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S: I liked the tourist trap at Crater Lake, one of the biggest I’ve seen at a national park. There was a ton of silly stuff, hardly anything you'd actually buy, but sort of a psychology field trip. And we did get two very cool shot glasses there. The lake itself? Well, you (dear reader) should go see! I recommend going later in the year, maybe July, if you want to camp, or do anything on the lake, but you could also ski in the winter. I can't even describe it; technical details about color of water, snow base, the islands; and the thought of standing next to the deepest land-locked water in the country (world? How deep?), neither really covers it. It simply has to be seen. You may hear that a lot in this journal.

At the entrance to Crater Lake Park –Mazama Village– not too cold, but lots of snow still left!

Crater Lake – yes, the water looked even more blue and clear than it appears here.

 T: Crater Lake was amazing. We started seeing lots of snow, and cars heading back with skis on the racks. Once we reached the actual park, the snow was over our heads in places. The lake itself is incredibly blue. The NPS brochures are great for the facts. Crater Lake was created by the volcano which destroyed Mt. Mazama. Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the US, with a maximum depth of 1932 feet. Wizard Island, 764 feet above the water, is the resulting lava dome. The road around the lake (and the route which would have taken us out another way) were both still closed for the winter.

On the way back down from Crater Lake