Allan and I set out this morning for Crater Lake. They had a small snow last night, but we found the roads in great condition all the way to the top. The drive was very scenic, a good portion followed along the Rogue River. We could see from many miles away the snow covered Mount Mazama which formed Crater Lake.
The snow banked on the sides of the road kept getting deeper the closer we got to the top.
We made it to the visitor's center at the rim.
This is far as the road was plowed. The road around the rim, the north entrance road and all the campgrounds are closed until late May or first of June, depending on the weather. The official record for today is 92 inches of snow at the top, however, in the parking lot the snow was banked up 12 - 13 feet high. Only the roofs of most of the buildings were visible including the visitor's center. This is a picture of what appeared to be an outhouse at the edge of the snow and parking lot. We found it to be an entrance to a tunnel which led to the building housing the bathrooms.
We had to walk up a big snow bank at the rim to get pictures of Crater Lake. What a beautiful sight. This is the deepest lake in the U.S. and contains some of the cleanest water. We learned there was an island in the lake and it was larger than I had expected. The Rim Village is 7100 feet in elevation.
This sign says don't walk on the roofs.
On our way down the mountain we stopped at the Rogue Gorge to take pictures. It was created by lava tubes collapsing. Allan was impressed with the volume of water pouring through this narrow gorge. It was very scenic.
Rain is heading our way so we will go to church tomorrow and then drive to the coast to beat the rain.
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