Crater Lake National Park

Over Memorial Day weekend, we flew west with two friends to spend time in southern Oregon and northern California. We absolutely adore the Pacific Northwest (previous visits here and here), but this was our first visit to this part of the region. In a couple of days, we drove 30 hours, hiked 30 miles, and gained three national park passport cancellation stamps along the way.

The first stop was at Crater Lake National Park. It is one of the snowiest areas in the Northwest, averaging 533 inches or 44 feet of snow per year. The best times to visit are in July and August, so we were not sure what to expect but knew that there would be snow. Thankfully, it was a sunny, clear day, and we saw the lake in all of its glory (additional snow fell a few days after our visit). 

The north entrance to the park had opened the afternoon prior to our visit, so we entered in the north and left out the west entrance. The drive into the park started with a pumice landscape and quickly became winding roads with deep drifts, mountains, and cliffs on either side. We are used to snow, but these drifts were incredible!

All of a sudden the lake came into view out of nowhere. It was such a surprise and delight, it left us speechless. Pictures do not even attempt to show the beauty of this place. Speaking of which, the pictures in this post are not edited, but we hope you enjoy them. Perhaps, they may inspire you to visit one day.

Crater Lake was formed by a volcano and is the deepest lake in the United States at 1,943 feet (the ninth deepest lake in the world). We had to take a group photo near the rim, making sure to observe the signs (a few weeks prior to our visit a snowshoer died here).

As Minnesotans, we love lakes, but this one is special, even if it is not in the land of 10,000 lakes.

The guys had some fun taking pictures too. The six-shooter tour made an appearance (not surprising if you know my husband or our friend Nick or follow them on Instagram).

As did LeBron James.

My husband even got into a snowball fight with some visitors. His sister Andrea would be proud, as his new friends were from China. He says they started it, which is in fact true. They saw him throw a snowball at one of our friends and decided it would be fun to throw some at him. He had a blast being mischievous with them.

But in all seriousness, we were astounded at this place in the middle of nowhere, and it captured our full attention. I could gaze at the calm blue waters for a long time.

We were reminded of the truths and promises of Romans 8 and the glimpses of the glory yet to come. "For creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God...Nor height nor depth nor anything in all of creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord." 

On that day, we tasted not even a sip of the glory that is yet to come, but it was sweet. To see and savor just a glimpse of it is a precious, undeserving gift of grace that the Lord gives for us to enjoy and to enjoy it to the fullest. "If God is for us, who can be against us? ... In all things we are more than conquerors through Him who loves us."

Every stop around Rim Drive exceeded our expectations. The views were incredible and the water so blue.

The hiking trails throughout the park were closed due to snow cover. The park ranger thought we were crazy for wanting to hike to Vidae Falls via the closed East Rim Drive. He told us that the snow was waist deep and gave us a bewildered look as we set off. Well, we proved him wrong. Three miles out and three miles back in snow made for a nice six mile hike.

Vidae Falls was okay, but not spectacular. The sunshine and fellowship made it well worth it though.

Towards the end of the hike, I fell through some soft snow, and my foot got wedged in between a log. Thankfully, the guys came to the rescue to help dig me out. It was seriously stuck with snow pack as high as my knee and hip, and I could not move my foot or bottom part of my leg at all. As the picture shows, I was very grateful to be out of that hole.

A week and a half later, I can still picture the calm waters of this peaceful place and am both reminded and thankful that He leads us besides still waters for His name's sake each and every day.