And Now The End Is Near

As you can tell from the photo, my time at Crater Lake is coming to an "end." By the time you read this post, I should be on my way back to DC and C. It's been a great summer, despite the bumps and hippies. Feel free to call me on Saturday, I will be traveling most of the day (6:30 pacific time until 8pm ish eastern time).

Sunrise, Sunset / Swiftly Flow the Days

As my internship swiftly flows towards conclusion, I figured it was time to take in another sunset and subsequent sunrise.

The Sunset on Myles' first day (happy literal birthday)

The sunrise on my Dad's 62nd b-day (happy birthday)

See the rest of the sunset photos here, or the sunrise photos here

Taste Them Again for the First Time

There's just something fun about old photos - they're always enjoyable. I especially love old Park Service photos, because back in the day they did some silly things. There are great photos of John Muir and the other early environmentalist participating in activities that are now known to be taboo, such as feeding bears and wildlife by hand. We came across these photos from Crater Lake earlier this summer and I just thought I had to share. I finally found someone who enjoys Corn Flakes!

Everything's nuts here in Oregon!

You look absolutely beautiful. You truly belong here with us among the clouds.

Wow, although it's been only 9 days since my last post, I've been up to a lot of crazy stuff. Here's just a highlight of last Friday - it was best illustrated by an email conversation I had with C:

M: It is so foggy today

C: How foggy is it?

M: It is so foggy today that I couldn't see the Lake from the Rim!

The is always visible from this point - there's nothing normally blocking the view

M: It is so cold today
C: How cold is it?
M: It is so cold today that a couple of cars had ice forming on them!my office is so cold today (it hit a high of like 50)

C: Is your office cold?
M: My office is cold today that I am contemplating running home and getting gloves so my fingers won't freeze while I type!

Here's the view from my office. Normally, there's a mountain out there

I didn't go home, I just kept on working. After tallying another 10 hour day to finish our rough draft, I went to watch the sunrise from atop Watchman Peak among the clouds.

Check out the rest of these photos here.

Llao Rock or Bust

Antsy from spending the week inside, this week I was determined to head outside for a hike after work. Wednesday I decided that I would hike up Llao Rock, a large rock with no trail that provides the estimate slope for the old Mount Mazama (the volcano that collapsed into CRLA). However, severe thunderstorm (because they don't mix with tall, tree-less areas) postponed my hike a day...no matter. Rain or shine, I was going up all 8000+ feet (luckily I only had to start at like 7,000 feet above sea level).

Leaving the car behind, I proceeded up the mountain side. I traversed dirt-like loose pumice, steep inclines and gardens of wildflowers. The hillside was a lovely golden and green, spotted with flowery patches of bright yellow, purple and white - it was like an artist canvas (see for yourself).

After a tiring, but shorter than expected climb, I reached the top and was greeted by circling birds, a quiet and gentle breeze, steep cliffs and a private view of the Lake. With no trail up this peak, very few visitors make the trek - I had one of the largest peaks in the Park all to myself (and a new colorful array of wildflowers).

As you can tell, I was also greeted by a lovely haze in the lake. Wednesday's thunderstorms that postponed my hike, also set-off a lightning strike fire just about a mile away in one of the valleys. This new smoke, along with smoke from the previous smoldering fire dimished the air quality and the visibility. Not much I could do...so I just enjoyed the view.

After an hour on top, and some lovely photos, I decided to run down the hillside and make it back to the car in only 5 minutes (30 minutes up, 5 down).

Anyway, you can check out the photos here. Have a great weekend.