Road Trip - Crater Lake National Park

As soon as the school was out this year we set out for a road trip to Crater Lake National Park in OR. There are lodges and cabin facilities available around the park for stay. We had booked a cabin about 20 miles off the southern entrance of the national park. We drove in on a Thursday. Friday was spent in the park. On Saturday we did few activities closer to where we stayed and on Sunday we drove back home.

Crater Lake National Park:

We entered the park from the south and stopped at Steel Visitor Center at the Park Headquarters. We watched a 22-minute film on the formation of the lake, got some information to plan the day and then headed out.

400,000 years of volcanic activity builds 12,000 foot Mount Mazama, then 7700 years ago eruptions bring it down to form a deep caldera and then years of rain and snow melts, fill it to create 'Crater lake'. Mazama is not an extinct volcano, it is still active and could awaken another time.

We drove east first on the rim drive and stopped at 'Vidae Falls', which can be accessed from the main road.

Vidae Falls

We kept on the East Rim drive and did the 2 mile kids friendly trek up to the Plaikni Falls. The wild flowers and tiny blue butterflies fluttering around them, near the falls was just so lovely.

Plaikni Falls

After the hike, we stopped at the 'Phantom Ship Overlook'. That is the first time we caught sight of the lake and first thing that seizes you is the blueness of the lake. 

The Phantom Ship Overlook

Then we started driving west and stopped at the 'Rim Village' which has a visitor center, gift shop and a cafe, to have our lunch. There are view points from here as well to see the lake.

The Wizard Island on Crater Lake

After lunch, we kept driving west and did the rim drive along the lake stopping at various view points, taking pictures.

The fact that you can actually see the entire lake in all its blueness and stillness stretching across below your eye level, on top of what is an active volcano, is surreal.

View of wizard island from 'Watchman Outlook'

There is a trail called the 'Cleetwood Cove Trail' in the north side of the lake, that goes down to the lake in a steep, strenuous hike. We didn't do it this time. Maybe next time when the kids are a little grownup.

There is a 2-hour boat tour around the lake which we heard will be operational July 3-Sept 13 only.

Mount Mazama in Oregon, is the 4th volcanic mountain in the Cascade Range I have visited, after Mt. Rainier, Mt. Helens and Mt.Baker in WA. Here is a list of all the Cascade Range volcanoes in British Columbia, WA, OR and CA.

Klamath and Western Railroad:

We had one more day left to explore and we took it easy. We visited the Klamath and Western Railroad. Luckily they had their Saturday rides open. It was so much fun to ride in those mini trains through a spooky tunnel, bridges, fictitious mini towns and railway station set up. The rides are free and they accept any contribution. It was an enjoyable activity for the entire family.

Mini Train Engine

Train Ride

Klamath Fish Hatchery:

After the train ride we headed to Klamath Fish Hatchery. We loved this place. There are areas in here where you can feed the fish. The location and the layout of this hatchery is so lovely with trees, a creek, green pastures and mountains beyond. Feeding the fish was a wonderful experience for the kids.

Feeding the fish

The tiny ones

There are lots of farms around here with cattle, horses and donkeys grazing out in the grass and goat and sheep in their pens, which was fun to spot and watch during the drive.

Crater lake resort:

The kids enjoyed the grounds and the play area of the place we stayed at immensely. The shallow creek, with a wooden bridge, canoes and a trail, was a favorite.

Book - Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie

'Midnight's Children', written by Salman Rushdie is a historical fiction set in India and Pakistan, imbibed with 'magical realism'.

Saleem Sinai born at the stroke of midnight on August 14th, 1947 when India gained independence recites the story of his family starting with the story of his grandfather, while in parallel, history shapes India and Pakistan. The story travels through generations - Saleem's grandparents, his parents and then his own. As Saleem grows up he finds out that he has special telepathic powers and connects with the children born during the first hour of independence - 'midnight's children', each with special powers of their own. He also finds out about the mix up at the hospital when he was born. The child he was switched with, grows up poor, as Shiva, who is also one of the midnight's children. The premise of the plot is intriguing. The author draws a lot of parallels between what happens to the characters to what happens in the countries.

I thought I would have loved to read this book without the 'magical realism' part especially since it is historical fiction. The mysticism part, I found to be unnecessary and many escaped my mind or left me confounded. I couldn't appreciate the point of the midnight's children and their special powers. The idea, though interesting, is not brought together in cohesion. I would have liked it to be more straight forward.

The author's writing is brilliant in many ways (humorous, satirical, amusing and immensely creative) but also drawn-out and tedious in many instances. I did feel the need to ditch the book during those tedious narrations. But in the end, I am glad that I stuck with it and finished it. I liked how the story travels through history. The book draws the reader to envision the complex nature of the birth of these two nations (with an equally complex narrative) and the struggles in the early years of formalizing themselves.

Dropping of the atom bomb, end of World War II, Jallianwala Bagh, India's independence from the British, partition of Bombay into Gujarat and Maharashtra, the Indo-Chinese war of 1962, India Pakistan war over Kashmir in 1965, Indo Pakistan war 1971 which led to the birth of Bangladesh as a separate country, Indira Gandhi's emergency 1975-77 are some of the historic events through which the story travels.

I found the early history of Bombay and it's partition after independence interesting. I haven't read war stories set in India and I was unaware of the specifics of the birth of Bangladesh as a separate nation. The chapter 'In the Sunderbans' where Saleem is caught in the Sunderban forests bordering India and Bangladesh during the 1971 war after losing his family, especially was poignant.

Saleem's grandmother, Naseem Ghani's (who is often referred to as 'Reverand Mother') idiosyncracy and her catch phrase 'whatsitsname' I thought was amusing.

The book has left me wanting to hear more stories of the people during the partition how their lives were touched by that very significant part of the country's history and the wars that followed.