That's a BIG Lake and other fishy stories

Today Dan got up early and got the Expedition's oil changed at the local Ford dealer.  That means we're a little over half-way through our journey.  He was up early taking care of that and everything is in good shape.  We then piled in the truck and drove to Crater Lake.  It is about 1.5 hours away.  We stopped and had a picnic lunch along the way in the Rogue Valley Forest.  The trees were huge and we wondered if any were sequoias.  A local told us they're 1/4 the size of the sequoias.  They're just big old fir trees. They stood so straight and tall that we were impressed anyway, so we took lots of pictures.  To give you some perspective, Dan is standing next to one below.  On our way to the picnic area, Carolyn met two women fishing.  The line was tugging so she stayed and watched.  It was their 10th trout, so they met their limit and were going to put the new one on the line and go home.  She asked if she could take a picture and they agreed.  They both also agreed to allow us to post their picture.  Sorry for the photo bomb in the one picture - which was noticed later.  Both ladies are from Grant's Pass, where we're staying.  Bonnie is on the left and Stephanie is on the right.  Carolyn found out Stephanie is a school counselor at the middle school in Grant's Pass.  She told her she is one as well at the CTC.  It was fun to run across these two and we greatly appreciate their willingness to be a part of our blog today.

After lunch, we headed to the lake.  It is 1943 feet deep and was formed when a violent eruption triggered a collapse of a tall peak" (from Crater Nat Park website).  For the geology fans, it is a caldera.  You can google it for more info, but it was super awesome.  The sky was clear blue and so was the lake.  The lake is the 9th deepest on the planet.  It is something that is photographed a lot because of the brilliant color of the water.  It is thought to be the most pristine lake on the earth.  We couldn't go all of the way around it due to the snow and resulting road closures. Yes, it is the last day of June and it was 75 degrees or hotter and we saw a ton of snow - more than Glacier and more than Alaska (besides the Glaciers).  Some of it from the cleared walks were above our heads.

We walked around as much as we could and drove the southern and western rim - as it is 33 miles around.  We were able to stop at a lodge on the southern rim.  It was beautiful and in the style of the other buildings in the park, which was founded in 1902.  We got some pix inside of the one lodge and posted them below.  We also came across a very curious chipmunk that wanted some treats.  He was scurrying around the plaque and going up to people along the brick barrier.  We got way too many pictures of him, but he was cute. 

We worked our way back through the Rogue Forest and stopped for a treat at the local ice cream shop.  With the hot weather - up to 94 till we got our ice cream, it was a welcome way to cool down.  We had some fun with the giant chair and went to the general store across the way.  As we came in, we passed a sign for a natural bridge so decided to visit it on the way out.  The bridge was under water because of the amount of snow melting.  The river was swollen and treated us to roaring rapids instead.  Despite the bridge being under the water, we were delighted to see the rapids.

We headed back to the campground and got some laundry done while Caris made beef stroganoff.  It was good to have a hearty meal after a long day.  The winds picked up a bit and cooled things down.  So we'll sign off till tomorrow.  Sorry the pictures are out of order tonight.

From the natural bridge area:

 These were along the road. Dan got out of the car and got yelled at for this picture.

 The Natural bridge that we never saw.  The bridge in the distance is a metal one:)

 We didn't know these still existed - where's Superman?

 Thought this was fun.

 Fun in the big chair.

 Our furry friend we met.

 That snow is no joke.

 The Lake

 The Lodge

 Crater Lake

 Blue sky and blue water.

 This is the style of building throughout the park.

 That's a big tree - Dan is 6'3"

 A picnic lunch in the forest.

 Here are our two fisher people - Bonnie and Stephanie with their 10 trout - "Enough for a fish fry for 4 people", they said.

 Ice Cream on a hot day.