8/13
Crater Lake National Park, OR
After an oil change in Boise (my second of this trip alone) and the creation of a makeshift route back home, I headed back out on the road to Crater Lake National Park in southern Oregon. In my introductory geology lab, you first learned how to interpret topographical maps on the Crater Lake quadrangle. The steep cliffs abutting the lake, slope steeply themselves onto the surrounding prairie, making for both an excellent study and view. The name Crater Lake is actually a misnomer; it should be identified as caldera since it is the remnants of a volcano and not a meteor, but I suppose that’s just a geological detail. I arrived at dusk, taking in the immensity of the thing (which by the way also makes it hard to photograph) while driving around the rim. Other tourists and I discussed the number of species of bugs that now litter the front of my car, almost turning it from green to black. They had been in the navy and were familiar with Norfolk, so we swapped stories of geography and home. Once again the visitor’s center was closed at an inconveniently early time, but undeterred I drew another penned passport stamp.