It's deep, it's BLUE

 We just returned from a week-long visit to Crater Lake National Park. Descriptive words, such as awesome, beautiful, gorgeous, magnificent, spiritual come to mind - but those words just do not do justice to the spectacular vision Crater Lake is...

It was quiet. Peaceful. Restful. AND mosquito free. Yes, we had been warned. We were DEET prepared...didn't see bug one the whole week. September is the month to go if you want to be relatively kid-free as well. We live next door to six (6), yes that's right- 6, children who are for the most part -- great kids (aka, not obnoxiously noisy). So when we pulled in and were about to select a site, I glanced across the road and there were not 1, not 2, but 3 child sized bikes and a bus that had been graffiti'd in ways that only the stoners of the 60's would truly appreciate...I recoiled and said, ah, NO. My week in God's country was for rest, relax, and to rejuvenate...not to listen to small people having non-quiet moments.

So, if you are a camper, RVer or tenter...Crater Lake is for you. The spaces are large and there are some with electricity and are of different sizes so large rigs are few and far between.  If you are not one of the above, the Crater Lake Lodge is available as well. However, reservations are difficult to come by unless you book almost one whole year (10 - 12 months) in advance.  There is a NP campground for tents only that is very reasonable...$10/night. We were near the other motel, a 'motor inn', however I have not a clue as to the nightly rate.

Crater Lake Lodge

our site

Trolley tour 

Park Administration Building

Tickets for Wizard Island tours are available until mid-September, as we discovered too late to get one so as to visit it, but the boat did take us close. Two different kinds of WI tickets...a 3 hour romp or the all day (6 hours) version...only 6 a day of those are sold. So plan according. You can hike to the top, bird watch, sunbath or fish. No boats are allowed on the lake other than the tour company. And you don't need a license to fish either...they encourage fishing and lots of it. 

Wizard Island

As our tour boat captain stated...it is 1.1 miles down to the boat ramp. It's 11 miles back up. Be prepared to walk. stop. walk. stop. drink water. walk. stop. repeat often on the way back up.

Vidae Falls

Short, easy hike to Vidae Falls...you actually don't even need to get out of the car to see this from the car. It's not this view, but you can see it.

Phantom Ship

The Phantom Ship can be seen, close up, from the boat tour as they take you right up to it and stop.

Inside Watchman Tower 

Watchman Tower

The Watchman Tower hike was around 2.5 miles rd/trip and although much of it is switch backs it is also steep. And totally worth the view once you get there...this is simply breathtaking on a clear day.

Panoramic from Watchman Tower to the North/NW

We did see some wildlife during our stay...mostly birds and ground squirrels. On our last whole day we did happen to see a deer not far from our campsite. And it was posted for bears, however we saw no evidence that they were in the area. (They are faster than I so I pay attention to my surroundings. Nope, not one spotted.)

No TV, radio or internet. Well, you could buy wifi at the convenience store near the entrance or at the lodge. We were able to call out and get messages when up on the rim...actually that was just fine with us. There was a time, not so very long ago when you had to stand outside in one of these to make calls anywhere.

It's called a 'phone booth'...ancient history now. Although we did see a smaller version of this at the convenience store/gas station.

~Ciao

If you've seen one ARCH, you may have...

 

seen them all. Well, Landscape and Delicate Arches are unique and not just another, ah,

 hole-in-the-wall.  With that being said, the park is beautiful in a rugged-high desert-red dust- everywhere kind of way.

 

 

Visitor center plaza

 

Landscape Arch



Delicate Arch

 

No one really needs a guided tour, via my blog, of the Arches National Park, the landscape simply yields them without much effort. We spent 5 days touring the area around Moab, UT which has a number of national parks/bureau of land management recreation areas in which one can partake in whatever activity is of interest to you. There is a system of bike trails that parallel the main highways, hiking - both in and out of the parks, rock climbing, para-sailing, off-road jeep/atv areas, fishing and hunting when in season.  There is no shortage of things to do or see.

What becomes the challenge outside of driving past the formations of red dirt or following the trail guide to the nearest arch is locating the local art. Whether it is pictographs in a location that supports that history, as this @ Wolfe Ranch and is close to the parking lot for Delicate Arch trail head.




Wolfe Ranch pictographs

So I look for the art that defines the character of the local populace. Whether it is ancient Indian writing, tourist traps (aka - 'rest-stops') or the city sponsored art walks I try to capture it. Here is some of what I found in and around Moab....



Indian writing on Hwy 279 to Potash

 



Residential Gate decor

Everyone loves a totem pole

Metal Bull sculpture

Bull nuts and bolts

Artist rendition of Elvis' hit

Pizza delivery? out front of the shop



 We spent one day Dead Horse State Park - located within the Canyonlands Recreation Area

 

 and while we took the usual bazillion still photos on two cameras this short 38 seconds will give you an idea of the view from most all of the viewpoints in the park. The park is beautiful and there is camping and hiking trails to enjoy.

Hope you enjoy our visit...the slide show on both Arches & Canyonlands provides more photos to fill out the spaces/gaps here.

~Ciao








Athabasca Falls in Jasper National Park...

Athabasca Falls is Canada's highest...the river feeding the falls is massive and fast. Here are two short videos...hope you get the idea of it's beauty and it's power.

Athabasca Falls - this link will provide you with additional information about the falls and the park.

Old Faithful and water events....Yellowstone National Park

Just the beginning of posts about our travels through the Grand Tetons and Yellowstond National Park.

Thought I would share some of the short videos we took while in Yellowstone National Park - enjoy

Old Faithful

This one is called Spasmodic Geyser

LeHardy Rapids...glorious and great long walk along the edge of the river/rapids....

Lower Falls - one of two falls on the Yellowstone River with spectacular view points....

Yellowstone National Park for information on lodging, road conditions etc.

 Joshua Tree National Park - November 26 - 27, 2010

We've spent the last few days in the Coachella Valley, parked at the Oasis Palms RV Park about 33 miles from Palm Springs and 12 miles from the Salton Sea. The weather has been moderate, with most days right around 62, however when the Sun goes down grab your thermal vest, jacket or sweatshirt....the temperature drips dramatically. And it's an early dip...right around 4:45pm, as most of the valley is surrounded by mountains.

Once we got into the park from the south entrance, we were met with this impressive monzogranite hills - part of the Mojave.

Monzogranite hills - Mojave Desert

Within Joshua Tree Park two deserts converge---Mojave and the Colorado - each with distinctive differences.

The Cholla Gardens is a great opportunity to get out and walk the loop...bet it is stunning when in full bloom.

Cholla bush - Cholla gardens



Cholla flower pods (red in bloom)


Rock climbing is one of the activities in the Colorado desert campgrounds.



San Andreas Fault Zone info at Keys View



Fault line runs through the center of this photo













From Keys View, the highest point in the park you an look over the valley, locate the San Andreas fault line.....and in the distance see Mt. Diablo, Santa Rosa Mts and Mt San Jacinto.

We had two days to explore this large and diverse park....oh, have you every seen a Joshua tree.....


Queen's Forest

 "Young sprouts may grow several inches in the first five years, then slow down, averaging one-half inch per year thereafter. The tallest Joshua tree in the park looms a whopping forty feet high, a grand presence in the Queen Valley forest; it is estimated to be about 300 years old! These “trees” do not have growth rings like you would find in an oak or pine." from the park brochure.