Reminders of our trip to the west coast

One of the 10 waterfalls at Silver Falls State Park in Oregon.

At the beginning of this year, when I took down the mini-calendar we had on the fridge, I noticed that the photo for Dec. was one of the waterfalls in Silver Falls State Park. The photo on the calendar was the same waterfall as the photo I took this summer when we were at Silver Falls State Park, although the photo on the calendar was taken during the winter.

I flipped to the front of the calendar and it's titled "Scenic Landscapes." As I looked through it, three of the other months used photos of places we were at this summer! There were photos from Crater Lake, Cannon Beach and the coast of northern California. When I picked the calendar last year I had no idea that we'd be going to California and Oregon that summer.

The calendar for 2011 has roosters on it...I wonder if that means something?

Crater Lake National Park, Oregon

Crater Lake National Park is located in the southwestern part of Oregon. It was formed when Mt. Mazama, an active volcano, erupted and then collapsed into itself creating a caldera. The 5-mile wide caldera filled with rain and melted snow and is the deepest lake in the US.

When we got to Crater Lake, we stopped at the first overlook we came to. The view was amazing and the water was so incredibly blue. We ate a picnic lunch there, even though the mosquitoes were fairly aggressive (and the only mosquitoes we saw the whole trip).

Pam at one of the Crater Lake overlooks.

We stopped at several other overlooks, which all had spectacular views, and most have parking areas right there.

There’s only one place where you can get down to the water, and that is at Cleetwood Cove, and it’s a 1-mile walk down. This is also the only place you can get in a boat, which is a ranger-led boat tour. We didn’t do it.

Scott on the snow, on July 9.

As we drove further into the park, we noticed that the snow on the side of the road was getting deeper and deeper.

We had planned on driving the 33-mile Rim Road that goes around the caldera, and we made it almost half way around when the rest of the road was closed. I actually wasn’t very disappointed as the views we did see were so impressive, I wasn’t sure they could get any better.

Even though we were in the snow at noon, we drove 3 hours north to our hotel in Redmond, where they tied their record high of 98.

To see more photos of Crater Lake, go here: Crater Lake on Flickr

Lodging and Dining :

We didn't stay or eat at Crater Lake, although they do have a lodge and some food options, although I think they are seasonal.