FLIPPIN' SWEET NATIONAL PARK OF THE DAY: CRATER LAKE

On my journey across America via 15 passenger van and a shitty broken tent, my group of crazy professors and even nuttier friends stumbled upon heaven on earth: Crater Lake National Park , Oregon.

To awaken my inner Forrest Gump, (Yes, I am going to go there) "... like that mountain lake. It was so clear, Jenny, it looked like there were two skies one on top of the other."

This place is one of the most incredible and beautiful places I have ever seen. It is the deepest (and COLDEST freaking) lake in the United States; at 1,949 feet deep and approximately 38 degrees Fahrenheit. It formed when the volcano, after being dormant for many years, erupted violently and collapsed on itself, becoming a caldera. Eventually, over hundreds of years the caldera filled with water from rain and snow fall. Water is also fed from somewhere under the surface of the water.

The lake is famous for its spectacular clear blue water and steep volcanic walls that keep the water contained.

(That is the water, not the sky. Yes, it is THAT blue)

Despite how GORGEOUS this place is, the entire drive there and hike down the caldera I was freaking out. Its a kind of "right of passage" to jump into the lake off a 10 foot cliff; unfortunately being informed that the lake water was 38 degrees didn't make the jump any easier to conquer. I'm the girl who is too scared to jump into a swimming pool in July because its too cold. After finally putting my fear aside and just saying "fuck it!", I jumped over the cliff and into a pool of 10,000 knives stabbing my ass (or at least that's what it felt like). And on top of my frozen butt syndrome, I also received the LARGEST wedgie of my life on impact. Lets just say my ass has seen better days.

It was one of the happiest days of my life. No idea why, honestly. But that frigid water awoke something in me that day. Something I will never regret or forget.

On the hike back up, get this, the water is so clean my friend and I filled up a water bottle and drank it on the way back to the vans. It tasted better than bottled water. And no, I didn't get any form of diarrhea you germaphobes!

I highly recommend you travel to this place some time in your life. Go ahead, jump in.