by Chrystina Trulove-Reyes

Created on: February 11, 2009   Last Updated: August 15, 2010

Ashley stared at the water in awe. She had never seen water so blue. She had heard others tell her what Crater Lake was like but had thought that they were telling lies or exaggerating the experience. First hand, she could see that they had not fudged one iota. The water was a deep sapphire blue. Bluer than the bluest Cobalt.

Staring into the water from the rim of what had once been Mount Mazama, Ashley felt a moment of vertigo. The water was a perfect mirror. It reflected the sky above it perfectly. Every cloud, every bird, even the trees on the other side of the lake were duplicated in perfection.

A breeze buffeted her face gently, like a lover's caress, though cool against her skin. She closed her eyes breathing in the amazingly clean air. She could smell the crisp fresh air tainted with a hint of pine, earth, and water.

"There you are," the voice came from right behind her ear causing her to jump. She turned to glare at Gavin who grinned impishly at her in response. "I was actually looking for you." He informed her.

"I just" She could not explain the pull she had felt when she had glimpsed the water. It had not helped when she heard a group of tourists "ooh" and "ah" when they had approached the rim. Instead, she waved her hand toward the crystalline waters. Predictably, Gavin whistled his surprise. He handed her the large paper cup and grabbed the camera that dangled from his wrist, quickly snapping a few shots.

"Look at the water." He groaned. "Have you ever seen anything like it?"

Someone chucked from behind Ashley. "The water is blue because of the vitamins and chemicals." An older man stated. He was thin, with thinning light brown hair and hazel eyes. His eyes were hidden behind square framed glasses that seemed to dominate his face. He leaned against a part of the rock wall that Ashley was standing next to.

"There are chemicals in there?" Gavin asked. Ashley moved closer to him, suddenly feeling chilled. She felt uncomfortable with the way the man looked at her, but she knew that that would not last. After all, she and Gavin were heading for Portland, Oregon and had decided to stop at Crater Lake on their way North.

The man chuckled again. Then shaking his head he stated, "there are natural chemicals all around us. Crater Lake has pooled those chemicals together and the reaction is making the water blue." He rubbed his forehead almost thoughtfully. "My mom used to work as a cook up here. She told me once about how some tourists believed that the park staff

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