Crater Lake National Park, Oregon

1. Our Dodge Minivan

In September of 2005 my Brother JC and his wife Laura came to visit us in Oregon. Laura had never been in Oregon before so it became our pleasure to show them around the sights in Oregon We chose a visit to Crater Lake National Park, Oregon's only National Park. We spent the day driving around seeing the sights at the lake. In the afternoon we went to the Lodge to have dinner. It became a fun day. Early 20th century visitors probably accepted the substandard accommodations because of the rigorous trip needed to reach the park. Though the lodge lacked amenities and atmosphere, the magnificent views of Crater Lake and the surrounding peaks of the Cascade Range compensated visitors. When it was enlarged and upgraded from 1922 through 1924, the number of guest rooms more than doubled. Plumbing was expanded, and as a result most of the rooms in the new annex and annex wing had private bathrooms. However, a lack of investment capital plagued the expansion.

Many guest rooms were left unfinished. The lodge suffered with the decline in visitation and business during the early 1930s, the worst years of the Great Depression. Little was spent to keep up the facility. It was not until the mid 1930s that guest rooms on the second and third floors of the annexes were finished. The lodge was situated in a barren and very dusty environment. Cars had destroyed most of the surrounding vegetation.