We knew about the wildfires before heading out to Crater Lake.but decided to chance it anyway. We wanted to see the number 1 tourist attraction in Oregon since we were here! Well... hum....let's hope for tomorrow! Travel advice - don't come during fire season. It is a long drive to Crater Lake to begin with from the Portland area and it was made about an hour longer because the route we were taking had a road closed due to the wild fires. Ugh....
The wildfires are very close to Crater Lake and 100's of fire fighters are working and camping around the area. I had flashbacks to my FEMA incident command structure training and can only imagine the coordination nightmare of fire management. We saw signs pointing to the fires to guide the firefighters, water trucks with axes and shovels tied to them and fields of helicopters.
Believe me, Prospect tiny and not big enough for any type of airport. This is for state coordination efforts.
The air is thick with smoke and smells like Christmas trees on fire. Eyes burn and we are listening to people coughing all around us. Crazy part people are still hiking and bike riding.
There was absolutely no view of the lake. Just smoke. You can see snow - yep it is mid August and patches of snow still exist. Everyone (and there are tons of people here) are bummed and we hope that some of the smoke blows out overnight and we get some view in the morning. We stayed for sunset because smoke can provide a backdrop for cool sunsets. 
We stopped at a really cool place called natural bridge. A river fed by snow run off takes s journey through lava tubes and broken tunnels. 335,000 gallons of water flows through the lava tubes per minute. Pictures don't show the force of the water but you can see, hear and feel it in person.
Crater Lake is remote to say the least. Not many options for overnight stays unless you are camping. We are staying at very nice private home. Owned by Mike and Lisa. Huge log lodge in Prospect about 40 minutes from crater lake. Wonderful family - who left a bottle of wine for us in our room as a welcome gift. I will post pictures tomorrow, more about Crater Lake and HOPEFULLY some pictures!
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