It’s Just So Blue

After leaving Oregon Caves National Monument we headed north towards Crater Lake. We stopped in Grants Pass for a bit – specifically at Rogue Coffee Roasters. In addition to excellent coffee, this large coffee shop had power strips at every table so we could charge all the electronics while I worked on the blog.

We also stopped to resupply at a grocery store, as well as get gas. However when I pulled up to the pump, nobody came over to me. After a while I started to wonder if Oregon’s gas-pumping law was really a thing (it’s supposed to be illegal to pump your own gas here), so I got out, swiped my credit card, selected my grade. I was all alone at the pump. I pulled the nozzle and was halfway to my gas tank when I heard a haughty voice from behind me.

“Are you not aware of Oregon’s gas pumping laws?”

I turned, nozzle still in hand, to see a short, pudgy dude with acne and glasses.

“Did you not see the Colorado plates?” I snapped, going back to my Chicago roots. No way I was going to take any shit from a guy shorter than me. “What do you think?”

He just reached out for the nozzle. I handed it over and got in the truck. Who knew getting gas here would be such an ordeal? And a slow one at that. The pudgy dude was helping other customers, too, so the gas pump had long shut off when he returned.

Personally, I think that if you’re going to forbid me to pump my own gas, then then the whole process should be faster than if I had to do it myself. Ah well. If nothing else, I guess this memorable lesson should prevent me from trying to pump my own gas in Oregon again.

“Do you want a receipt?”

“Yes, please,” I said, that extra word flying out before I could stop it.

But that extra word was awfully helpful, because as he handed me my receipt he apologized. “Sorry if I sounded like a jerk back there,” he said.

I told him that it was all right.

When we arrived in Crater Lake National Park, the first thing we saw after the entrance booth was a turnoff for the campground. We decided to check it out. Camping turned out to be $22 per night, and there was space available that night. Pretty cool, considering it was Friday, and we had plenty of room for it in the budget. So we went for it. After selecting a site we drove on to check another item off my bucket list.

It’s just… so…. blue. This is not Photoshop, folks. Crater Lake really is this color. We were there early enough that the wind was pretty still – giving the lake a mirror-like quality.

And it’s not just that blue color that makes Crater Lake so amazing. The water is also incredibly clear. Scientists have used something called a Secchi Disk to measure the clarity of the water. A Secchi Disk is 8″ in diameter, with alternating black and white quadrants. The disk gets lowered into the water until it can’t be seen from the surface anymore.

Crater Lake’s clarity has been measured at 143 feet.

I wish I could have gotten closer to the surface of the water, to try and show you some of that clarity. But Crater Lake received about 48 feet of snow this past winter, and most of that snow was still there. More than half the Park was closed. The Pacific Crest Trail runs through Crater Lake National Park, and the thru-hikers had to walk the road (believe me, they were easy to spot). In order to get to the boat launch for Wizard Island, we would have had to walk the last 2.5 miles.

That wasn’t a big deal, but the boat cost $30 per person, which we didn’t want to pay. We couldn’t rent kayaks or anything, either. No other boats are allowed on the water as the Park Service doesn’t want to risk contaminating that clear water.

Bummer.

For all you science nerds out there, Crater Lake itself was formed by a volcanic eruption over 7,000 years ago. Max depth of the lake is an astonishing 1,946 feet. The small island in the center, Wizard Island, was formed by a smaller eruption a few hundred years later.

After driving as much of the Park as we could, we headed back to camp. The fire ring at our site was full of snow, but it was warm enough out that we didn’t mind. We set up our new Revel Gear lights. Kody sent us a goodie box full of awesomeness: several strings of USB lights (white lights, colored lights, and changing lights – check out our Instagram feed for more images!), coozies, even a light up dog collar.

We haven’t had much chance to use the dog collar yet… it doesn’t get dark here until 10pm, and Bailey usually goes to bed by 8:30 or so.

And yes, he does “go to bed.” Sometimes it’s while I’m cleaning up from dinner, but no matter where I am he’ll sit down right in front of me and give me The Stare. So I ask him, “do you want to go to bed?” I have to make sure the path to the back of the truck is clear, though, because once permission is given nothing will stand in that dog’s way. Not the cooler, not the pantry, not a full bag of trash.

Bailey is a dog of particular focus.