Daughter Jenny and I took a one-day road trip up to Crater Lake National Park this week, just a 70-mile drive from my home. Jenny had never seen the lake, so I was happy to be her tour guide to the site of my best summer job experience. The weather here has been unseasonably cool this week (barely hitting 70, when we normally reach the low 80s), so we watched the weather forecasts and picked the day which we thought would be the warmest and sunniest. The park sits at an elevation between 6,000 and nearly 9,000 feet, so even when it’s hot down here at 1,400 feet, it can be much cooler up there. Expecting close to 70-degree temperatures by mid-afternoon, we packed light jackets, lunch, water and a few trail snacks and hit the road. The drive up follows the Rogue River part of the way, and we made a few stops along the way for short hikes and some stunning photo opportunities. Shortly after noon we reached the Rim Village complex at the edge of the caldera for Jenny’s first view of that incredible blue bowl. As we approached the park, we noted that clouds were much in evidence and a brisk breeze was blowing through the tree tops. As we stood at the rim, the hide-and-seek sun created interesting shadows and gradations of blue on the surface of the lake, but that breeze made it seriously chilly. We decided lunch in the car was a good idea, all the while wishing we had thought to throw in hats and gloves along with our questionably light outerwear. Fortified with food and heartened by the thought that hiking would warm us up, we drove to one of numerous overlooks on the 33-mile Rim Road which encircles the lake. From there we began a hike to one of the peaks edging the lake, 8,000-plus-foot The Watchman, which has a still-functioning Forest Service fire lookout station at the top. Although the wind was still keeping things on the cool side, we did find the exertions of the trek warmed us up and provided amazing vistas over both the lake and the surrounding forests and mountains for miles. We spent the rest of the day circumnavigating the lake and exploring a few other short trails, thoroughly enjoying the time outdoors and each other’s company. We were both quite surprised at the number of visitors on this cool late-September day also taking in this natural wonder. Always keeping an eye out for out-of-state license plates, we observed cars from nearly half the states (ranging from Florida, Georgia and Virginia to Illinois, South Dakota and Colorado) and a few Canadian provinces. Our ears detected a few international guests as well. Clearly, even after Labor Day, there are plenty of folks still getting in vacation travel. As we’ve officially entered fall, I hope you are able to look back on some delightful summer travel experiences while having some new destinations to look forward to. — Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor