Crater Lake National Park: From Volcanic Destruction to Incredible Beauty.

Towering 12,000 feet above the surrounding landscape, Mount Mazama,"blew its top" 7,700 years ago. The violent explosion that scientists believe lasted just a few days caused the huge stratovolcano to collapse in on itself as the magma chamber quickly emptied. During the following centuries, rain and snow melt filled this resulting caldera to form one of the deepest, clearest, and most beloved lakes in the United States.

And clear skies and calm waters made it the picture-perfect time to visit our 51st national park, Crater Lake.

Located in southern Oregon on the crest of the Cascade Mountains, Crater Lake's clear blue water attracts half a million tourists each year for hiking, biking, and just gazing at its pure beauty. 

 One can spend a few hours or a few days exploring Crater Lake's incredible beauty. Some of our suggestions include ...

Drive (or Bike) Around Rim Drive

This 33 mile road takes you along the caldera rim high above Crater Lake. Stop at the Visitor Center to watch the video of how this natural wonder was created. Take the road to access the many hiking trails and vistas. Or just find a pull out and enjoy the views and colors as the sun sets on the other side of the caldera.

Hike The Cleetwood Cove Trail To Experience Some Cool Beauty

The Crater Lake caldera has steep rock walls that rise an average of 2000 feet from the water's surface. The only way to safely and legally access the water is by taking the Cleetwood Cove Trail. Here, the one mile trail descends about 700 feet down to the water's edge. When we reached the lake, we admired its clarity close-up and were entertained by a group of young people who were brave enough and/or crazy enough to go for a swim in the cool waters. 

Check Out Wizard Island ...

By Boat or From Watchman Overlook

From Cleetwood Cove, there are boat tours that will take you out to Wizard Island, a cinder cone that forms an island on the west end of Crater Lake. Since our "advanced planning skills" are often lacking, we admired views of the island from the top of the Watchman Overlook Trail.

Challenge Yourself and Being Rewarded With Some Amazing Views on the Garfield Peak Trail

The Garfield Peak Trail is often described as the #1 hike to do when in Crater Lake. The 1.8 mile trail starts out right away with an unrelenting climb that leads you up 1000 feet to the summit.

But with a little perseverance, you will be rewarded with incredible views at the summit.

At 1,943 feet, Crater Lake takes the prize for the deepest lake in the United States. With no inlet or outlet, its waters remain some of the clearest and purest. But it's the transformation from volcanic destruction to incredible beauty that makes Crater Lake a national treasure that we are grateful to finally be able to experience in person.

Brushing Up on My Volcano Lingo in Central Oregon

We were on a mission!

We had two more national parks to visit in southern Oregon and northern California while the weather conditions were still optimal. And I soon realized that I would need to brush up on some of my volcano lingo such as ...

Caldera ... Crater Rim ... Fumarole ... Lava Tubes ... Magma ... Obsidian

as we were going to be in one of the most active volcanic areas in the continental US.

(Wikipedia)

It would also be helpful to re-learn the names of the four main types of volcanoes ...

Cinder Cone ... Composite (Stratovolcano) ...  Plug (Lava) Dome ... Shield Volcano

And, of course, it's always important to know if these volcanoes are ...

Active ... Dormant ... Extinct

So after leaving San Juan Island, Washington we made a quick stop in downtown Seattle to check out a few of the famous sights like the Space Needle, the original Starbucks Coffee Shop, and the "flying fish" at the Pike's Place Fish Market.

Can you see it???

From there it was on to Portland Oregon where we discovered the sinfully good things that come in pink boxes at ...

VooDoo Donuts.

VooDoo Donuts has many "interesting" choices

that are bound to make your blood sugar erupt!

From there we headed across a stretch of highway that we last traveled through in 2020. We recalled it as being some of the most beautiful national forest areas that we have ever seen. This time, however, the landscape had changed dramatically due to the devastating wildfires that swept through central and southern Oregon in September of 2020. 
 

Now there were huge expanses of burned trees and bare mountainsides.  But the green ground cover and an occasional "hardy" pine gave us hope that this forested area would someday show off its natural beauty once again.

Fortunately, the mountain town of Sisters, Oregon was spared from the devastation. We found a nice boondocking spot in the national forest just outside of town

and were happy to wander the streets of this cute village. We could have happily stayed a few more days, but as I said earlier, 

... we were on a mission!

First stop ...

Newberry National Volcanic Monument

Newberry National Volcanic Monument is located just south of Bend, Oregon and serves to protect the area around the Newberry Volcano. Still an active volcano, a section of it last erupted about 1,300 years ago.

We were able to drive up and walk around the rim of the cinder cone known as Lava Butte.

Although this area was estimated to have last erupted 7,000 years ago, it was fascinating to still see the miles of lava

... and a few hardy plants attempting to "brighten up" this rather bleak landscape.

The next day we visited a different section of the park that has seen more recent volcanic activity. Here, beauty was emerging as the powerful water carved its way through the rocks to form Paulina Falls. 

A little further down the road was probably the most fascinating area of Newberry National Volcanic Monument ... the Big Obsidian Flow. Obsidian, as I'm learning, is volcanic glass. It is formed when lava cools very quickly and thus is very dense and heavy compared to the lava that we saw on the Lava Butte Trail.

Pictures hardly do it justice, but this obsidian rock has a deep black color and a shiny hue. It is very dense and has sharp edges when broken ... just like glass. Because of these qualities, obsidian rock was highly prized by Native Americans for making cutting and hunting tools. 

And a fun fact for my medical friends ... obsidian rock was even used experimentally as a surgical instrument, and they found that the incisions that it produced left hardly any scarring when compared to traditional surgical scalpels.

And while I would have loved to take this obsidian "heart" home with me, just the quick act of holding it for a picture gave me a small but deep cut on one of my fingers ... but I can attest to the fact that there is no lasting scar. I decided that it was probably best to just leave it here and avoid more finger cuts ... and  a huge fine from the Park Service.

After refreshing some of my volcano "lingo", it was time to move on to one of the most awe-aspiring sights in the United States ... a sight that wouldn't be possible had it not been for some pretty powerful volcanic action. But first, let's check out some more waterfalls,

have dinner under the shadow of Mount Theilson,

and enjoy a sunset behind Diamond Lake.

Next stop ... Crater Lake National Park!

San Juan Island, Washington: Island Time

 

There is something special about island time ...

and I thought that we would experience more of those "laid back" feelings when we visited Vancouver Island. But Victoria and the southern half of the island seemed to have more of a "hustle and bustle" atmosphere.

We experienced a better sense of "island time" when we visited one of the smaller islands that make up Canada's Gulf Islands National Park. Their sandy beaches, green forests, and solitary lighthouses made us want to stay a while longer.

But it was time to end our Canadian travel adventures for now and cross the border back into the United States. As the ferry took us back to the Canadian mainland, we could see some familiar landmarks like Mount Baker rising high in the distant Cascade Mountain Range of Washington State. Beautifully framed in front of the mountain were the San Juan Islands, an archipelago that lies on the United States side of the border.

We had heard about the beauty of the main island of San Juan, and since we were going to be so close, we had made reservations for the ferry and campground a few weeks prior. After crossing the border, we drove down to Anacortes, Washington and  boarded the Washington State Ferry. One hour later we arrived at Friday Harbor on San Juan Island ready to find ...

island time.

The quaint seaside harbor and village of Friday Harbor greeted us. While it was bustling with tourists during the day, it became quite tranquil once the last ferry left.

Blooming flowers decorated its streets. 

Colorful shops, B&Bs, and vacation homes lined the village streets.

And ... happy day for Doug!

San Juan Island Brewery invited him to sit for a spell and enjoy a cold one.

The main island of San Juan and its smaller neighboring islands are accessible only by boat or plane. They are popular tourist destinations due to their sunny and mild year-round climate as well as their sea kayaking and whale-watching opportunities. We reserved a spot at the fairground campground on the outskirts of Friday Harbor and quickly sensed that we were in the right place to enjoy some "island time".

From Friday Harbor, it was easy to explore the island as it is only 14.5 miles long and 6.5 miles wide. During our five days on the island we checked out the local sculpture garden,

... admired the colorful flower gardens,

... enjoyed some of Washington's famous coffee at the many cute cafes,

... traveled to various locations where people had reported whale sightings in hopes of spotting a spout or two,

... enjoyed amazing scenery during our various coastal hikes,

... found a perfect location for "dinner with a sunset view" on the west side of the island,

... and learned about how the death of a pig almost caused a war between England and the United States on San Juan Island in 1859.

Yes, this "Pig War" could have been a really big deal. The dispute over the dead pig raised tensions that resulted in the British occupying the north end of the island, and the Americans occupying the south end. During the thirteen years of mostly peaceful co-existence, negotiations over who owned San Juan Island continued. Finally both sides accepted the ruling of a German arbitrator, and war was averted. The British pig that was shot by an American in 1859 remained the only "casualty" during the dispute, and the islands officially became a part of the United States in 1872.

Elegant Victorian gardens still adorn the former British end of the island which is now a part of the San Juan Island National Historical Site,

and memorials remind us of how diplomacy is still the best way to reach agreements

so that future generations can continue to enjoy ...

island time.