Crater Lake

(Today's blogger: Fr. Michael) We woke up on our first morning in Oregon, unhitched the trailer and drove the truck solo up into the mountains to see Oregon's only national park, Crater Lake. I knew it'd still be cold, so we all brought heavy jackets. I didn't read the "current status" on the park's website close enough to see that there was about between 5 and 15 feet of snow on the ground still. Oh, no, not inches. Feet. Right.
So we weren't prepared for snowball fights but that didn't stop us from having a few, although with really cold hands. Most of the roads around the park were closed due to the snow, but we were able to enjoy the visitor center and Elena was able to do her Junior Ranger activities. We drove the one mile of the rim road circling the lake and enjoyed the beautiful views. Crater Lake was once a mountain that exploded a la Mount St. Helens and eventually filled in. The water is crystal clear and deep, deep blue. I wanted just one more quick view before leaving and pulled the car over to the side of the road. Or what I thought was the side of the road. Turns out I was just parking in snow. Ya....we got stuck. It gave Vicky and the kids the utmost pleasure to see me explaining our predicament to the ranger that was sent to pull us out. Hey, anything to bring joy to my family, right?
Once we got pulled out, we drove back to Grant's Pass, following the Rogue River valley. At a few points, the river is funneled through a thin, deep gorge, and at other points it disappears underground into underground lava flow tunnels. We stopped at a few points and enjoyed some short walks along the river just to take in the beauty. We planned to share some of that beauty with you through the pictures we took. That was before one of the kids dropped the camera. OK, she didn't "drop" it. It was more like it fell. Sort of. You get the picture. Well, actually, you don't get the picture. Get it? "Get the picture?" Broken camera? OK, time to end this blog.