Crater Lake

Blue.  That's the one best word to describe seeing Crater Lake.  Although I've not yet been to the Caribbean, this is the bluest water I've ever seen.  Various shades of blue depending upon how the sun was shining and bluer than the cloudless sky we experienced during our two days here.

The deepest lake in the United States at over 1900 feet, Crater Lake was formed by the collapse of Mount Mazama during a volcanic eruption thousands of years ago.  The lake is filled with rainfall and melting snowpack, the water is crystal clear, and you can easily see the rocks below when you're at the waters edge.

As the name implies, the lake is in a crater -- caldera would be a more accurate term as it's technically still within a volcano.  There is a rim road that you can drive all the way around the lake to various viewpoints to see the lake. You're roughly at 7,000 feet elevation when you're peering down into the lake.  Cleetwood Cove Trail is the only access down to the lakeshore and it's a strenuous, steep mile hike one way down to the bottom.  Of course, that's the easy part of the hike.  The strenuous part is the hike back up.

Snowpack taller than me - still hasn't melted

We hiked down and watched folks swimming and jumping off the rocks into the lake. We dipped our feet in, but the water temperature was way too cold for our comfort. The average water temperature in July is only high 50s.  Crater Lake received 48 feet of snow this winter, all of which hasn't melted yet.  They don't even bother to plow the rim road until sometime in April.  It's mid-July and only about 2/3 of the rim road is open to cars as they are still plowing.

Cabin 15 was our home for two nights

We stayed in a cabin at the historic Union Creek Resort about 20 miles away from Crater Lake.  Remote is probably an understatement. There is zero cell coverage and the wi-fi at the resort was spotty at best.  If you can't stand to be unplugged, this is not the place for you.  We loved being surrounded by the tall pines and hearing the Rogue River rushing by. Peaceful. Serene.  Quiet.

And Blue.