Tuesday:
Day Trip to Crater Lake National Park:
It never ceases to amaze me how each location has it's own special story...and Crater Lake is quite a story.  We found out today that the lake was formed by volcanic action happening in a grouping of mountains which weakened the structure of the central mountain and caused it to calapse in, what was witnessed by an ancient tribe of Indians as, one dramatic crash.  This formed Crater Lake...the deepest lake in the US!  It also boasts the purest water in the world!!  Unfortunately there was none available to drink...awe.

The drive to the park is through about 50 miles of pure pine forest.  We were prepared for cold weather in the higher elevations, and as we drove along, we expected to see a little snow accumulation...but as you will see in the photos, we had a big surprise waiting us...we began to see it piled higher and higher, and as we reached the Crater Lake Visitor's Center we both admitted we had never before seen that much snow accumulation in our life.  Truly, dealing with this extreme weather is a life style for the people who work there.  The guys who do the snow plowing are heroes by my rules.  They said their specialized road crew can usually manage to clear about 1/4 mile of 50 ft deep snow per day and should have the roads cleared to the top of the park by July 4th.  The roads to the lower range Visitor Center where we were allowed was nice and clear today.  The buildings were built with long corridors that resembled bunkers to me.  Very heavy duty, to resist the pressure of tons of snow and the occasional avalanche. 

After making a comment on yesterday's journal about spring following us up California into Oregon, we ran right smack dab into a crisp bright winter day...and had a great time experiencing it all.  Very unique place.

Photos posted on the right under Crater Lake National Park.