My trip to Crater Lake

The trip up to crater lake was loooooong. We got up early and started our journey with hot chocolate to go! I read "Star Wars, The Rebel Force" book #2 (named "Hostage") while we were driving. It was a very exciting book, and I finished it by the time we arrived at Crater Lake. When we finally got there, it cost ten dollars to get in. We received a map of the area and suggestions about what we might like to do while we were there.

Of course the first thing we did was to admire the lake. It was so blue it looked fake! We drove to a spot where we could hike down to the lake. It's called Cleetwood Cove Trail, and it's the only hiking trail that takes you down to the water. The hike down to the lake was slow going, but it had to end sometime right? On our way down we saw some ground squirrels! (Mom kept calling them "chick-munks" because apparently that's what I called them when I was little.) They were so cute! One even came right up to me and sniffed my fingers. I think he was disappointed that I didn't have a snack for him, but you really aren't supposed to feed the wildlife. It's not healthy for them, and it can be dangerous for you!

When we got down to the lake, we went for a swim in the 38 degree water. That's Fahrenheit! (That's only 3 degrees Celsius.) The water was so cold that I was freezing my head off! Every so often, I would get out and sit on a tanning rock in the wonderful sunshine. Yea-ah! Finally it was time to start the long, tiring hike back up. Hiking the trail from the bottom to the top is equal to 150 flights of stairs or the 75th floor of a building. That's 724 feet or 218 meters. It was slow going and I was tired, but I had some delicious quiche to keep me energized! Yummy! Before long we got to the top, so ending our hiking adventure!

The rest of the day was spent driving around, sight seeing. We stopped every now and then to get out and look around. The scenery was great! When we finally made our way all around the lake, it was time to go home. I really enjoyed my trip to Crater Lake.