Wanting my kids to see this natural wonder at a younger age than I was when I saw it the first time, we visited it again a couple years ago.

The highway to Crater Lake is long & boring. There is not much else around. It reminds me of the drive to the Grand Canyon: a spectacular site in the middle of nowhere.

The last time we went to Crater Lake was a couple years ago, in mid July. Some areas round the lake still had a couple feet of snow, so much of the rim drive was closed. That was kind of a bummer. But, it was pretty with the snow & it was fun throwing snowballs in the middle of summer.

Crater Lake was formed when Mt. Mazama erupted then collapsed into itself. This created the 5 mile wide caldera. Over time snow, rain & spring water collected in the caldera.

Wizard Island

a volcanic cinder cone

Phantom Ship

The smallish rock near the back right edge of the lake is called the Phantom Ship.

Steel Visitor Center

We bought & sent my mom a postcard from the post office in the building.

We pulled off at a picnic area to eat and the kids worked on their Junior Ranger booklets

Left: The water is blue, really blue. It is one of the clearest fresh water lakes in the world. One day I would like to hike the trail down to the lake. We haven’t done that yet.

Right: Vidae Falls is spring fed. Crater Lake is considered a closed ecological system. There are no rivers running into or out of the lake.

Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the U.S. with a maximum depth of 1943 feet. Average depth is 1148 feet.

The cliffs can reach 2000 feet above the lake water.

The kids receiving their Junior Ranger badges.

The Pinnacles

The first time we visited Crater Lake we drove to what are called The Pinnacles. The second time, the road to The Pinnacles was closed due to snow.

The Pinnacles are volcanic spires of sporia and pumice formed during the eruption of Mount Mazama.

Diamond Lake

We have not stayed overnight in the park itself, although I would like to do that next time. The first time we camped near Paulina Lake. The second time we camped a bit closer, at Diamond Lake. It’s a beautiful lake with a nice campground.

Crater Lake is amazing in person. It’s definitely worth the drive. Next time I would like to explore more by hiking down to the water’s edge and also taking a boat ride to Wizard Island.

To see what others are sharing for the month of October check out write31days.com

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On a recent trip to the Columbia Gorge, we stopped at Bonneville Lock & Dam. It is located about 40 miles east of Portland, on the Columbia River between Oregon & Washington. Construction of the lock & dam was complete in 1938. A second powerhouse was operational in 1981. The lock & dam are used for river navigation & hydropower. In 1987, Bonneville Lock and Dam were declared a National Historic Landmark.

INSIDE BRADFORD ISLAND VISITOR CENTER

We explored the Bradford Island Visitor Center.

Bottom Left: Capt. Benjamin L.E. Bonneville (1796 – 1878)
Years after graduating from West Point, Bonneville set out to be a fur trader in the west. From 1832 – 1835 Bonneville explored much of what later was the Oregon Trail. He worked for an American man that was a rival of the very large Britain-based Hudson’s Bay Company. HBC had a trading post we visited at Fort Vancouver and, at the time, the trader’s from HBC were not allowed to trade with the American fur trappers. Although the fur trading didn’t go well, Bonneville’s expedition wasn’t a complete failure. He took extensive notes on agricultural areas, timber & fur trading in the west.
As stated in the photo, Bonneville returned to the Pacific Northwest in 1852 and was one of the first to recognize the waters of the Columbia River could be controlled for human benefit.

Bottom Right: Post insulators & a bus bar. The post insulators keep the bus bar from touching anything. The bus bar carries electric current from transformers to transmission lines.

Fish Ladder
We got an underwater view of the fish swimming in the fish ladder.

There’s no guarantee that there will be fish migrating through the day you visit. I’m glad we got lucky when we went.

Workers at the dam use the underwater viewing to count the fish coming through the ladder. Biologists use this information to track fish runs.

Sketches from the Corps of Discovery
These two fish photos are in almost every museum we’ve visited that have anything to do with Lewis & Clark. They are reproductions from their journals.

Left: White Salmon Trout (or Coho Salmon), by William Clark
Excerpt from Lewis’ Journal, March 16, 1806
“The white salmon trout which we had previously seen only at the great falls of the Columbia has now made it’s appearance in the creeks near this place. One of them was brought us today by an Indian who had just taken it with his gig…”

Right: Eulachon (or Candlefish), by William Clark
Excerpt from Clark’s Journal, February 25, 1806
“I purchased of the Clatsops this morning about half a bushel of small fish which they had caught about 40 miles up the Columbia in their scooping nets. As this is an uncommon to fish to me and one which no one of the party has ever seen. On the next page I have drawn the likeness of them as large as life…”
“I found them best when cooked in Indian style, which is by roasting a number of them together on a wooden spit without any previous preparation whatever. They are so fat that they require no additional sauce and I think them superior to any fish I ever tasted…”

Learning via Computer
Downstairs, near the fish ladder viewing, was lots of info about fish & their migration patterns. The kids, of course, thought the information gained through use of the computer was best.

OUTSIDE THE VISITOR CENTER

Bonneville Powerhouse
To get to the Visitor Center on Bradford Island, you have to stop at a security checkpoint. Then, the road continues on right over the powerhouse. I’ll admit it gave me a slight case of the eebie-jeebies.

Fish Ladder
Fish ladders are used to get adult fish heading upstream passed the dam. The fish swim & jump up the ladder similar to the way they swim & jump up rapids of a river. Common fish that use the ladder are Chinook salmon, steelhead, shad, sockeye, lamprey & sturgeon.

We watched fish going up the ladder for quite awhile.

Bottom Right: The darkish blob is a jumping fish. Getting a photo of the fast moving fish in the rushing water was difficult.

Pill Box used during WWII
Bonneville Lock & Dam were a potential threat during World War II. Armed guards used these tiny cement shelters to defend the area.

Old Turbine
This gigantic turbine was in use for 60 years. It helped create power for 25,000 homes.

The Spillway
The spillway was open the day we visited, allowing water to gush through. This water is not used to produce power. It is used to let young migrating fish through to continue their journey to the ocean. Sometimes, after very wet winters, the spillway is open to let more water flow downstream.

I left the dam with very mixed feelings. I love what an engineering feat it is. It truly is amazing, even though a lot of the mechanics go way over my head. I truly am grateful for the energy it produces. I certainly don’t want to live without my lights, microwave or computer. The thought of not being able to charge my camera battery… eek!

I’m also impressed there is so much thought going into helping the declining number of salmon and other fish survive our human ways. Yet, I feel guilty. We’ve done quite a bit to mess with nature’s course of events. Fish waiting to go up the fish ladders often become a sea lion’s dinner. That has become such a problem that they now kill some of the sea lions. The same fate is waiting 16,000 cormorants next spring. I once was a scuba diver and had an interest in fish and sea mammals. I hate to see any of them killed on purpose. In more recent years, I’ve become a birder. I also hate to see such a huge number of birds killed. I don’t know what the solution is. But, it does give me something to think about.

Well, I hate to leave as a Debbie Downer. We really did learn a lot while visiting the dam. I think we’d all agree, our favorite part was watching the fish in the fish ladder. I’d actually like to go back, learn more & see the lock.

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As part of our Moving West unit, we are learning about Lewis & Clark. We spent part of the weekend exploring the Lewis & Clark National & State Historical Parks in both Oregon & Washington. This is along the Pacific Ocean, the final destination of Lewis & Clark’s Expedition. At Cape Disappointment we toured the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center.

The Lewis & Clark National & State Parks are within the beautiful old growth forests of the Pacific Northwest.

INTERPRETIVE CENTER

Lewis & Clark’s team, The Corps of Discovery, carried a 15 star & 15 stripe flag (similar to this one) on their expedition. By the time Lewis & Clark went on their adventure (1803) there were 17 states, but the flag hadn’t been redesigned yet.

A half scale replica of the dugout canoes used by the Corps of Discovery.

There were many hands on activities, which of course, my kids loved. This one is trying to stack a canoe with as many supplies as possible without tipping your boat. The Corps of Discovery had to repack their boats daily.

Elk Skin Coat: Typically the frontiersmen wore buckskin clothes
Knapsack: US Army issued bags painted to repel water
Flintlock Rifle: Replica of the type of gun used by the Corps of Discovery

The Corps of Discovery encountered 24 different Indian tribes on their journey, including the Chinook.

Left:  The Interpretive Center also had examples of the journals kept by the Corps of Discovery.

Right: Once the Corps of Discovery made it to the Pacific Ocean they needed to decide the best place to spend the winter.

The items in this case belonged to Patrick Gass, a member of the Corps of Discovery. On the left is the flask he used. To the right is a wooden razor box believed to have been carved and given to him by Sacagawea.

More amazing to me than the items in the case, though, are the words around the case on the right. It says each of the men in the Corps of Discovery received 320 acres of land & double pay. Lewis & Clark each received 1600 acres and double pay. York and Sacagawea got nothing. Zilch. Nada. I know this was a sign of the times. But, it’s still awful. Obviously the US government was happy with their expedition for the men to receive double pay plus land. It’s appalling that the time, effort & sacrifice from an Indian Woman and a Black Slave weren’t compensated in the same way.

Sacajawea at the Big Water by John F Clymer

The end of the exhibit had pull drawers describing what happened to each member of the Corps of Discovery. York got his freedom sometime after 1811.

There was another section dedicated to the People at the Mouth of the Columbia River

A 3-D map showing where the fresh water Columbia River meets the salt water of the Pacific Ocean. Cape Disappointment is on the Washington side of the river. You can just barely see the You Are Here arrow in this pic.

CAPE DISAPPOINTMENT

Top: Cape Disappointment is one of the foggiest places in the US. I believe it. Not too far from us was the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse. We could barely see it do to the fog.

Bottom Left: The words “Welcome to the Edge of the Continent” amaze me . I have lived near the Pacific Ocean all my life and I take it for granted. I can’t imagine the joy the Corps of Discovery felt when they first saw it.

Bottom Right: The Interpretive Center sits back on a rocky ledge. Many cormorants live on these rocks.

Outside the building is a large version of the nickel featuring the Pacific Ocean in the Westward Journey series. Just the other day we discussed and did rubbings of the Westward Journey nickels.  I wish I would have known this large one was there. I would have brought paper and a crayon for the kid’s to make a rubbing.

FORT CANBY

The Interpretive Center sits where what once was Fort Canby. The fort was built to defend the Columbia River from enemy warships. The US Army was here from the mid 1800’s until the end of WWII.

I love the field trips as much as my kids. I always learn something new & it’s always a great excuse to go see something we wouldn’t normally get to see. We drove across the crazy-steep, then low to the water Astoria Bridge. Made it to the edge of North America. Walked through an amazing old growth forest. Saw a lighthouse in the fog, making it a great time to show the kids why we have lighthouses in the first place. Explored an old army fort. Saw a bald eagle! We learned that the white stuff on the rocks with the cormorants was guano. The kids loved that. We experienced all this and more while the intent was to simply learn a little something about Lewis & Clark. I’m already plotting when we can go back & make a bigger trip out of it.

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