We journeyed into Oregon on the day that we were waiting for the bad weather to pass on Mount Shasta. Consequently, the skies were a bit moody and overcast for our sightseeing but we made the most of it.
Crater Lake is a spectacular place. A deep cobalt blue lake that is held within a volcanic basin, created after 12,000ft Mount Mazama erupted in spectacular style about 7,700 years ago. Oregon is no stranger to big lakes, but this one features prominently top-down in Google Earth due to its colour and rough circular shape. As far as we can tell, it is Oregon's main natural attraction.
On clear still days, you've got a great photograph just waiting to happen. Our pictures on the other hand don't do it true justice at all. Shame. When we arrived in mid-June, we were not expecting snow drifts to be causing problems with our itinerary, however they did. An attempt on Garfield Peak was cut short at the trail head with a sign for trail refurbishments.
Not giving up so easily, we venture west on the Rogue Umpqua Scenic Byway to see some of Oregon's waterfall offerings. All in all, pretty good.
By Darrell Grundy - visited on 8 June 2002