NorCal

Currently In:  Crescent City, CA
Oregon, Washington are next then a tour of some National Parks starting with Glacier


We made a stop in Redding California to resupply, get some work done on the Jeep, and take a break. We ended up loving the Shasta-Trinity (National Forest) area.  We had great weather and saw a couple of interesting things.

First up, the Sundial Bridge and Sacramento River trail.  The Sundial is a glass bottom footbridge that casts a specific shadow during the summer soltice (June 21) marked by the white mosaic section seen in the 2 lower photos below.

After a walk along the Sacramento River Trail, we went to the gardens and arboretum at nearby Turtle Bay Exploration Park.  We saw some of the usual suspects: lots of oaks and plants like lavender and daisies.  But we did see a couple of unusual ones too.

red hot poker yucca

monkey puzzle tree

And of course more deer.

There was also an interesting fountain that talked about the importance of water and interesting mosaic art.

The next day we went to Lassen Volcanic National park.  Since it is about a mile above sea level, the weather is still fairly cold.  They have not finished clearing the main road of snow, and there is a risk of avalanche, so we could only drive 10 miles into the park.

We walked the Nature Trail and learned about the eruption of Lassen Peak in 1915.   It was eerie to visit while the volcanos were erupting in Hawaii.  Keeping those folks in our thoughts.

 

Johnny is standing next to the 300 ton Hot Rock.  It was found by a photographer 5 miles from Lassen Peak still sizzling 2 days after the eruption. 

There are still many lava rocks, big and small, in the National Park.  The rocks below are in the Devastated Area, 3 square miles that were destroyed by the eruption. Although the ensuing avalanche and mud slide destroyed some homes, no lives were lost.

 The rock in the photo below is from the Peak's first eruption 27,000 years ago.  It was torn from the side of the mountain and carried three miles by the avalanche after the 1915 eruption!

 Our last adventure in the Redding area had a great name!

We hiked down to the beautiful Lake Whiskey and enjoyed some quiet.

Earlier in the week, on our way into Redding, we saw a mass of clouds in the distance.  At one point I realized they weren't all clouds - one was a snow covered mountain top!  It ended up being Mount Shasta, some 60 miles from Redding with its own weather system.  On our way out of town going north on I-5 we drove by Mount Shasta and I captured a couple of photos out of the window of the RV. Still surrounded by clouds!