Crater Lake National Park | Oregon

Crater Lake, oh my goodness! This was one of the top five most amazing sights we saw while on the trip, no joke.

So, Crater Lake is a lake that formed in the top of a volcanic crater, or caldera, and the lake happens to be the deepest lake in the US, and among the 10 deepest in the world, at 1,943 deep at its deepest point. Not only is this lake deep, but it is so beautifully blue - we just could not get over the pristine, bright blue color of the water. Since the lake is at the top of a volcanic crater, and there are no streams that flow in and out of the lake, only snow and rain precipitation have filled this lake with water.

We didn't spend much time in the Park, but only a couple hours, enough time to drive around half of the Rim Drive, where there are plenty of lookout spots to pull the car over and stare at the Lake. And while the lake is the main attraction, the Park was otherwise beautiful, with stunning views of mountains and fields out the other side of the car window.

-Amanda

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Paulina Lake & Newberry National Volcanic Monument | La Pine, OR

This was my day. The reason we lugged the 40-lb blow up boat with us all the way across the country. The stars had finally aligned and we were leisurely camping out by a nice calm lake with time to spare, so I could do some serious fishing! And the place was just perfect - Paulina lake has formed in a caldera (a blown up top of a volcano), so due to a lack of natural rivers flowing into the lake, the fish have to be brought in. That's right - the lake was well stocked. To a point that dads bring their little kids here to fish - it's almost like fish in barrel.

So, guess how many fish I pulled out after spending 4 hours on the water?

Zero!

Pretty sad... But the process itself was still pretty fun. I even made friends with fellow fishermen who wasn't having much more luck than me.

~~~

One of the reasons we came to Paulina lake was a recommendation from a local in Bend, OR (a short 20 miles away). We were told there are natural hot springs around the edges of this volcanic lake and one can dig up a private hot-spring-bath. Sounds so cool and epic in theory, but in the real world that just means sulfur smelling mud with lukewarm puddles. The timing was also a bit off, as the seismic activity was not at its peak, so perhaps at another time the experience could have been more rewarding. We'll never know.

After camping and fishing, we took a short hike to the nearby lava flows and drove to the top of Paulina Peak for some incredible views of the lakes below and the Cascade Range off in the distance. The lava flows had tons of glass-like rocks (called obsidian, as we learned). This stuff forms when the hot lava cools in the air, forming crystallized, brittle rock. When broken, the rocks can have very sharp edges, and sometimes are used as scalpels in plastic surgery.

Pretty cool place to visit on our way out of Oregon. One more stop at another volcanic lake in the next post...

-Taras

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Smith Rock State Park | Redmond, OR

Smith Rock State Park is not far from Bend and we had a bunch of people tell us to go check it out. Smith Rock is best known for is popularity with rock climbers, and is even considered the birthplace of modern American sport climbing (see more on the wiki page here).

While we didn't give climbing a go, we did hike around a bit and stopped fairly frequently to watch in awe at the climbers, especially the climbers who had made it to the very top of the rock (they looked like teeny tiny people from where we stood!). Once upon a time, before I even knew Taras, he had been into climbing a bit. He hasn't gotten back into it, but that day it was next to impossible to get him to leave the park - he was completely taken by all the climbers.

The hiking paths are great but the desert-like conditions don't provide much shade, so be sure to bring along plenty of water and a hat. Also, look out for the friendly park ranger with a snake... say hello if you dare :)

The drive in and out of the park is gorgeous and is mostly farmland - you're sure to spot some horses and deer along the way.

-Amanda

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