Day 30

 

July 16 - Lassen Volcanic National Park, CA

Cassandra and I woke up chuckling that we should have taken the man's advice at the gas station to avoid this area, and decided to heed it today (Lassen National Forest was on my radar from map-exploring a couple days ago, and I hadn't realized it until this morning). As we started getting out of the tent, we noticed a bunch of tiny, jumping bugs around the base of the tent and underneath our pillows. Our minds went to worst-case scenario (Now this place gave us FLEAS!), but upon researching, we found they were "sugar fleas", which aren't actual fleas but resemble them (they seek cool, moist areas away from the heat, yet don't bite), and this confirmed we should leave this place ASAP!

I drove back into Redding to quickly do laundry, then we packed up and Cassandra drive us eastward an hour-and-a-half toward Lassen Volcanic National Park. As we drove through huge Ponderosa pines and redwood trees on our elevation ascent into the mountains, we knew this place was just right (not to mention that we've had such joy at other volcanic areas on this trip so far). It was reassuring seeing the temperature decrease as we went higher, moving from 96-degrees to 80-degrees by the time we arrived at Lassen. We found a single-night campsite in the Summit Lake Campground (in the middle of the park) and settled in. The new, fresh, cool air was perfect for us; it felt like a haven.

 

The campsite is a brief stroll from Summit Lake, which is calm and clear, and around the edges of the lake were charred remains from the Dixie Fire last year, which destroyed nearly 30% of the park. We didn't realize that on our way, but we'd seen lots of burned land on our way there - the thin, black trunks of these trees standing in memoriam of its past lush glory. It was a strange contrast with the peaceful lake. The kids spent most of the afternoon in the lake, floating on tubes with Tilda wearing her life-jacket, and they seemed so happy to be here. They seemed slightly rejuvenated and very contented (although, by the end of the day, both of them were beat).

We figured we would be campsite-hopping these next three days, but as long as we could stay in this place, we didn't mind! After learning through our challenging day yesterday, we felt stronger and more capable; that we could confront any reasonable challenge that came our way…

 

Ev and Til made friends with neighbors, and their parents gave us bubbles and smores wares (because they told the parents our pantry was running low). I felt, once again, grateful for the care of our road-friends - as well as for Cassandra's strength, this beautiful place, and the glory of volcanoes! We all look forward to exploring this place tomorrow.

It felt consoling to settle in again after our experience yesterday!