#umpqua
Oregon was one of the states that we were really looking forward to. We pulled up to our campground around dusk after a scenic ride through beautiful winding mountain roads coming from Lake Tahoe. Our campsite was nestled right next to Diamond Lake. We set up camp and cooked our first meal as the sun was setting over the gigantic snow capped mountain that lives across the clear blue lake. Our neighbors informed us that we just missed a hailstorm and the temperature would be a record low that night, dropping below 40. We broke out our wool blanket and heavy socks in preparation for the chilly mountain air.
The following morning we woke up in clouds of heavy fog. Being the optimistic people that we are we headed to Crater Lake. Needless to say we couldn’t see five feet in front of us, let alone the beautiful unbelievably blue lake. So we headed north for some waterfalls and of course we weren’t disappointed. The green of Oregon’s forests with raging blue clean water is an unmatchable combo. Umpqua National Forest was a great area to explore. With four waterfalls and hot springs all within a 20 mile stretch it wasn’t hard to fill our entire day in the lush green forest.
The next day we headed to Crater Lake. Instead of writing about our experience at this incredible lake, I’d like to tell our personal favorite story of how the Lake came to be. We came across this story while reading “Your Guide to the National Parks.”
Mount Mazama had a cataclysmic eruption about 8,000 years ago. This cataclysmic eruption caused the mountain to collapse into itself forming a massive caldera.
The Makala Indians tell the story of an epic battle between Llao, Chief of the Below World and Skell, Chief of the Above World. Llao on one of his visits to Mount Mazama fell in love with one of the villagers. Llao promised the pretty young villager enteral life if she would come and live with him below Mount Mazama. The girl refused Llao’s offer which enraged the Chief of the Below World. Llao took his rage out on the village and started to destroy everything in sight. Skell, Chief of the Above World, seeing this from standing atop Mount Shasta decided to help the villagers. The epic battle between Llao and Skell ended in fiery destruction. Skell finally drove Llao back into the underworld through Mount Mazama where the battle took place all night. The next morning Mount Mazama was gone and all that was left was a gigantic gaping hole to the underworld. The following months after the epic battle was filled with torrential downpour which filled the void and created Crater Lake.
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My thoughts go out to the families who have lost somebody during the shooting at Umpqua Community College in Oregon. I hope you can find peace.
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