2013-19 Lassen Volcanic National Park, California
Hello All,
Continuing our roadtrip we followed U.S. Highway 101 south from the Oregon border into the Eureka-Arcata area of California. Along the way we stopped in Trinidad, CA, for some dinner. It is such a scenic coastal setting. Here is a shot of the Trinidad Lighthouse with boats anchored offshore in the background.
Continuing our roadtrip we followed U.S. Highway 101 south from the Oregon border into the Eureka-Arcata area of California. Along the way we stopped in Trinidad, CA, for some dinner. It is such a scenic coastal setting. Here is a shot of the Trinidad Lighthouse with boats anchored offshore in the background.
After spending the night in
Arcata we headed east following CA Highway 299. This is a scenic curvy two-lane
road that winds its way up and over the Coastal Mountain Range through the
Shasta-Trinity National Forest into Redding, CA. Much of the way it parallels
the Mad and Trinity Rivers. Both are popular for summer float trips. These
photos are of the Trinity River.
We spent the day slowly
traveling up and over the mountain range. It was a scenic and relaxing drive
although it is easy to see that the countryside is a tinderbox. Lightning or a
careless human act could easily start a wildfire.
Upon reaching Redding we stopped for the night. The next morning we took Interstate 5 southbound to Redbluff, CA. Then we hopped on CA-36 eastbound and followed it to CA-89 where we turned north and followed it into Lassen Volcanic National Park. This was our first visit to this national park so we were anxious to explore it thoroughly.
Lassen Volcanic National Park is home to smoking fumaroles, bubbling mud pots, beautiful meadows, clear mountain lakes, and numerous volcanoes. The dominant feature of the park is 10,463’ Lassen Peak, the largest plug dome volcano in the world and the southern-most volcano in the Cascade Mountain Range. It last erupted in 1917. This park is one of the few areas in the world where all four types of volcanoes can be found (plug dome, shield, cinder cone and strato).
Upon entering the park the road started climbing high up into the mountains. It was a beautiful mid-July day and the drive was gorgeous.
Upon reaching Redding we stopped for the night. The next morning we took Interstate 5 southbound to Redbluff, CA. Then we hopped on CA-36 eastbound and followed it to CA-89 where we turned north and followed it into Lassen Volcanic National Park. This was our first visit to this national park so we were anxious to explore it thoroughly.
Lassen Volcanic National Park is home to smoking fumaroles, bubbling mud pots, beautiful meadows, clear mountain lakes, and numerous volcanoes. The dominant feature of the park is 10,463’ Lassen Peak, the largest plug dome volcano in the world and the southern-most volcano in the Cascade Mountain Range. It last erupted in 1917. This park is one of the few areas in the world where all four types of volcanoes can be found (plug dome, shield, cinder cone and strato).
Upon entering the park the road started climbing high up into the mountains. It was a beautiful mid-July day and the drive was gorgeous.
The higher we climbed the more
spectacular the vistas became.
The road took us by alpine
meadows carpeted with tall lush green grass. We liked the way this creek wound
its way through the meadow.
And then five minutes later we
found ourselves a thousand feet higher looking down upon the meadow we had just
driven by. It was truly spectacular.
Here we are looking down on
the highway as it snakes its way up the mountain. It is not a road that you
want to be on if you’re in a hurry.
In many areas we passed
steaming fumaroles. The hot acidic thermal activity below the surface kills the
vegetation and discolors the soil.
While the land looks solid for
walking on there are many signs warning people to stay on marked trails around
the thermal areas. These crusty areas look like an ideal spot to pose and snap
a picture of someone in your party—when in fact they are quite dangerous. The
crust may only be a couple of inches thick. About every other year the park
rangers have to medivac someone out of the park with severe burns after
breaking through the thin crust into a boiling pool.
Here are a couple of shots of
boiling pools. Trust us when we say the sulfuric fumes coming from the pools
make them quite pungent!
A much more attractive pool of
water that we stopped at is Emerald Lake. It is easy to see how this alpine
jewel got its name. We thought the color of the water was awesome.
Our next stop was at Lake
Helen. It is a lake with a completely different look than Emerald Lake. Both
are beautiful high mountain lakes.
Many of the trees in the park
had brilliant lichen growing on them. It was almost florescent green in color.
Even fallen trees had it
growing on them as shown in this close-up photo.
Our last stop for this
write-up was at Summit Lake. There is a campground at the lake for folks
wishing to stay in the park for a few days. What a beautiful setting for making
camp.
We thoroughly enjoyed our
first visit to Lassen Volcanic National Park. It is a park that we won’t
hesitate to visit again in the future. From the park we headed back to Idaho to
rest up before our next adventure. It will take us on, in our eyes, one of the
most scenic road trips in North America.
Starting in Twin Falls, Idaho, we will head north following the Idaho scenic byways into the Bitterroot Mountains of Montana and then into Alberta and British Columbia, Canada. Along the way we will visit Glacier, Waterton Lakes, Kootenay, Banff, Jasper and Yoho National Parks.
We will cover this roadtrip in future issues of our little write-up. Hope to have you riding along.
Until next time,
Dave & Barb
The Traveling Browns
Starting in Twin Falls, Idaho, we will head north following the Idaho scenic byways into the Bitterroot Mountains of Montana and then into Alberta and British Columbia, Canada. Along the way we will visit Glacier, Waterton Lakes, Kootenay, Banff, Jasper and Yoho National Parks.
We will cover this roadtrip in future issues of our little write-up. Hope to have you riding along.
Until next time,
Dave & Barb
The Traveling Browns