Sunday, January 3, 2016

Starting 2016 at Diamond Lake and Crater Lake

Happy New Year! To kick off 2016, Craig and I joined some friends from Oregon at their cabin on Diamond Lake. It was a full-blown winter wonderland weekend complete with snowmobiling, snowshoeing, snowboarding, and cabin relaxing. Below are some photos from the trip. Most of them boast Mt. Thielsen, but he looked so fabulous in his new suit of white that it was impossible to not photograph him in every change of lighting.

Craig walking on a frozen Diamond Lake New Year's morning.

Craig, me, and Mt. Thielsen

Craig and Dan get a tow behind the snowmobile

...and we lost a Craig. I love how this photo looks like Dan is trying to lasso Craig.

Me and Kathie riding in style.

How cute is this place?!

I mean seriously! How cute is this place?! Straight out of a fairy tale!

The deep snow made a great beer fridge for the weekend.

For one of the afternoons, some of us headed over to Crater Lake for snowshoeing. Even without being illuminated by a wintry blanket of snow, Crater Lake has an awe-inspiring beauty that has the power to stop anyone in their tracks. The new coating of white created of scene a of pure radiance and accentuated the lake's frigid blue color.

Wizard Island covered in snow

The rim of Crater Lake with snow.

Me trying not to get blown off the crater wall.

Some of the crew spend the afternoon at Crater Lake.

Kathie, Dan, and Craig down below.

Crater Lake

Mt. Thielsen with a morning shroud.

Mt. Bailey blasted by snow.

Mt. Bailey from below.

Silent Creek

Silent Creek and Mt. Bailey

Attempting some ice fishing.

Getting close with Mt. Thielsen.

Mt. Thielsen's ridge at sunset.

Last light on Mt. Thielsen.

The full crew at Diamond Lake: Cory, Lisa, Kathie, Craig, me, Dan, and Mark

Diamond Peak in the distance.

We awoke on the final morning to several inches of fresh snow with more to come. A storm rolled in early morning and continued for the remainder of the day. Icy roads and heavy snowfall, combined with holiday traffic made for an extra-long drive home. What is normally a ~7 hour drive turned into a ~12 hour trip!

Quick stop at the Deschutes River on the snowy drive home.