Crater Lake & Bend, Oregon

The 5 Adventurers are in Oregon which is currently experiencing record- breaking high temperatures. The locals have experienced the rare 100 degree day but no one can remember having several June days in a row like these.

We traveled to Crater Lake National Park today. This lake is the deepest lake in the United States and among the ten deepest anywhere in the world. Another notable fact is that the crater rim is at about 8,000 foot elevation where the temperature was a pleasant 78 degrees.

The water in the lake is crystal clear and highly reflective.  The crater was formed by the collapse of a volcano over 7000 years ago. The water in the lake has come from rain and snow over the years. The kids were amazed that there was still snow on the ground at the crater rim.  Cool!

The next adventure today took us to another volcanic feature in Southern Oregon. This place was built by lava but is currently only 45°!

A volcanic eruption 80,000 years ago created a lava flow.  This flow developed a crust which hardened but allowed the remaining lava to drain out of the tube leaving a mile-long cave.  Actually, no one really knows the true length as there is a build-up of sediment at the downhill end which hasn’t been excavated.  It may go further.

All 5 of us wore jackets around our waists at the top of the cave in 95° but were wearing them within 500 feet of the entrance. The temperature variance was striking and refreshing. We made it to the end of the tube but at least one of us didn’t like the cold and the dark. We needed lanterns to see our footing which the kids put to good use.

After emerging from the cave we continued on to Bend, Oregon. We had dinner and an ale at a lovely brewery called Worthy. A wonderful close to a wonderful set of adventures today.