Crater Lake National Park, (OR)

Photo by: Elaina Keegan

Photo by: Elaina Keegan

         Crater Lake is a destination we have been dreaming about for a while and our expectations were far exceeded.

    On our first night it started pouring and in the morning when we got out of our tent it was snowing! We were not expecting a storm of this magnitude so we made ourselves at home at the national parks restaurant drinking coffee, reading and drawing. Even though we only bought coffee and stayed there for a lot longer than we should've (because we didn't buy a meal), none of the workers seemed to complained after realizing we were the last tent campers left. We even got a few free pieces of warm cornbread before heading back to our tent.

   The next night the rangers informed us that the snow would continue so we bundled up like crazy. We were not expecting to wake up in the middle of the night to our tent collapsing on top of us. Both feeling claustrophobic and not knowing how bad the storm would get, we set an alarm for every couple hours to knock the snow off. Stepping out of the tent the next morning was surreal; seeing everything coated in this fresh powder was beautiful. We didn't think seeing Crater Lake was an option because of the storm, but we stayed optimistic and drove up to the rim.  At the base, where we camped at 6,000 ft it was snowing and fogged in, but when we drove up to the rim at around 7,000 ft, there was blue skies! It was the most dramatic view we've seen on this trip so far.  

    Our trip to Crater Lake gave us our first lesson on how fast weather can change and We feel so lucky to have been able to witness such a drastic change of season in a matter of a few days- another reminder of how truly remarkable nature is. First snow of the trip came a little bit earlier than expected, but exploring Crater Lake with a fresh coat of powder made it all the more special.