around the dock were these adorable little guys trying to make friends with us. I was shocked with the park ranger said they have food for sale for them. Then he said the only problem is they carried the plague and I got the sarcasm. They are so cute though you just want to make them yours!







The shuttle to the island was quick and gave us cool views of the layers of rocks inside what was the mountain. The kids grabbed a quick snack and we started up the trail to the top. This was also a 700-ft elevation gain in a mile - tough work for all of us! The views were spectacular of the water all around us.

With so many rocks around from the volcano we found tons of heart rocks. I kept a red one but the kids wanted to make sure I got pictures of the ones they found. 

I noticed on the boat as we were getting close to the island many of the tree trunks appeared completely bright green. As we were hiking up the trail and were closer we couldn't help but notice the florescent green Wolf Moss on the trees. If the moss had fallen to the ground it especially stood out on the gray rocks.

Once we made it to the top the kids found a shady spot while I explored with the camera. The sun was hot but it seemed as you slipped into the shady the temperature instantly dropped about 20 degrees. It wasn't too long before Dave made it with our lunch. He was the lucky one with a big enough backpack to carry everything.  Grammie wasn't too far behind him and we were all quiet looking around at the view. 

The girls decided to go down into the crater of the cinder cone with me and the rest hiked around the rim. The trail was steep and gravel-y so we slipped and slid quite a bit the whole way down.  See us down there at the bottom!?

Grammie was quite a bit ahead of us this time as we all met back up at the trail to head back down. This way was much easier and we were able to really check out the view. The kids talked about their plans for the house once we got home as well as a potential zombie apocalypse. Several of the families of their friends made the list of ones they would like to be sure to live in a compound with.

We made it down to the Fumerole Bay trail split and almost decided to go see the bay but a guy coming up the trail discouraged us.

We had about 40 minutes until the shuttle boat came back so we decided to enjoy the water at the dock instead. We all stuck our tired feet in and enjoyed the cold water and the beautiful view. The cold water instantly cooled our entire bodies! We even drank our fill of the pure water. It was refreshing and delicious!  Dave talked Ryan into walking into the water around the bend because she wanted to go swimming.  She was all smiles as she wobbled around on the rock bottom.

Our boat arrived as scheduled and we were headed back to the dock before too long. There was a bit of a traffic jam of boats where we were to get off so our captain took us to see the "Old Man of the Lake".  This 30-foot tree has been bobbing up and down in the lake for more than 120 years. The water was so clear today we could see the roots of the tree down in the water. This tree travels all around the lake daily depending on the weather. The week before it had been hanging out at Wizard Island.              

The hike back up to the parking area was tougher than the Wizard Island hike. The switchbacks were helpful but grueling with little time for recovery. By the end we all just had our heads down waiting for the clearing in the trees to signal we were at the end. 

We brought all the kids back to the campsite so Dave could unload all the things he'd brought for them. The girls spent some time looking at the characters he'd drawn for them and Brayden shuffled through the selection of books he'd brought. We also gave Dave the gifts we'd purchased during our travel stops. Everyone was all smiles again!

I gathered the ingredients for dinner and we walked over to Grammie's RV to cook. Even when you are cooking in an RV it seems everything takes twice as long so Dave took the girls over to the village area of our campground. Brayden wasn't feeling well so he retired to his loft bed in the RV.

The hot sauce we bought Dave definitely lived up to its name as being the hottest on earth. He put his usual 4-5 shakes into his serving of soup and regretted it almost instantly! I'm not sure he tasted much after that!

The Rim Drive of Crater Lake was on my must-do list so we headed out after cleaning up. Brayden stayed in the RV as he still wasn't feeling well and Lola was going to keep him company.

We decided on a couple definite spots we wanted to see - the first being the Phantom Ship. This is a 17-story rock formation in the middle of the lake that appears to be a floating pirate ship.  This formation was actually a small volcano that pre-dated Mount Mazama but was strong enough to withstand the eruption to remain in Crater Lake.

The sun was starting to set so after a quick picture we decided to visit our next spot very quickly and come back for the rest of the sunset. The Pinnacles was a fascinating set of spires jutting out from the rocks below. Laney commented that it looked like some of the formations we'd seen in many of the caves we'd visited.  We learned these formations had been created from gases trying to escape through a fumerole where they came into contact with volcanic ash instantly cementing it. Over time the softer rock around the structures eroded away leaving these cool spikes.
We stayed briefly to enjoy the view then hopped back in the car anxious not to miss the sunset.

By the time we got back to the overlook there was gorgeous color all around! We sat to enjoy and admire the changes but I was a little frustrated to only have one or two spots to photograph through the trees. I wanted to get higher!

We had one more stop on our list that we had decided would be dark by the time we got there after the sunset. I suggested we keep going up to get above the trees and once we got there we were so glad we did! The colors were breathtaking and we could keep our eyes off the view.  We were definitely above the treeline now!

Laney took a bunch of panoramic shots of the sunset as that was the only way you could capture the 180-degree view! 

This ended up being one of my favorite shots Dave took because the water ended up looking like clouds. 

This sunset was the perfect end to our stay at Crater Lake. The temperature dropped about 20 degrees while we were there so we were all ready to get deep into our sleeping bags.  Tomorrow we would be moving further down the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway.

Day 36

This was my view at 8:00am this morning so I decided to leave the kids in the tent to sleep. They didn't even move with all my noise! Everyone woke up happy this morning either because I let them all sleep in or because we were picking up Dave today! I'm assuming it was mostly the latter.

I make a huge pile of pancakes and the we gobbled them all up. Dave wasn't flying in until just after noon so it was nice to not have to rush through our packing up. I was even able to take a shower - what a luxury! 

We mailed a ginormous pile of post cards then we were off! It was time for an oil change again so that was our first stop once we got on the road. The guy informed me that I got a free vaccuum and car wash with my oil change. He realized the car wash probably wouldn't work with our cargo carriers and I told him I wouldn't torture him vaccuming out the mess that is the car we've been living in for a month. He was very appreciative and wished us, "Safe travels to the south, ya'll" as we drove off. 

We were going to try to fit in a Trader Joe's stop before the airport but I didn't want to be stressed out with Dave's flight arriving a little early so we got gas and arrived a little early to the airport. It was nice to have the kids practice navigating us to where we needed to go from the parking garage. Every airport is different!

After about 20 minutes The Clarkes were all back together! Dave was loaded down with books for Brayden, activities for the girls, and a new sleep mat for me! It's a wonder he could fit any clothes in his bag!

The kids were talking 90 miles a minute trying to tell himi what we'd been doing the last few days. We stopped briefly for a resupply at Trader Joe's then headed to a Portland ice cream shop to celebrate. I'd found Cloud City ice cream earlier that morning and it definitely did not disappoint! I'd found and had recommendations of another Portland favorite I just didn't think my kids would be up for the quirky flavors. This ice cream shop had some delicious stand bys as well as a few quirky ones. Their dark chocolate ice cream is definitely the best I've ever tasted! Unforunately for me it wasn't what I ordered and I didn't even being to ask Dave to trade me! 

We dangerously took our ice cream in the car, anxious to reach our next destination, Crater Lake National Park. We drove through miles and miles of wilderness which seemed to aclimate Dave to the woods just a bit. We kept seeing a glacier-covered peak in the distance and finally stopped at an overlook. We learned it is Diamond Peak, park of the Pacific Coast Trail and thought to be an extinct volcano.

We kept onward and before we knew it we reached the sign for Crater Lake. We had about 30 minutes left in our drive so I just assumed as we climbed up that we would simply be climbing to our campsite. Our jaws dropped as we reached the first lookout point of Crater Lake.  I pulled across the road to stop so we could enjoy the view for a few minutes and take it all in. It was breathtaking and I don't think I have enough amazing adjectives to describe it. 

The pictures can't even begin to do it justice. The water is a shade of blue that I've never seen before. I couldn't wait to see more!

But the kids could wait. They spotted snow and about 100 yards later we pulled over again to let them play in the snow. In August. Yep, it was obvious we were from Florida then! 

Dave challenged them to hit him with a snowball. They tried and tried and as you can see Laney hit me instead!

I believe Ryan finally got him before we left with this throw.

It was very chilly so I grabbed my sweatshirt and hopped in the car while the kids made some kind of snow monster guy. I believe it was supposed to be a snowman but yeah, we're from Florida.

We finally made it to our site and met back up with Grammie. There were backpackers off the Pacific Coast Trail everywhere as this was a good stop for them for food, showers, and laundry. 

We checked in and got set up in record time. Dave got in the groove with helping setup and cooking dinner at the same time. It sure is so nice to have another adult! We had a delicious dinner of grilled mahi mahi sandwiches and salad before we walked over to plan our next day with Grammie. We would be seeing the lake up close tomorrow!