Crater Lake is easily my favorite place on earth.
I say that knowing full well that there are countless places
on earth I have yet to see. Why? Because it is the only place I've ever been
that turned out to be even more awesome in reality than I had imagined it to be
in my mind.
I had seen photos of Crater Lake when I was a teenager and
decided I wanted to visit, but it wasn't until I was 25 that my dad and I
took a trip there together. The first
moment I saw Crater Lake is as clear to me now, 18 years later, as it was when
it happened. That trip remains one of
the greatest experiences of my life and to have those memories with my dad is
priceless.
C and I visited in 2001 because I wanted to share it with
him, too, and he also fell in love with it because it is such a beautiful, special,
magical place. Yes, it is the deepest
lake in the U.S., at 1,943 feet. Yes, it
formed as the result of a violent volcanic eruption that caused the top of a
mountain to collapse into itself. And
yes, the water is the most gorgeous shade of blue you will ever lay eyes
on. But it is the intangible qualities,
the emotions it inspires, that make it my favorite place. I could sit and stare at that lake for all
eternity and never tire of it.
The fact that I hadn't been back for 15 years kind of
surprised me, but I realized that my memories of it are so vivid that I feel
like I can visit any time. That might
sound cheesy, but it is so true.
Last week, C and I spent two nights in small cabin just outside of the
park. Unfortunately, there was a forest
fire raging on the west side of the park, so quite a large section the drive
around the rim was inaccessible. As you
can see from the photos below, that made no difference to us! One of the two nights, we watched the sunset
and it was breathtaking with the smoke from the forest fire snaking up into the
sky. Afterwards, we stayed in the park
for several hours until it was pitch black so we could stargaze. What a perfect night.
I could go on and on about my love for this park, but I
think the photos speak for themselves (all taken with my phone).
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| even the local residents are mesmerized by Crater Lake |
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| my favorite human <3 |
Happy Tails to you!
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