Crater Lake National Park is an old volcano that lost its top. Now in the crater of the volcano is the deepest lake in America. Early June is still an early time to visit this park. There were still piles of snow melting at the edges of the parking lot that was kept clear year round. The portions of the park that close for the snowy season were still closed. This limited the options for our visit. We stopped at the visitor center and took in the vista of the crater and lake. The views were amazing. No filter was required for any photos. The blue of the lake brilliant.

The funny thing we discovered at this site was the metal tunnels to the restroom entrances. Because this portion of the park remains open year round they want to make the restrooms also accessible year round. They have built metal tunnels from the parking lot to the entrance of each of the restroom doors to reduce the snow clearing work. There was not snow on or around them now, so it seemed a bit odd to have to hike through them to get to the doors. We only stayed an hour at the park since some sections were closed and to try to make up some lost time from our trip. It was definitely worth the stop.

We couldn’t drive all the way across the United States and not go the rest of the distance and see the Pacific Ocean. We visited Ecola State Park to get a little beach time. The water was cold, but that didn’t keep the surfers away. Despite the cold the girls played along the edge of the water until they just couldn’t help but get completely drenched. They also enjoyed arranging stones on the sand to dry out a bit. The day was pretty overcast, but tons of fun.

We would have loved to camp in this state park because the trees and ferns were just beautiful, but we needed to cover some distance that evening. We hung out for a couple of hours to get our sand and salt fill, stretch our legs, and accomplish seeing the pacific ocean.

The Mama got her feet wet too, but she resisted the complete drenching the girls enjoyed.

The coastline was beautiful and we were treated to the view of a distant lighthouse.

For Lewis and Clark fans this is a significant stop because it is where the expedition met the Pacific Ocean and wintered here. They had access to supplies and local tribes that assisted in their resupply. While we just made two stops, there were several places to visit in the area.

Our stop was a couple of hours long, but partly because Julia finished a nap before we went into the visitor center and both girls completed the Jr. ranger booklet.

Julia hanging with Sacagawea

The swearing in of our Jr. Rangers.