Labor Day

We decided about a week ahead of time to go out of town for Labor Day. Ryan won't get much time off this year, so we decided to take advantage of the 4-day weekend to head down to Crater Lake National Park. It was about 6 1/2 hours, but we did pretty well and got there at a decent time. We went through the park on the way to our lodge so we could get boat tickets at the Crater Lake Lodge.

On our way into the park. I think the name of this mountain was Red Cone. It's not nearly as impressive in a picture.


Mount Mazama was a huge volcanic mountain in Oregon that erupted several times. A lava bed built up underneath it and once it erupted again the bed emptied out and the mountain collapsed creating a huge crater 6 miles by 4 miles. This was filled with rain and snow melt so it is a clear blue. It is the deepest lake in North America and has no in- or out-lets.

Crater Lake from the Rim. This picture, once again, doesn't do it justice.


Ryan went for a road bike around part of the park. We also went on a boat ride, as mentioned above. We spent three hours on Wizard Island, which is from a volcanic eruption after Crater Lake was formed. It was pretty steep so we got a good workout after hiking a steep mile down to the lake's edge to get on the boat and hiking another mile up to the top of Wizards Island, which got it's name from looking like a Wizard's hat. There is a giant crater at the top that they call the Witch's Cauldron. Ryan hiked down into it, but by the time the kids and I were ready for a break so we had a little snack and watched him. The Ranger on our boat on the way to the island said they we could say we were "in a volcano in a volcano" since Wizard's Island is a separate volcano from Mazama. Kind of fun. Also, at this point our camera decided to stop working so we didn't get any pictures on the island.

Wizard's Island from the rim.


After a short rest we hiked back down and waited for the boat. There were giant volcanic rocks that were tricky for Kim to climb on. I couldn't believe how steep that mountain was, but it was a really neat experience too. We got back on the boat and rode the rest of the way around the lake. By this time, it was starting to get cold so they cut our tour short to take us back to the dock. The kids both fell asleep in the boat on the way back. They back up the steep trail to the rim. It was a strenuous day, but a good one. What a beautiful manifestation of God's creations!

Ryan, Kim, and Glade waiting to get on the boat.


Kim enjoyed a "comfortable" rest before the boat tour.


Heather and the kids on the boat.


The Devil's Backbone. Kind of a neat formation. You can see how steep the walls are. There is only one place in the park to get down by the lake.


Wizard's Island from the boat.


How blue and clear the water is. Looks like a swimming pool, but VERY cold.


We found a branch in Chiloquin, OR to attend on Sunday morning and enjoyed the small feel of it. The young adult speaker was named Deseret and we got to talk to her afterwards. We have never met anyone named that before. Kim's middle name is Deseret, so that was kind of fun.

I was glad we weren't camping when it snowed on us on our way home Sunday night.

We were lucky to find a room pretty close to the park. It was in an area called Union Creek. The nearest town was 10 miles away. It was basically a small lodge and group of cabins and a restaurant and ice cream shop across the street. The area was really pretty and we enjoyed it.

We enjoyed breakfast at the little restaurant across from our lodge on Monday and headed home, only stopping long enough to fuel up and use the bathroom.

One conclusion we have come to is that vacation is fun, but it is not very restful with kids. You sure have to keep and eye on them! It was a busy, but great trip.