June 8, 2015. Crater Lake beauty

CAMPGROUND: Mazama Campground inside Crater National Park. Nice pull-through, paved site. Lots of privacy. Grill and picnic table.  No hook-ups.  Showers available in another area.  Nearby, newish "comfort station".  When did that term become popular?  (Just a toilet). $16/night with senior pass. 3 stars.

LOCATION:  Crater Lake, Oregon, in southwest part of state.

WEATHER:  Lots of fluctuations..see below

We got an early start from the Redwoods.  It was in the 50s with some fog again.  Our trip today was about 200 miles.  We followed the Smith River through the redwoods from California to Oregon.  Beautiful scenery! 

We stopped in Medford, Oregon as George needed a new laptop. It was 102 degrees!  Miserable!  We stopped at a brewpub for lunch. Then, we followed the Rogue River up to Crater Lake, which was about 80 degrees.  The normal high here in June is in the 50s.  We are at about 6,000 feet elevation. 

I had made reservations here as school is now out, and there are a lot of RVs on the road.  I got the next-to-the-last site online.  Strangely, a lot of sites appear vacant, but they are telling new arrivals that the campground is full.  Normally, the campground doesn't open until late June, but this year, due to low snowfall, it opened in May.

After setting up, we visited the visitor station, where we learned about the lake.  7700 years ago, Mount Mazama at 12,000 feet stood here.  The volcano erupted and then collapsed upon itself, creating a huge crater.  Then, over the years, it filled with rain and snowfall.  This is (or was) one of the snowiest places in the USA with an average of 40 feet of snow per year.  This year, it was only about 16 feet.  

Crater Lake is the USA's deepest lake.  It is really pure, so is a bright blue.

We took a hike to one of the viewpoints.  This little island remains from the lava flow.

Even at 80 degrees, there is still some snow left.

 We plan to stay here 2 nights, taking a drive around the lake tomorrow.  

DINNER:  I thought it was a failure; George gobbled it up.  I made Shrimp and Grits using fish stock I had made and frozen in Ukiah.  I thought the stock overwhelmed the taste of the shrimp and cheese.  I let George eat mine.  We had salads leftover from today's brewpub lunch.  

We sat around the campfire, but the mosquitos forced us inside.  It didn't cool off until about 10:00 PM.  We have windows on all 4 sides of the Airstream, so we have pretty good ventilation with the ceiling fan on.