September 28

Yesterday was an R&R day, so no parks. Today, though, was one of the jewels of the National Park System. People are amazed at the blue color seen in Crater Lake. It has been that way for 7,500 years, ever since Mount Mazama blew its lid, then collapsed, forming the deepest lake in the country. Granted, it took a few thousand years to get the lake to its current state of 1,949 feet. This makes it #5 in the world. With no outlet, the lake’s evaporation is the only means to lower the level, but each winter the new snowfall does the reverse. The NPS estimates it take 250 years to replace the full volume of water in the lake.

I started my visit trying to find the Passport Cancellation Stamp. The Rim Village VC had a sign on its door reading it would be closed until October 5, but to go to the park’s Post Office. Well, that was back down the entrance road. So, off I went. As I pulled into the parking lot I had a feeling the Post Office was in one of the two larger buildings. I parked and started to walk to the closest one. A man stated I needed to go into this small “hut” next to him to get the stamp; he had seen me carrying the Passport book. I paused for a second and said, “in there"?”. He said, “Yes.” Did I learn something new today!! This 7’x15’ mini-trailer is the current Post Office. It might just be the smallest active PO structure in the country. Aside from the two people outside saying it was, a sign on the door said “U.S. Post Office”. There was hardly any room inside to walk or stand. The woman came in to get the stamp, then handed it to me. She said they have been in this aluminum box (my words) for three years, but soon will be back in the real Post Office building. The man said the NPS found asbestos and other materials which required the closing of the building. I wonder what took so long for anyone to figure out there was asbestos present. With the book stamped I turned the car onto the East Rim Road. Vidae Falls was one of the first wonders to view, falling for 100 feet. At this point you are below the crater rim, going through pine forest. But quickly the slope changes and you come to a viewing area for Phantom Rock, one of the two islands in the lake. Folks say that on foggy days the rock looks like a ghost ship.

A sign on the road read “Pinnacles”. The park’s website says this road is closed, but since the gate was open and I saw no other signs, I began the six mile drive to the Pinnacles section. When the mountain exploded, ash and pumice headed down this section of the park, creating a canyon, then solidifying. Over the centuries Nature has worn away much of this ash/pumice material from the canyon walls. A few 100-foot tall spires remain, set apart from the walls, being slightly stronger than the surrounding materials. At some point, snow, rain, and wind will make them disappear.

The NPS is working on one section of the East Rim Road, but I drove to the “Road Closed” sign in order to get some different views of the lake. At one point a Ranger SUV had its red/blue lights on. A few large rocks/boulders had just crashed down from the mountainside, blocking one lane. On the way back I spotted a large Caterpillar front-loader chugging along, having pushed those heavy stones off the road.

One thing which cannot be missed while driving on both the East Rim Road and the West Rim Road are the 15-foot tall poles with reflector tape on the tops. Yes, this place can get that much snow. In fact, there was still 2022/23 winter snow on sections of the West Rim Road, and this is September. Taller mountains which could be seen in the distance have snow on their tops. I met a woman from the Caymen Islands and she loves the scenery. As she said, there is nothing like this in the Carribean.

The West Rim Road is much shorter, with only a couple of places to pull off and look at the lake. But they all provide a better up-close look of Wizard Island, the entity you always see in professional photographs of the lake. In the summer you can take a boat over to the island. No boat today. And I passed on the chance to swim in the lake. There is one spot where you can take a dip. But you must walk down 800 feet to the water level from the rim, and then you have to walk back up. The water temp is around 55degF. When I arrived at the park the car thermometer read 38degF. You can do the math… I did not go swimming.

One last comment about today. The first half of the drive was in Northern California. When I was about 40 miles from the border with Oregon a large billboard for a Sinclair gas station had the following; “Lower Oregon Gas Prices in 52 Miles.”. I love it. Back in Week, CA, on Interstate 5, the price was $5.49/gal. When I passed through Klamath Falls, OR, I saw $4.49/gal. And food prices are much higher in CA. I do enjoy NE Ohio when it comes to the economics of living.

** Another topic. Most of you should be aware of the potential Federal Government shutdown this coming weekend. I have mitigated this issue by identifying the boundaries of the 51 remaining parks and the public access points which are independent of driving through an entrance kiosk or going to a VC. A good example is Pearl Harbor. It turns out the NPS was nice enough to have Congress include the parking lots within the official boundary of that park. A secondary road goes through those parking lots, so since that road cannot be closed, I will be able to drive within the park boundary. Yes, not taking the boat ride over to the hallowed ship and its memorial will be most unfortunate, but I can return at a later time once the politicians get their act together. Countdown continues.