Crater Lake, 25 July 2010, Watchman Peak Trail

Watchman Peak Trail is a moderate 1.4- mile hike round-trip. A trail was cut through the snow. The peak's historic fire lookout was built in 1932, and it is still staffed at times by rangers today.
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Crater Lake, 25 July 2010, Rim Village, Discovery Point

After lunch at Crater Lake Lodge, we walked on a paved trail behind the lodge and then headed the other direction to view Crater Lake from Sinnott Memorial. Many displays of information helped us identify Devil's Backbone, a 1300ft long ribbon of lava. We started our Rim Drive again and stopped at Discovery Point. The bird we later identified as Clark's Nutcracker was large and imposing.
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Crater Lake, Kerr Notch

Kerr Notch is the second glacial valley from which Phantom Ship can be viewed. It disappears into the reflection.
Pumice Castle
Cloudcap is the highest elevation on Rim Drive at 7685 ft.
Mt. Scott is the highest mountain in the park.
We ate lunch at Crater Lake Lodge dining room.
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Crater Lake, waterfalls along Rim Drive and Pinnacles Trail

Not all waterfalls along Rim Drive are named. The average snowfall is 530 inches and it provides water for some spectacular waterfalls in midsummer.
Erosion exposed The Pinnacles whose walls were cemented by heat and chemical actions. The Pinnacles Trail went along the edge of the cliff out of the national park and into a National Forest.
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Crater Lake, July 25, Sun Notch Trail

Sun Notch is one of two glacial valleys of the original Mt. Mazama that were truncated when the volcano exploded about 7,700 years ago. It is a pleasant 0.5 mile up to the rim from where we have a good view of Phantom Ship on Crater Lake.
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Crater Lake, July 25, Vidae Falls

We began the second day with a plan to tour East Rim Drive with several stops for photos and walks. This was our first stop.
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Crater Lake July 24, 2010

Our vacation began with flights from Dayton to Chicago, to San Francisco and to Medford, Oregon. In Medford we rented the car for the drive to Mazama Village Motor Inn which is inside Crater Lake National Park. We could not wait to take a quick ride on the Rim Drive for quick views from some of the scenic viewpoints. Click Crater Lake July 24, 2010 for more photos.