These are some of the pictures I've taken at Crater Lake National Park over the past several years. It's close by, only 60 miles from home. The bright blue of the water looks almost fake. The lake was left after Mt. Mazama erupted leaving a large caldera. It is truly a national treasure.
In the summer of 2007, we had 2 fires started by lightning- the Biby complex fires (1 & 2). The September pictures show the lake with the smoke from the fires.

Summer 2008, several new buildings were added at the village. Another fire was started by lightning in September that spread into the park. However, we had rain over several days that helped bring it under control.

In January 2009, we visited again. There was comparitively not much snow. Usually at this time of year there is at least 15 feet of snow, This year, there was only maybe 7-8 feet. The Lake is always stunning, whatever the season. If a vacation brings you into Oregon, please stop by and see it.

In April 2009, we had a warm day. We took a granddaughter (9 years old) up for the day. There was still a lot of snow this time of year. The snow that wasn't there in January was here in April.

For more information, see the Crater Lake website; http://www.nps.gov/crla/