Blue skies and blue water

When I left Vancouver, WA this morning, it was overcast, but no rain. I had checked the weather forecast, and I knew it would be sunny at my destination... Crater Lake National Park in Oregon. I drove all morning, taking the most time after I left the interstate. Almost five hours later, I reached my destination. After showing my annual pass at the north entrance booth of the park...love the convenience AND the value (only $80, good for ALL the national parks, plus other federal recreation areas)...I soon found myself at the Merriam Point overlook. The view was breathtaking...the water was SO blue!

There was some people, but considering how busy it COULD be, it was not bad at all. The traffic along the park roads was extremely light. At the next viewpoint, as I approached the stone wall overlooking the lake, I was immediately greeted by a very friendly chipmunk. It came running up, jumped on the wall, and sat in front of me. It was begging for food!

Now, this was very bad. Park visitors are not supposed to feed the wildlife, but obviously, this one was used to getting handouts. It ran around, and kept returning to me, but it ended up leaving empty handed...or rather, empty pawed. There were a few other chipmunks around, but they probably noticed their friend bombed on the treats, so they didn't come to me. I continued driving around the lake, stopping at other viewpoints, and taking more photos. There was an interesting rock formation known as Phantom Ship that proved popular with the visitors.

Truthfully, it was hard to take a BAD picture. The weather conditions were picture perfect, varying from 60-70 degrees, depending on your location around the lake. I only took one short hike...the 1/4 mile Sun Notch trail...which allowed me to get the best view of Phantom Ship. Tomorrow, I'll continue on my theme of volcanic areas...yes, Crater Lake was once a volcano, Mount Mazama. I'll be spending the day at Lava Beds National Monument. Looking forward to exploring the lava tubes, with a few petroglyphs thrown in.