Round Trip To A Volcano

Being new to the area, and having some time on a Sunday afternoon, Mrs. CW and I loaded up in the Dodge, and headed for the hills - in this case, Lassen National Park just to the east of us.

30 bucks a car to get in for a week, and we were rolling.

Still a bit of snow for Mid Summer, but that's probably no surprise for 8,000 feet after a wet year.  In Redding it was 101.  Up on the top it was 70.  The scent of pine was really nice.

The mighty Mount Lassen.

The country to the east, spreading out towards the Nevada deserts far away and below.

Really liked the color of this penstemon I noticed right at my feet.  Got to tease Mrs. CW about digging it up and taking it home.  She was not amused at my barbarity.

Approaching the summit.

Over the top and Helen Lake below, and beyond that, Emerald Lake, which really was emerald.

If it were to blow at this point, we had a clear escape down and away.

The last eruption, in 1915, was a doozy.

Things started the year before, and culminated in May of 1915 with this blast.

A gorgeous cascade.  In my youth, I would have hiked it.

A churning mud pot right next to the road.  The sulfur smell was intense, and the water was roiling vigorously.  I told some nearby kids that if they put their hand in, they'd pull back a skeleton hand.  There's some serious heat not too far down below.

Only a little twitching going on down below today.  Nothing to worry about.

Got Mrs. CW a milkshake in Red Bluff on the way home.  Great day, and not a long drive, considering.  Next, a circumnavigation of the great one, Shasta.