Crater Lake National Park Oregon

Journey to a Land of Water Wind and Fire

Part C: Crater Lake National Park

"Yo Ho Ho and a Bottle of R. . ."

(After all, I try to keep this a family site)

The other big "attraction" within Crater Lake itself(which I called on my last post a "Large Hole" to avoid the Crater/Caldera controversy) is a rock formation which has been dubbed: The Phantom Ship. It is found over on the southeastern side of the Lake far away from The Wizard's Hat. Further, unlike The Wizard's Hat, which I called a "Heap of Cinders" in my last posting, The Phantom Ship is composed of lava left over from some of the volcanic activity associated with the site. Again, I am not a geologist. Check some other site if you wish to have a more authoritative discussion of the make-up, origin etc. of the formation.

For me, it is sufficient to say that it is a "Big Rock," in the "Large Hole." And it is big, despite the appearances. You have to remember that you are, depending upon your exact location and water level of the lake, anywhere from 700 to over 1000 feet above the surface of the Lake. According to the Guide Books it is over 300 feet long. That means 2 NFL teams could have a game on the island, though I must say running a play amid the mass of rocks and pillars would be a daunting task. Further it rises about 160 feet (again, that is about 1/2 the distance of the proverbial football field), from the surface of the lake. Note well, this last number will vary due to the seasonal fluctuations in the water's depth in the lake. In other words. . .it is not a small thing. It is a "BIG ROCK!"


And further from most angles, it does appear to resemble a ship, something like a 2-4 masted schooner depending upon how versed you are in your "rigging" and all that jazz.


But, you may say, where does it get the name "Phantom?" It is, after all, a "ship that does not move." Well, that too has a logical explanation. Actually, I've heard two.

The first one suggests that the name arises from the weather conditions at Crater Lake, not the ones we encountered, the ones that are present most of the year (more on this in a later posting). Anyway, needless to say, it is wet a lot of the time. And there is also a lot of temperature inversions, and heat difference given the large body of water acting as a heat sink. . .Again I am getting too technical, consult a science site to understand more. . . What I am saying is, most of the year, fog and mist on the surface of the lake is very common. Thus, the formation moves in and out of the surrounding misty fog, appears and disappears as if it is a "Phantom."

Yet again, if one goes over to the area around Crater Lake Lodge (more on this in a later posting), one will find some of the main overlooks, particularly the "Sinnot Memorial Overlook." From that angle, given the location of the Phamtom Ship rock, it may appear to disappear into the surrounding rocks. In the picture to the left, look carefully near the shoreline about 1/2 way up in the shot and you will find it. And since this is the area and these are the overlooks that are open for most of the year, and hence, the most visited, one would expect that many people, through the years, have experienced the Ship's "disappearence."

Now, whatever the reason, the end result is the same. The "Ship" has a "Phantom-like" existence for many people. But, it is, in the end, a "Big Rock" in a "Large Hole."

Crater Lake National Park Oregon

Journey to a Land of Water Wind and Fire

Part C: Crater Lake National Park

The Hat in the Ring

Many National Parks feature one predominate feature, a Canyon, a Glacial Valley, a bunch of tall mountains, etc. When you visit them, you spend your time not only looking at the "Big Thing" (the Canyon, Glaciers, Valley, etc.) but also all the little things, and yes often oddities, found within the "Bigger Thing." Crater Lake is no different.

In this National Park you have this one "Big Thing," a Crater filled with water so deep that it forms the deepest lake in North America. Well it is not really a crater, we were infomed by the Rangers, actually it is more accurately identified as a "Caldera." Now, if you have clicked on the last link given you will find that it calls a "Caldera" a "depression." I find this interesting because "The American Heritage College Dic*tion*ar*y" defines a "caldera as: "A Large Crater formed by volcanic explosion or by collapse of a volcanic cone." In other words, they say it is a Crater, albeit a special one. The dictionary and the scientists don't completely agree on this point, but being a history major, who am I to argue? Therefore, let me be more neutral and simply call it a "large hole" okay? Within this "large hole" are several different rock formations sticking out of the water. The most predominate of them is called Wizard Island.

Wizard Island is actually a volcanic cinder cone. A cinder cone is, and this is my "definition" not necessarily the scientific or dictionary one, a pile of cinders and ash that have been thrust up from beneath the earth by the same forces of heat and fire that started the volcanic eruption to begin with. In other words, it is a "heap of cinders."

According to one of the rangers I talked to, Wizard Island is one of the most perfectly formed "heap of cinders" in the world. This is because the cinders and ash produced in the Cascades, and in many other volcanic areas, are not very heavy and thus can be thrown around a lot by the winds once they have been expelled from the earth. However, in this instance, because the "heap of cinders" was down in a "large hole" it was protected from the winds. Thus protected, it was allowed to build up largely guided by the forces beneath the earth.

The name of the formation, Wizard Island, was given by the early "settlers" in the area because the shape of the island resembled what they thought was a Wizard's Hat (though how many of them had actually ever seen a real Wizard's Hat is debateable, further they were living in a pre-Wizard of Oz, and pre- Harry Potter world, a real dark ages if I must say so). It is possible to go out to the island on a boat, but I will deal with the activitiy in a later post (no we didn't go out there, and you will find out why later).

The Wizard's Hat is probably the most noticable feature in the lake and can be seen from just about any vantage point available. This is unlike the other well-known feature of Crater Lake, Phantom Ship. This formation will be the subject of the next posting.

Crater Lake National Park Oregon

Journey to a Land of Water Wind and Fire

Part C: Crater Lake National Park: An Overview

At last we arrived at Crater Lake National Park. We entered via the North Entrance and stopped at the Watchman Tower Overlook and, in the words of the National Park Service Newspaper handed us when we entered, had our first

"Wow."

However, in the interest of honesty, the above clip is not from our first view on the first day, rather it was taken the second day from Cloudcap. This is because the weather was much better the second day. On that first day, we were still following the bank of clouds and haze that had dogged us ever since we had been at Bandon.

Also in the interest of honesty, I must report that this clip does not do justice to the "Blue" of the water. It was much deeper than shown. However, with the "Point and Shoot" that I have, it was the best I could do (after all, remember folks, I am not a professional and this is not a professional site).

Nevertheless, enjoy what you see.

Umpqua River Oregon

Journey to a Land of Water Wind and Fire

A Transition: Traveling up the Umpqua River

We had planned on spending the night with J. at his place near Roseburg OR and so we left Bandon OR after dinner. Thus began our journey to Crater Lake National Park.

The first part of our journey was through a beautiful, albeit sparcely settled country, the sign says it all. And yes, it leads to the town of . . .Remote Oregon. Probably its most noteworthy contribution came when William Least Heat-Moon mentioned it in his travelogue "Blue Highways."

We also passed a Covered Bridge near Remote. Being from West Virginia, we are used to seeing covered bridges. However, they are a rarity west of the Mississippi River, with one state, Oregon, being the exception. While I had not intentionally planned to stop at any of their bridges, since this one, the Sandy Creek Bridge, was right along our route of travel, we stopped for the obligatory Photo Op.

The next morning we set off up the Umpqua River valley. For the first part, it was mostly farming and small towns. The day was overcast, as the previous evening had been. And as we traveled along, we saw signs indicating that they were having fires in the area. I am sure that at least part of the "overcast" that we were driving through was, in reality, smoke from the fires (at times it certainly smelled that way).

We made it a point to stop at a place where, the guidebooks all claimed "Two Rivers Collide." They had talked about how spectacular the place was etc. etc. etc. Unfortunately, we were there in the "low water" season. Thus the view was not quite what we had been expecting.

J. had talked about all the waterfalls along this highway and had encouraged us to see a few of them. But again, this being "low water season" those few we did see, were mostly just whitewater.

One exception to this, however, was the Clearwater River Falls. We stopped there and had a picnic lunch. Afterwards we walked around a bit to see the falls. They were pretty, but again, not anything spectacular, in our humble opinion.

We finally broke out of the Umpqua River Valley and found ourselves at Diamond Lake. After a brief stop at an overlook, we turned south, and the next phase of our Journey, Crater Lake National Park.

Bandon Oregon

Journey to a Land of Water Wind and Fire

Part B: The Oregon Coast III i

By the Beautiful Bandon Sea

We left Cape Arago and drove south toward the resort community of Bandon, also called "Bandon-By-The-Sea." At first glance, it resembled other Oregon Coastal towns we had been in. It had a boardwalk through a commerecial section of town.




It also had a fishing dock that had obviously "working" boats tied up.






It even had a river flowing down to the sea to admire.




And, of course, there was a lighthouse which I pictured in an earlier blog.



But then the comparisons began to break down. For next we came to the sea, or rather where the sea met the land. And it was a wild meeting, for sure.


And the beach was not the soft white sand most often pictured in programs about "America's 10 best beaches", and other similar pieces of "travel fluff." This was definitely not a soft white sandy beach. It was grey, and it had lots of driftwood laying about.



And it had these rocks, sticking our of the water, just off from the beach, they called the "sea stacks." Because of the weather, we limited our time there, but I understand there are many more there than we saw in our short stay.




Because the longer we stayed there, the wilder it got. Until, we decided that we would leave the beach and head for more civilized surroundings, namely dinner. And so, with one last fond look at this amazing beach, we turned and headed for supper.








And after supper, we turned inland to begin the next phase of our journey. But we had just had an amazing 3rd day.

Cape Arago Oregon

Journey to a Land of Water Wind and Fire

Part B: The Oregon Coast III h

A View from the Cape

And so, we come to Cape Arago. And what a view it was. Totally unlike anything else we had seen (but then, come to think of it, in this our third day on the middle portion of the Oregon Coast, we have come to expect that). And so, first we look to the North.


When we first left our car to walk down to the overlook we had thought it might be a repeat of what we have seen on other parts of the Oregon Coast, say another Cape Perpetua. And yet, here while the elements, water, wind and the firey origin of the place were all present, nevertheless it was a different presentation.

There is water, a cold rough looking sea. There is wind, as evidenced by the growth of the tree in the picture above, constantly blowing onshore. And there is evidence of the birth of this place by the the upthrust of the earth as seen so clearly in the lines of the rocks in the picture at the top of this posting.


And speaking of rocks and the sea, there is also a lot of wave pounding against the rocks at the Cape. And as we look out into the water, we see that there are rocks out from the shore, and they are being constantly being pounded by the sea as well.



Now we look down at the very point of the Cape and see once more that this Cape, is quite unlike Capes that I have seen in the East. This is no Cape Cad MA. Nor is it Cape Henry VA, or even Point NoPoint in Southern Maryland where I vacationed as a kid. This is a hard, rocky Cape prone to much wave action.



But despite the wildness and difference of the place, we knew it was time to push on. For as we looked south, toward the town of Bandon, where we planned to eat, we could see the weather moving in. J. hoped to be able to show us the beach down there, but he was concerned that we would not see too much of it.


And so, we left. For, as Robert Frost once said: "I have miles to go before I sleep. . ."

Cape Arago Oregon

Journey to a Land of Water Wind and Fire

Part B: The Oregon Coast III g

A Barking Good Time Was Had By All

One aspect of our visit to Shore Acres State Park, I have failed to mention in previous posts, is that all the time we were there, we heard the sound of barking in the background. The sound was most prominent when we were out at the overlook near the old house site (the first posting for Shore Acres State Park). But we heard this barking everywhere we went. At first, I dismissed it as a couple of visitor's dogs who had decided to disagree with one another. But then I saw noone with a dog (for all I know they are not allowed in the park). And besides the racket went on far too long. At any rate, I was so overwhelmed by what I saw down at Simpson Beach I had almost pushed the sound out of my consciousness once we got ready to leave the park.


J. rode with us as we turned right out of the park and headed south. Our destination was Cape Arago. But when we were only 1/2 way there, we rounded a bend in the road and once more, we heard the sound of barking. Only this time there was far more force to the sound.


And, more importantly, there was a roadside park just ahead on the right. And . . . even more importantly there was a large gathering of vehicles at the park. And so, we pulled off to see what was so interesting. As we got out of our car and walked over to the railing alongside the sidewalk, we realized we were looking out into the sea. And this is what we saw:

More rocks and waves. But wait, what are those funny brown shapes on the rocks? Could it be, yes it was, there were Sea Lions, a Walrus or two and even Harbor Seals, all lounging around and barking as if there was no tomorrow. So that was where all that barking sound had been coming from!

Now, I have seen this phenomena in the "wild" before. In 1998 when we were in Juneau Alaska we took a "Wildlife Cruise." In addition to Humpback Whales, Bald Eagles, and other assorted marine creatures, at one point our boat pulled close to a rocky island that was covered with Sea Lions, Walrus, and Harbor Seals. And I remembered that they were barking then. Though I also remembered that our boat stayed a distance away from them, and hence the sound was somewhat dissipated by the time I heard it.

Again, I saw large crowds of Marine Mammals, mostly California Harbor seals, lounging on man-made "sun patios" at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco in 2000 (though this could hardly have been called a "sighting in the wild"). However, these creatures were not making much sound, they were hardly doing anything except sunning themselves. I remember thinking at the time that while this was intended to be a "natural setting" for the creatures, it still reminded me of a zoo.

I knew that there were Sea Lions around this area. We had seen them from time to time swimming around in the ocean as we would stand at various sea side overlooks. On our first day at the Coast, when we went to Cape Perpetua, we had intentionally passed by a roadside "attraction" called Sea Lion Caves. Someone has built an elevator down into a sea cave where Sea Lions came to calve. And if you wanted to, and many people seemingly did, you could pay an entrance fee and go down yourself. I had become aware of this "attraction" prior to our arrivial in the area through my reading of the local guidebooks. And after reading the various accounts, I had decided that the place was down at the bottom of the places I thought we might want to see while in the area.

My resolve in this regard was strengthened that first day when we first turned on Highway 101 in Florence and headed north towards Cape Perpetua. Immediately we saw large billboards advertizing the place and urging you to come. And my "tourist trap" sensors kicked into over-time. So, as we rounded the curve where the "attraction" was located, . . . we moved on by. I had seen enough Sea Lions to allow me to not give into this ploy for the tourist's dollar.

However, here on the road to Cape Arago, the situaton was entirely different, and for me totally unexpected. And yet, it appears to be a regular situation. There were interpretative signs about marine mammals at the wayside, and even, at least on that day, a Sunday, volunteer interpreters to help us understand what was going on.

The other treat at the wayside was to see the Fireweed in bloom. This plant, common in the northwest, was one of my nicest memories of our Alaska cruise. I remembered the Alaskan saying "When the Fireweed blooms, it is 6 weeks to the first snowfall." Well, when we were in Alaska, it was blooming, and it was early August, and the locals said that by October they would have snow. And that being Alaska, I imagine they were right. So here we were in Oregon this year in the middle of August and the fireweed was blooming. I wonder, did Cape Arago have snow in the latter half of September or the first of October? Or at least a winter storm? If the folks in Alaska were any guide, then maybe they did. But then, maybe this is as accurate as my Wooly Worm Caterpillars.