Howdy Folks, this is @zambereileen, posting from the mountains of Southern Oregon. Hailed as one of the Seven Wonders of Oregon, Crater Lake is probably the most iconic destination in Southern Oregon. It is truly majestic, and like no other place on Earth. Also known as The Gem of the Cascades, the lake was created when Mount Mazama erupted 7,715 years ago. After the intense eruption the summit caved in, leaving behind a large caldera which was eventually filled with melting ice and snow, creating the 1,900 ft deepest lake in America. On a clear day, the cold water is so intensely blue it looks as if a million blue Crayola crayons were melted into a vast lake of technicolor wax. But this picture does not show the iconic blue water, nor the typical far-flung, expansive view from the crater’s rim of the neighboring mountains. In this picture the air is a hazy mantilla of murky smoke resulting from one of the summer’s late fires. I was not disappointed to miss the famous Crater Lake tableau. Instead, I savored the altered vista, made different and new again through the broad strokes from nature’s paintbrush of fire.