Last week, on our way home from Klamath Lake, we decided to drive by Crater Lake National Park. The lake was formed after the catastrophic explosion of Mount Mazama. It was only about 45 miles from where we had stayed on Klamath Lake.
When there, I always forget how awesome Crater Lake is. The high elevation makes for a limited season when it is easily accessible and leaves the sky a pure shade of blue such as matches the lake. It is thought that many of the springs throughout the Cascades have their source from this water.
I have never stayed at Crater Lake Lodge but definitely have to put that on a future agenda. At one of the museums, there were some quotations that add a bit more to the feeling while there-- as words often do.
"Born of chaos, fire and smoke, Turbulent nature did'st invoke Mazama's fall-- that thou should'st be, Silent, mysterious, sapphire sea."
Poet Belle Menefree Meyer 1932
"What a mighty depth is here, Where clouds of pearl drift far below And stars show through; Where sunbeams play with emerald-purple waves And all the Silent Sea is stained with blue."
Author and Poet Stanton C. Lapham, 1931
"I thought I had gazed upon everything beautiful in nature as I have spent my years traveling thousands of miles to visit the beauty spots of the earth, but I have reached the climax. Never again can I gaze upon the beauty spots of the earth and enjoy them as being the finest thing I have ever seen. Crater Lake is above them all."
Author Jack London, 1911
"I expected something remarkable but was not prepared for a scene of such wonder and beauty... It seemed a blue gulf... Nowhere else had I ever seen such a shade of blue... How exquisite, rare, unreal."
Author Zane Grey, 1919
Our son, daughter-in-law, and their boys had stopped there the day before (part of why we thought of doing it), on their way home, with their children similar in age to ours from a visit there in 1971.The lake hadn't changed. We sure have. The cycle of life has to be one part of the joy of visiting a place like Crater Lake where you are reminded of how nature changes everything and yet stays the same.
Above photos from summer of 1971. All the pictures from our recent stop at Crater Lake on Picasa: Crater Lake National Park July 23
6 comments:
Rain you are more beautifull than the lake !! lovely pics...:-)
That is so PRETTY!! I have been BY the mountain, but never took the road up to it. I shall have to remedy that soon!
Once ran a company with offices up and down the west coast. Flew San Diego to Berkeley (Oakland) to Portland to Seattle twice each month. The highlight was always the aerial view of Crater Lake. Your pictures show why. Thank you.
What a beautiful lake. It rivals Tahoe for sheer beauty. The blues are really vibrant. I love the photos and the one of the bird in the tree top is a great pic. I must go back and enlarge it; I think it's an Eagle.
Wow, rain, I just love seeing the photos from the early 70s. All the photos of the lake are spectacular, but there's something about seeing you with your babies that knocks me out. Really grand.
Oh, Rain, what beautiful photos - and accompanied by thoughtful quotes! You have a camera "eye".
It must have been like a time warp to have gone back after so many years. Wonderful!
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