Crater Lake

Look at that blue! That is the first thing I thought when I saw Crater Lake. It looks cold and clean - although in all honesty I don't know how clean it really is.

Crater Lake was a VERY quick stop on our one day drive from the Redwoods in northern California to beautiful Boise, Idaho. We spent no more than 20 minutes at this lookout before hopping back into the car and driving.

Crater Lake truly is remarkable, especially for what it is - a volcano that collapsed upon itself creating a lake at a fairly high altitude. In this shot you can see what's referred to as the Wizard's Hat, a place where the volcano that lies beneath has started coming back up to the surface (although I'm not sure how recent the last eruption of any sort was).

It was quite a hazy day and it was actually difficult to make out the far side of the crater at some points. Beautiful view and I would have loved to see it on a clear winter day.