I can’t think of anything nuanced or witty to say about Crater Lake. It’s just beautiful. It’s like all those photos you’ve ever seen of fantastic mountain escapes. You look at it and it’s almost hard to believe. Every photo in this post is shown exactly as I took it on my point-and-shoot, without any changes on the computer. I didn’t even crop them. Be sure to mouse-over or click on the photos to get the true color.

The first turnout where I got to see the lake, I just stared at it. I laid upside down on the rampart just to get a different angle. I felt like I couldn’t leave, because how often do you get a chance like this? And I’m just going to keep driving?

I pulled over at every stop. I took photos of the lake and of the mountains and so, so many photos of people taking photos. I couldn’t help but become an absolute tourist. I wore my little touristy hat and carried around my camera and even forgot to put on sunscreen, which l wouldn’t notice until hours later at the motel.

I found out near the end of the day that I lucked out. All this week at the park it’s been cold and foggy. But today the sun was shinning and the lake could have been a mirror. Originally I was a little bummed when I realized how far ahead of the season I would be at the park, which meant I would miss most of the activities like ranger walks and boat trips to the island. Not to mention many things would be closed. I went to the only ranger talk they had for the day, and the ranger told us it’s actually better that we were there in the spring, because in the summer the waves from the boat tours mean that the lake never keeps that perfect mirror reflection. Perhaps he just wanted us to feel good, but he said spring is his favorite time of year at the park. I can’t blame him. It looks exactly like all the photos.