Crater Lake and Mount St. Helens ( July 2003 )

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During the first week of July, on our way to have our new coach serviced in Oregon, we spent a few days in Klamath Falls and visited Crater Lake.

The beauty and intense blue of this lake makes the viewing a religious experience.

The lake is 5 miles wide and ringed by cliffs about 2,000 feet high. At more than 1,900 feet deep it is the deepest lake in the United States. The lake was created only 7,700 years ago when a volcano called Mt. Mazama erupted and collapsed into itself

The peak behind Lynne is at 8,900 ft. The lake level is 6,200 ft.

Rim Drive is closed by snow from mid-October to early July.

Both Val and Ceci were with us. Ceci, with her jacket on, was able to go everywhere - even into the stores and restaurants.

We proceeded north to visit Edward in Washingon and also visited Mount St. Helens.

On March 20, 1980, a series of small earthquakes signaled the awakening of Mount St. Helens from a 123 year slumber. Over the next two months more than 10,1000 earthquakes followed. On May 18, 1980 a magnitude 5.1 earthquake triggered the collapse of the volcano's bulging north flank and summit in a landslide of historic proportions. Magma trapped within the volcano, suddenly relieved of pressure, exploded outward in a lateral blast that blew down 230 square miles of forest.

Lynne with the colorful wildflowers that now cover parts of the area.

The gray wasteland behind Lynne was created by a superheated avalanch of hot gas, ash, and pumice called pyroclastic flows that flowed into the valley north of the crater.

We returned to pick up our new coach (Dinah)

Here she is parked outside of Reno NV. She is more than 38 feet in length - 40 feet if you include the mirrors and ladder. She has three slide-outs which result in a great deal of interior space