Crater Lake
If you've never heard of Crater Lake, it's a caldera (cauldron-like volcanic) lake formed about 7,700 years ago by the collapse of the volcano Mount Mazama. It's the deepest lake in the United States at 1,943 feet, and the seventh deepest in the world!
This weekend Jenna, myself, and our friend Aaron went on a 500 mile day loop around Oregon! He was only in town for a few days and we needed to jam-pack as much as we could on Saturday. We set out on the road with the intention of seeing Crater Lake, which none of us had yet experienced!
Long car rides are never fun, but we were riding high with anticipation. I've seen postcards and pictures of Crater Lake, but they never could have prepared me for the real deal. We drove through the north entrance to Crater Lake National Park, parked our car at the first scenic overlook and raced out of the car. You know you're witnessing something special when you're silenced by the rediculous beauty of nature! When we finally regained our speech, muttered phrases such as "Oh my God", "Holy Sh*%", and "This is Crazy" left our mouths. I've never seen water so blue!!
Click Arrows Below to View Slideshow!!
234 miles to Crater Lake and we were feeling completely satisfied with our decision. This was one of the best experiences I've had so far in Oregon! However, we still needed to be back in Portland to return Aaron's rental car the next morning, so we began the long drive back. We decided to take the Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway to Bend for some additional viewpoints. The Cascade Byway runs for 66 miles through the heart of central Oregon, with the towering Cascade Mountains providing a constant backdrop, and a particularly good view of Mt. Bachelor.
We made it to Bend and grabbed drinks and food at 10 Barrel Brewing Company before ultimately driving the last 3 hours back to Portland! Those last 3 hours were tough to spend in the car after an already long day of driving, but the views from earlier in the day kept us energized for the ride home! Truly a special day in our life that we'll remember for a very long time!