A couple of weekends ago, Mallory and I were reunited with one of our college besties, Cara. We had all been wanting to go to Crater Lake for a while now, so we decided to make it happen during her visit. It was so awesome. Definitely one of the best trips of the summer.
We also went with our friend, Jo, who was moving to Los Angeles, and her escort Chris. They joined us for the first evening of our trip. We made it to the crater around 7:30, and even though it was getting dark, it was breathtaking.
The next morning, before Chris and Jo had to depart, we were determined to hike down to the lake. We found the Cleetwood Trail and hiked down. We even swam in the lake. It's really too bad we didn't bring our scuba gear (or ability to scuba dive), because apparently this lake is one of the coolest lakes to scuba dive in. It is the deepest lake in the United States, and was created by a volcano, Mt. Mazama, erupted and eventually caved in, creating a caveat that has collected rain and snow melt for thousands of years. It's pretty cold, but surprisingly nice for swimming.
We stayed in Diamond Lake Resort, about 15 miles from Crater Lake. It's just beautiful there, too. A little run down (but very clean) hole-in-the-wall kinda place with cabins and motels. It's nothing fancy, but that's perfect for me... it means we spent much more time outside enjoying the beauty of the Umpqua National Forest. Except of course when were watching the Olympics. (It is just so very sad they're over, isn't it?) O, and if you go there, you should go get pizza and ice cream at the South Shore Pizza Parlor. And you should go out on the dock and eat your pizza because it is really the only place in the world you will want to be at that moment. I'm telling you... inexpensive family/friend vacation!
I just love everything about lakes. You can have the best of all worlds... water and mountains. It just doesn't get much better than that. I love the smell and the storms and the little lake towns that spring up around them. They're my favorite.
Have you ever been? If you live in the Pacific Northwest and haven't seen this, you really should. It is incredibly beautiful. Pictures definitely don't do it any sort of justice.
