Wizard Island
Crater Lake National Park, Oregon
My visit here was decidedly disappointing. It was circled as one of my primary destinations on this Norhtwest tour, and it was beautiful, no doubt. However, the road around the lake was closed owing to snow. Being May 31st, it had not occurred to me that snow would have been a significant factor, but it was. Visitors were limited to a 1/4 mile strip of highway and every trail was closed. I had planned on spending the night there and the following day at a minimum, if not two days, but only spent 2 hours. :-(
My disappointment was compounded by the fact that I was unsatisfied with the resulting photos. This one is a Pano combining four photos, if memory serves.
For those unfamiliar with this park, it's a caldera of an ancient volcano filled with water, forming the deepest lake in North America. Wizard Island is a cinder cone.
Note the dead tree on the right--the white bark pines in the area are being destroyed by a non-native fungus, and attacks by the mountain pine beetle which climate change has empowered beyond its traditional destructiveness. They're beautiful trees--the oldest in the park.
Wizard Island
Crater Lake National Park, Oregon
My visit here was decidedly disappointing. It was circled as one of my primary destinations on this Norhtwest tour, and it was beautiful, no doubt. However, the road around the lake was closed owing to snow. Being May 31st, it had not occurred to me that snow would have been a significant factor, but it was. Visitors were limited to a 1/4 mile strip of highway and every trail was closed. I had planned on spending the night there and the following day at a minimum, if not two days, but only spent 2 hours. :-(
My disappointment was compounded by the fact that I was unsatisfied with the resulting photos. This one is a Pano combining four photos, if memory serves.
For those unfamiliar with this park, it's a caldera of an ancient volcano filled with water, forming the deepest lake in North America. Wizard Island is a cinder cone.
Note the dead tree on the right--the white bark pines in the area are being destroyed by a non-native fungus, and attacks by the mountain pine beetle which climate change has empowered beyond its traditional destructiveness. They're beautiful trees--the oldest in the park.