Photographing Crater Lake

Friday morning, we drove up to Rim Village from the Mazama Campground, about 15 minutes. The regular parking lot was very full but there were many spaces in the RV parking. We presumed that this was a busy visitor center because Crater Lake is essentially something you experience through driving, which makes it accessible for elderly and disabled people, and for families with small children.

We spent an hour doing the Discovery Trail from Rim Village to Discovery Point. Discovery Point was the place where John Wesley Hillman saw Crater Lake for the first time in 1853. The walk was described as “moderate” but really was easy except for a few vertigo inducing sections of trail – places where I held on tight to Little Starlet, much to her great annoyance (“I’m not a dumbo!”). Though it was only a two mile round trip, it took us some time because of the many photos that we all took.

After the walk we ate our picnic lunch in the RV in the parking lot - a true road trip experience - and then we went on the 30 mile Rim Road drive. Needless to say, Hubby took lots and lots of photos. The whole drive took several hours. The kids' patience had worn very thin by the end.

The Lake is impressive - high caldera cliffs leading to still blue waters - but I don't think we'll be trying to get there again any time soon. There really isn't anything to do apart from a couple of little walks and the drive.

The campground is also probably a zoo in the high summer, though it worked just fine for us. We showered in the coin showers, ate dinner in the Annie Creek Restaurant, dumped our black water ("Smelled like wee," says Hubby) and our grey water, and filled up with fresh.