We took a quick three day trip to Crater Lake at the start of September, my first time going to a National Park, for real (?). I’ve always had a weird affinity for Crater Lake, I can’t really explain its origin, but this trip was definitely somewhat of a bucket list item for me. I love the recursive island vibe, it’s a sort of video game map IRL kind of situation.
The impetuous to prioritize this trip now instead visiting another, much closer national park in WA state is the fact that some lengthy construction work will limit lake access for a few years1. If anything, this meant that the park (and that specific trail) were uncharacteristically busy, but fortunately our trip extended through the long weekend into a regular week day where things were much more calm.
When we got home, the mailing spirit moved within me, and I made a quick trip recap newsletter, featuring summaries of the hikes and viewpoints we saw, and a random 4x6 printed photo — very early 2000s holiday card chic.
On the reverse, a map with callouts to the hikes mentioned. A favorite was Mt. Scott, a lot of elevation made for a great aerial view of the lake.
I bought some of those penny press mementos to do pencil crayon etchings, which I thought was a nice analog touch, and dedicated some space to hand write a little note to recipients.
The main way my life has changed since moving out West is the omnipresence of Nature Time™, both big and small. I’m kind of a late joiner to the National Park appreciation club that has had a chokehold on my demographic (millennial designers) this past decade, but I’m here now! Next stop: Mt. Rainier National Park, featuring the only mountain that holds a candle to my beloved Mt. Hood.
I’m going through a major stationery / pen / journaling phase currently — I’m sure I will write about this at some point — and although the fixation was initially centered around fountain pens… gel pens have recently entered the chat. Muji’s brown gel pen ink works very well on the cream colored paper I print every other thing on… although I’m reaching the end of my ream of paper, perhaps it’s time for something new. In any case, I want to spend more time making things by hand, which I fear means more of these little one pagers, perhaps getting progressively more analog.
R
Hot take, being at the edge of the actual lake was the least exciting part of the trip? Although I famously “don’t do” bodies of water… it was very clear!