Crater Lake National Park – Oregon
I visited Crater Lake National Park on one of my solo excursions. It was one of those places I wished I had shared with someone else. The color of the lake matched the bluest of skies as I walked along the rim, a blue so intense it almost felt unreal.
There are no rivers flowing in or out of Crater Lake. The lake exists almost entirely on its own, fed by rain and snow. This purity is what gives it its extraordinary color and clarity. Standing at its rim, you are looking down nearly 2,000 feet into the remains of a collapsed volcano.
The story of this place stretches more than 7,700 years, when Mount Mazama erupted in one of the most violent volcanic events in North America. The eruption emptied the magma chamber beneath the mountain, causing the summit to collapse inward and form the massive caldera that now holds Crater Lake. Over centuries, snowmelt and rainfall slowly filled the basin, creating what is now the deepest lake in the United States.
Crater Lake officially became a national park on May 22, 1902, when Theodore Roosevelt signed the legislation establishing it as America’s firth national park. Roosevelt, a passionate conservationist, understood the importance of protecting this awe-inspiring landscape.
Read More From Nancy
Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area – Georgia
Hewett Lodge sits among the trees in the Chattahoochee River corridor. This building is nestled into the forest, overlooking the river that has shaped this region for centuries. Inside the lodge, there are exhibits that speak of the historic and current importance of this river. By the 1970s, rapid development around Atlanta threatened to overtake the Chattahoochee […]
Voyageurs National Park – Minnesota
I have explored many National Parks on solo driving tours. There is something about the quiet rhythm of the road with long stretches of highway and time to think. Driving to Voyageurs in northern Minnesota was one of those journeys. I followed the North Shore of Lake Superior for part of the trip, marveling at its vastness. […]
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument – Arizona
Driving through Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument at dusk, the landscape does not feel empty, it feels inhabited. As the sun lowers behind the Ojo Mountains, long shadows stretch across the sand. The silhouette of organ pipe and saguaro cacti rise with arms lifted toward a sky painted in amber color. This is the Sonoran Desert, one […]
