Sept. 2, 2014 --- Crater Lake:
Today we made another long day trip.   They really wanted to see Crater Lake, and so did I, so today was the day to go there.  It was another beautiful day---low 90's and sunny.  We jumped on the highway and went the nearly 100 miles to Crater Lake.
I love this road sign.

 About 9 months of the year this northern entrance is closed due to snow.  Winter weather starts to close the Rim Drive in October or November. 

  During the winter, the north entrance is only open to skiers and snowmobiles.

Since this is another National Park, Ken was able to use his Senior Parks Pass here, too.  So far this Utah/Oregon trip that pass has saved us about $100.   After going through the north gate,  still couldn't see the lake, but knew it wasn't far from here.

Crater Lake was formed when a massive eruption of Mount Mazama 7700 years ago caused the mountain to collapse, leaving a steaming caldera. Centuries of rain and snow filled the caldera creating Crater Lake.
 We headed straight to the Lodge to check on the boat ride.  We had done this ride before, and I would have loved to go again, but with my pulled calf muscle and torn meniscus, I was afraid to try.  But we encouraged John and Coni to do it.  They were able to get seats on the 1pm boat for the 2 hour trip around the lake.  The only legal access to the shore of Crater Lake is the Cleetwood Cove hike.  This is a strenuous and steep switchback trail with a steep 11% grade. The trail descends to a rocky shoreline at Cleetwood Cove where they caught the tour boat.  The hike down to the cove should not be attempted by anyone with heart, breathing, or walking problems----that pretty much eliminated Ken and me.

 With about 3 hours before the boat ride, we did a little sightseeing.  First from the porch of the Lodge. 

 I'd never been there when the lake was so calm, although it did get much windier in the afternoon. 

 Love being able to get the reflection of the caldera in the water.

The historic Crater Lake Lodge  was originally opened in 1915 and went through extensive renovations in 1995.  The average winter snowfall at Crater Lake is 533 inches.  As a result, the lodge structure is required to carry an extremely heavy snow load for up to eight months every year.

 We also checked out the inside of the Lodge. 

 Some original materials were salvaged for reuse during the renovation, but most of the original building had deteriorated to the point it could not be saved or reused. However, the Great Hall was carefully dismantled and rebuilt.

The renovation was completed in the fall of 1994 at a cost of $15 million.  The lodge is open from late-May to mid-October.

 Chairs overlooking the lake from the patio of the Lodge.  Would love to have stayed here, but reservations are not easy to get.

We still had about an hour before they needed to head down the trail to the boats, so we decided to have a picnic lunch.  It was the 2nd of our many great picnic lunches on the go.  

While John and Coni were on their boat ride, Ken and I drove the caldera rim.  At least to the point where it was closed for roadwork just past this viewpoint of Phantum Ship.  Then we turned around and drove back to the Lodge stopping at several viewpoints until it was time to go back and pick them up.

 A chipmuch greeting us.

 Even have a few hoodoos!

 At 1,943 feet, the lake is the deepest in the United States, and the seventh or ninth deepest in the world, depending on whether average or maximum depth is measured

  We had about 4 hours to run around and we still didn't get to all the pull offs.

It is estimated that about 720 years was required to fill the lake to its present depth of 1,943'.

 Some hydrothermal activity remains along the lake floor, suggesting that at some time in the future Mazama may erupt once again.

The Cascade mountain range from the rim road.

 Another view from the rim road of the Cascades.

 A Clark's Nutcracker, I think?

 Another Clark's Nutcracker.

 There's a really nice paved walkway from the Lodge along the rim for about .5 miles.

 Along the paved walkway.

There's even a path down to a covered view point with great unobstructed panoramic views of the lake.  

 Note the white spot in the water below.  It is one of the boats used by the Volcano Boat tours.  They are open bench seat boats that hold a fair amount of people.   John and Coni said it was very hot on board the boat today. 

Crater Lake appears very blue.  Because of the clarity and depth of the water,  almost all the light rays get absorbed except for the blue rays.

 Just a few more pictures of Crater Lake.

close up of the caldera wall.  I think this is the area called the Backbone.

 close up of the water around part of Wizard Island.

 Ken and me

 Coni and John.

 After a day at Crater Lake, we had a nice ride back to Bend where we found another brewery for dinner---Riverbend Brewery.  The brew and dinner were great again. 

 It was nice being able to go back to our villa and not have to check in and unpack again.  Even were able to get some laundry washed.

Sept. 1, 2014 (Labor Day) --- lava tube; Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway:
 We managed to miss the Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway and end up at the Lava tube before we realized it.  So we decided to wander through the lava tube.  Ken says we've been to this one before, I sure don't remember it looking like that.  Maybe it was my knee talking, but a million steps and huge boulders and it being very dark didn't seem like fun to me!  Plus we had to pay for that pleasure!   When we got to where it was hard to see the entrance anymore, we decided we'd all seen enough of a lava tube.

  Then we turned around and headed back towards Bend and Garmin finally found the byway for us.  It was a beautiful day with temperatures in the low 90's.  It was also Labor Day, so it was much busier then we've ever seen it before.  Usually we see quite a bit of snow in the mountains by the lakes, but like at Mt. Hood, there wasn't much snow here, either.

About 16 miles from Bend, we arrived at the foot of Mount Bachelor, 9,065 foot tall and part of the Cascade Range. In winter, Mount Bachelor is a premier ski resort. Its summit chairlift is open year-round, but someone in our party was afraid of heights. :)

This 66-mile historic highway was selected by Scenic America as one of the nation’s ten most important byways. It became a National Scenic Byway in 1998 because of its outstanding scenic,
natural and recreational qualities.

The byway follows a path of water through a volcanic landscape accentuated by 14 alpine lakes. 

  I believe this is Sparks Lake.  The United States Forest Service maintains a boat launch at Sparks Lake. The site has a parking area, a lake trail, and camping at locations accessible by boat.

Back on the road.

 Devils Lake was formed by a lava flow that lies as a mass of jumbled volcanic rock at the lake’s east end. It is a shallow lake with an average depth of just over three feet and a maximum depth of 10 feet.

Lava fields by Devil's Lake with our ride in the foreground.

I believe this is by Elk Lake.  It's one of the most popular recreation areas in the Cascade Lakes Byway.    The United States Forest Service manages campgrounds, boat launches, and picnic sites at different locations around the lake.

We found it a great place to have our picnic lunch and watch all the activity on the lake--swimmers, stand up paddle boarders, sail boaters, and just people watch.  Although it was in the 90's air temperature-wise, I'm sure the water was only 60 at the most.  Yes, there were hardy people playing in the water.

 Did a little bird watching, too, although I have no idea what kind of bird this is.

 After lunch, we continued on.  I believe this is Little Lava Lake.

 Generally considered the source of the Deshutes River, the lake covers 138 acres and averages 8' deep.

Lava Lake, Little Lava Lake, and other nearby lakes formed after lava flows from Mount Bachelor altered drainage patterns in the area.

I believe this is the volcanic peak Broken Top in the distance.

I believe this is the volcanic peak South Sister in the distance.

One sign pointed to Cow Meadow, so we decided to go check out the "meadow".   Turns out this is actually a camp ground.  But it is situated where Snow Creek and the Deschutes River flow into the Crane Prairie Reservoir.

It also turned out to be an outstanding area to watch Kokanee salmon running up stream!  There were hundreds of them!

 Hard to tell, but this red spot in the river is a Kokanee salmon.

Back on the Cascade Lakes Highway, we followed the Deshutes River for awhile.

Even found a resort on Cultus Lake.  The lake is natural and is 211 feet at its deepest point and about 2 miles long. 

 The area around Cultus Lake is known for its large Ponderosa pine, Douglas fir and western white pine, sometimes rising to 120 feet tall.

 After spending all day going through this 66 miles of one beautiful lake after another, we were ready to find some food.  Ended up at Bend Brewery.  So we had to try their beers!

 And their steak.

 Everything was great!

 On our way out, we saw this peddle bar.  Tried to talk the guys into doing it, but they refused.  I think they thought we might fall off.

 On our way to our resort we got to see the sun set.

We have vacationed a lot in Oregon, but didn't head East too often.  It was nice exploring the Eastern Cascades again.