Category Archives: Hiking

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December 1, 2014 Big Island, Hawaii Part 4

This posting is dedicated to the main reason we traveled to this rainy, cool side of the island, Volcanoes National Park. We were now at an elevation of 4,000 feet and it was very chilly!! Our little cottage in the rain forest had a heater in the living room and an electric blanket on the bed, and we used them both during our four night stay. I never thought we would ever be using an electric blanket in Hawaii!

Volcanoes National Park was established in 1916 and became a World Heritage Site in 1987. The Big Island is the largest and the youngest of the Hawaiian Islands, home to the world’s most active volcanoes, and this park is a good example of why and how this is true. The overcast sky is due to increases in gasses called “volcanic smog”, also called “vog”. This vog blows west towards Kona during trade wind weather. The park is 33,000 acres of lava land on the slopes of Mauna Loa volcano which you may remember from an earlier blog is the world’s largest mountain by volume and the world’s tallest when measured from the ocean floor.

Mauna Loa is not only 56,000 feet above the ocean floor but also has a large volume

The first day we stopped at the Visitors Center and watched a very informative movie about volcanoes as well as an excellent Ranger talk about the five volcanoes that make up the Big Island. We then drove Crater Rim Drive to the Jagger Museum which had interesting exhibits on Hawaii volcanology and spectacular views of the Kilauea volcano and Halemaumau Crater emitting a steady gas plume. This volcano is responsible for the current threat to small towns near Hilo. Kilauea is a relatively young volcano estimated to be 600,000 years old and first erupted 2,500 years ago. Its present eruption began in 1983 when fountains of lava shot 1,500 feet into the air. Since 1983 it has created 500 acres of new land and destroyed 214 homes, with more homes and businesses currently threatened.

Kilauea Crater leaks lava through its top and side rift zones

Halemaumau Crater emitting gas plume at the summit of Kilauea Crater/Volcano

The newest Hawaiian island, already named Loihi, is being created 22 miles offshore from volcanic activity growing on the ocean floor. It will be thousands of years before the new island emerges, so don’t let anyone try to sell you a cheap condo there!

After sunset we drove back to the Halemaumau Crater to see the plumes of gas dramatically lit by the lava below.

Night view of Halemaumau Crater emitting gas plume

We drove to the Thurston Lava Tube, a 500 year old massive lava cave. It was an easy walk through the well lighted cave.

Thurston Lava Tube

The next day we drove the 38 mile Chain of Craters Road dropping 3,700 feet to the coast where we could see a 2003 lava flow that reached all the way to the ocean. We saw a beautiful sea arch there and found a geocache.

Kilauea Iki Crater created in 1959

Kilauea Iki Crater with Halemaumau Crater emitting gas plume in the distance

Pauahi Crater

Younger lava flows are dark

Some of the newest coastline looks like this

Sea arch within the Volcanoes NP

November 21, 2014 Maui, Hawaii Part 2

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Our adventures in Maui continued with a drive on the “Road to Hana”. This drive was definitely more about the journey than the destination. When we first arrived in Maui, Bill purchased and downloaded to his phone an audio tour of Maui which came in very handy, especially on the drive to Haleakala National Park which I described in the previous blog, as well as during the Road to Hana. This 64 mile drive takes almost three hours if you don’t make any stops. Why so long? In those 64 miles there are 59 one way bridges and approximately 620 hairpin turns. Most of the bridges date back to 1910. The road was originally built for sugar plantation

The road to Hana

Maliko Bay

workers traveling to and from work. And keep in mind, once you drive those 64 miles of one lane bridges and hairpin turns, you have to turn around and do it again on the way back since rental car agreements forbid you to continue any further than 15 miles past Hana due to unpaved and hazardous road conditions. So why do it you must be asking. Because the scenery of unspoiled beaches, waterfalls, caves, and lush tropical scenery is breathtaking.

Wailua falls

At one point our audio tour guide suggested we take a small, safe detour which took us down to one of the beautiful beaches in Keanae. The water here was too rough for swimming and

Coconut tree

In 1946 the Keanae area was almost completely destroyed by a tsunami. The only building said to have been left standing was the ‘Ihi’ihi o Iehowa Ona Kaua Church

Keanae area

there was no easy access to the water, but we enjoyed watching the waves crash against the shore. We stopped at a small vegetable stand near the beach and bought a loaf of delicious banana bread, still warm.

We visited Waianapanap State Park where we saw a black sand beach, caves, blowholes and a natural arch. We also stopped by Haleakala National Park to see Ohe’o Gulch also known as Seven Sacred Pools which stretches down from the same volcano summit we mentioned in our

The Kipahulu visitor center has pools that were off limits to swimming because of the high water levels

Banyan Tree

last post. If the water is high there are as many as 7 pools formed from falling water which can be a delightful place to swim. When we were there the weather was very overcast and water rough so the swimming areas were closed.

At the end of the road before we turned around, we visited the grave of Charles Lindbergh. Located on a remote section of Hana Road behind a small church, the graveside is relatively

Palapala Hoʻomau Congregational Church located in Kipahulu

Following his death in 1974, Lindbergh was buried in the graveyard of Palapala Hoʻomau Congregational Church

simple with no signs leading to his grave. Lindbergh was introduced to Maui by a friend and thought it was one of the most beautiful places he had ever seen. He and his wife built a home on Maui. In 1974, suffering from incurable cancer Lindbergh flew from New York to Maui to live out his remaining days saying he would rather live for 2 days in Maui than prolong his life in New York. His simple coffin was made of eucalyptus and was taken to the church in the back of a pickup truck.

Jagged Kipahulu coast

On one of our last days in Maui we celebrated Bill’s birthday. We decided to go to a recommended Italian restaurant since Bill had already had several seafood meals. Upon learning it was his birthday, the owner brought out a huge slice of tiramisu on the house with a candle burning and sang Happy Birthday.

Sadly our time on Maui came to an end and it was time for the next adventure.

November 15, 2014 Kauai, Hawaii Part 2

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Wow, Kauai is a beautiful place! One of the highlights of our time there was driving to Waimea Canyon State Park. The Waimea Canyon, located on the west side of Kauai, is also known as the “Grand Canyon of the Pacific”. While it is not as big or as old as the Arizona one, we were awestruck by its beauty. It is 14 miles long, one mile wide and 3,600 feet deep. The canyon was

The canyon was full of mist

Waipoo Falls

Closer view of Waipoo Falls

Waimea Canyon

Waimea Canyon with helicopter

Waimea Canyon with Waipoo Falls on the right

Waimea Canyon

formed by the collapse of the volcano that created Kauai, as well as erosion caused by the Waimea River arising from extreme rainfall from Mount Wai’ale’ale, one of the wettest places on earth.

This sign point to a nearby peak

Kalalau lookout

Kalepa Ridge from Kalalau Lookout

While viewing the canyon we heard the faint bleating of a mountain goat. We had to wait awhile but eventually caught a brief glimpse of him before he disappeared. Amazing how they can keep their footing on the canyon walls!

Another day we drove to Wailua Falls a popular tourist attraction, the falls drop 80 feet into a pool of water. The falls was used in the opening credits of “Fantasy Island”.

Wailua falls of Kauai

We loved going to restaurants with tropical settings.

Duke’s Restaurant with a tropical interior

Captain Cook landed two ships in Kauai in 1778 and called the islands “Sandwich Islands”.

Replica of statue in Whitby, England of Captain James Cook 1728 – 1779

Our five nights in Kauai came to an end much too soon. We packed our bags and headed to the airport, but we weren’t ready to fly back to San Diego just yet. Stay tuned!

November 12, 2014 Kauai, Hawaii Part 1

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Aloha from Hawaii! Yes you read that right. We are on the island of Kauai. After a six hour flight from San Diego, and a short flight from Honolulu, we arrived on Kauai also known as the

Our first view from the aircraft of Oahu Island and Waikiki Beach

Garden Isle. Like the other Hawaiian Islands, Kauai is the top of an enormous volcano rising from the ocean floor. Kauai is the fourth largest island, the northernmost island, the oldest and the first to be free of volcanic activity. It is 33 miles long and 25 miles wide with a population of around 63,000. It is believed that this island was the first inhabited. While we were able to drive around most of the perimeter of the island, the interior is mostly inaccessible. The temperature averages between 69 and 84 degrees year round. One of the first things we noticed when stepping off the plane was the humidity the likes of which we hadn’t felt since leaving Florida eighteen months ago. The Hawaiian trade winds help somewhat with making the humidity more tolerable.

With ocean temperatures of between 72 and 80 degrees year round we enjoyed snorkeling at two beaches while on the island. Kauai is known for roosters and chickens roaming free, so it is common to see them everywhere you go on the island, even sunbathing with Bill on the beach.

These roosters where everywhere

We were also awakened every morning by the sound of roosters crowing. While driving to one beach we came upon a blowhole.

Spouting Horn

We stayed at a beautiful condo we booked through Vacation Rentals By Owner. We enjoyed watching cruise ships coming in from our balcony. Electricity is very expensive on the island and it is very common to see solar panels on most of the roofs of buildings including our condo.

View from our balcony

We rented a jeep and set off to explore the island during our five night stay.

One day we drove to the North Shore of the island on Highway 50 to the “End of the Road”. This part of the island is known for its gorgeous scenery, amazing beaches, dry and wet caves, waterfalls and many one lane bridges where you had to stop and wait your turn to cross. The movie ” South Pacific ” was filmed here as well as Elvis Presley’s “Blue Hawaii”. We also

Left view of Lumahai Beach part of South Pacific movie

Right view of Lumahai Beach part of South Pacific movie

stopped at an overlook with taro fields, which is widely grown in Hawaii. This valley was used during the filming of the movie “Uncommon Valor” starring Gene Hackman.

Hanalei Wildlife Refuse

Haena park

September 22, 2014 Sequoia National Park

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Also while camping in the park we left Kings Canyon National Park and passed through to Sequoia National Park, the second oldest national park in the country, to see the General Sherman Tree. Named after the Civil War general, it is the world’s largest tree because of its

Sequoia World Records

General Sherman Tree

volume of total wood. It is 275 feet tall, has a trunk weighing 1,385 tons, has a circumference at the ground of nearly 103 feet and is estimated to be 2,200 years old. Its largest branch is almost seven feet in diameter. Every year the General Sherman grows enough new wood to produce a 60 foot tall tree of usual size. The tree is located in the Giant Forest and there was a nice paved trail on the half mile walk to the

Sherman Tree Trail

tree. The trail drops 200 feet down into the forest, making for quite a hike on the way back up. The trail was busy with many foreign tourists who enjoy renting RVs and camping in our national parks, especially after Labor Day.

General Sherman Tree

We stopped by the Visitors Center in Sequoia National Park and saw several great movies, including an excellent one on bears. Each campsite in Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks is equipped with a bear box for food storage and it is the law here that all food be properly stored. Bears have been known to break into cars so signs at parking areas throughout the park warn drivers to be sure all food is hidden or secured if in your car. We learned from the movie that the Grizzly Bear was hunted until they were all eliminated in California. If you look at the California state flag, adopted in 1911 it is a Grizzly Bear. Sadly, we did not see any bears while in either park.

We certainly enjoyed our time in both Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks. Now that our summer goals have all been met, we will head back towards southern California for part of the winter. We are a little sad that our travels to the Pacific Northwest, Northern Cascades, Mount St Helens, Mt Rainier, Mt Shasta, Glacier National Park, Yosemite, Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks is over. It will be very hard to find places in the future to match their beauty! Our travels will slow down for the winter season and our blog posts will be less frequent. But stay tuned. We do have a few surprises coming up!

General Sherman tree is biggest by volume

The tree is eight horses wide

This is a US half dollar

September 20, 2014 Kings Canyon National Park

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We left Yosemite and fortunately did not have to travel back on the same curvy mountainous road we arrived on. Instead we took the road through the park which involved driving through four park tunnels which fortunately were high enough for the RV to pass through safely. We had planned on stopping by Mariposa Grove as we exited the south entrance of the park. Mariposa Grove was such a long drive from our campground we decided to wait and visit the grove as we exited the park since it was on the way. Mariposa Grove is the park’s largest stand of 500 giant sequoias. Since it was after Labor Day and not the weekend we felt confident we would have no problem finding a parking place for the RV and car. To our amazement, as we neared the parking areas of Mariposa Grove, all the parking lots were full and rangers were directing traffic to other areas of the park. This meant we would have to somehow find a parking spot for both vehicles and catch a shuttle bus to and from the grove. This was all a bit much for a travel day, so we decided to save the grove for when we come back someday to see the falls in the park in late spring or early summer.

We continued on to Coarsegold, California where we spent one night at a very nice Escapees park. We were warmly welcomed and immediately invited to their Happy Hour which we attended after getting settled into our campsite. We enjoyed meeting and talking with many of the people living and visiting there. We are so glad we became members of Escapees since we have enjoyed their parks, rallies and went to Baja Mexico with a group of Escapees last February. The Coarsegold area had recently been impacted by wildfires and the air was a bit smoky while we were there.

The next day we left early for several days of dry camping at Azalea Campground in Kings Canyon National Park. Once again we had to unhook the car and drive separately as we had a steady climb of 6,000 feet on Kings Highway to reach the campground along a curvy mountainous road. We expected the park to be fairly empty since this park is not as popular as Yosemite and it was after Labor Day. We didn’t have a reservation and we were quite surprised to find the park very crowded with weekend campers. We had to ride around the campground for awhile before finding a spot that would work for us. This is a nice campground but it is challenging to find level spots. We finally settled on a spot that was not as level as we would have liked and we were unable to get satellite tv. The next day was Sunday and the park emptied out and we were able to move to a much nicer site that was level and the satellite tv worked great.

Sunday after changing campsites we decided to spend some time exploring Kings Canyon. Kings Canyon National Park is located in the southern Sierra Nevada mountain range. It includes some of the largest trees in the world, one of the deepest canyons in the United States, and some of the highest mountain peaks in the contiguous United States. We started by watching the movie on the park at the visitors center and then set out for General Grant Grove to see the General Grant Tree, the second largest living tree in the world.

General Grant Tree

It is 267 feet tall, over 3,000 years old and is known as our nation’s Christmas Tree. General Grant Grove is comprised of 154 acres of magnificent sequoias and there are paved walkways where you can stroll the area.

Trees from the Grant Grove parking lot

The through the tree view

Inside the tree that is as big as a large room

General Grant Grove is part of King’s Canyon National Park and was established by Congress in 1890. John Muir first visited KIngs Canyon from Yosemite in 1873 and lobbied to have the area preserved. We are so very fortunate that our forefathers had the wisdom to preserve these beautiful parks so many years ago!

When we first started up the pathway Bill was stung on his hand by a bee. He never saw the bee but only felt the sting. Later, on our way back down to the car I suddenly felt a terrible pain and stinging on my inner arm. I looked down and saw what appeared to be a yellow jacket. I think he must have been on my arm and when I put my arm down to my side he was trapped and stung me. The strange thing was the bee would not let go or stop stinging. As much as I frantically tried to get him off he was fighting to hold on and kept stinging. I finally turned to Bill in desperation and he managed to get the bee off. By this time the pain and stinging was horrible and I stood there amid the sea of tourists in General Grant Grove sobbing. What a sight! Fortunately we had a cooler of cold drinks in the car with several ice packs and I was able to get ice on my arm right away. Even with the ice the stinging pain continued for several hours. Never thought I would encounter killer bees in General Grant Grove! Do you think it is because I am from the south?? This grove was named for Ulysses S. Grant and there is a tree in the grove named Ulysses.

There were many activities to choose from in the park and we debated whether we should next take the 46 mile round trip on Kings Canyon Scenic Byway into the canyon since the road was a curvy mountainous road which dropped 3,000 feet onto the canyon floor. We were so glad we did since the views of the canyon were magnificent. Bill is a wonderful photographer but even he found it difficult to capture the beauty of the canyon on camera. I have no words to adequately describe the wonders of the canyon. The canyon valley floor was carved by glaciers during the Ice Age.

Roaring River, very clear water

Looking into Kings Canyon

Along the way we stopped at Roaring River Falls. We were skeptical whether we would see any running water but decided a little exercise wouldn’t hurt and made the short hike to the falls along a nice paved trail. We were pleasantly surprised to see a rather nice little falls.

Roaring River Falls

We continued driving on the canyon floor until we reached “The Roads End”. Here they had many parking areas and a small building where you could get wilderness permits for overnight hiking trips into the canyon. They had trails, one of which led to Muir’s Rock, Muir talked many times from this rock, the same rock where a picture of John Muir was taken and later used in the film on the park at the visitors center.

Muir rock, where he and others sat and enjoyed the Kings Canyon

We headed back and marveled at the views of the canyon from the opposite direction. It was now late in the day and the sun was reflecting off the canyon walls.

September 16, 2014 Yosemite National Park Part 1

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We had two main goals for our summer travels. One was Glacier National Park in Montana and the other was Yosemite National Park in California. Bill in particular had been wanting to visit Yosemite for some time. Just as wildfires in the northern Cascades altered our route to Glacier,

We finally made it to the world famous Yosemite NP

we followed closely and somewhat anxiously the wildfires near Yosemite. A couple weeks before our scheduled arrival, we read news reports that hikers had been evacuated from an area in Yosemite. We checked the latest reports on the Yosemite website and proceeded with our travels. Little did we know the stressful trip to follow.

We decided It was best not to take the route which would have taken us through all the traffic in South Tahoe, especially since the road is hilly and they were having a big bike race on our travel day. We took Highway 88 toward the Nevada/California border. After passing into California we had to cross Carson Pass with an elevation of 8,573 feet. With a grade of 8% for twenty miles, our brakes overheated twice and we had to stop to let them cool. As if that wasn’t enough, we still had to make the climb into Yosemite. We had been warned about New Priest Grade Road to Yosemite from a fellow RV blogger, so when we reached the foot of the mountain we unhooked the car and I drove the car to help minimize the pull on the RV. There was a sign warning drivers to turn off their air conditioning to avoid overheating, and there was a place you could stop and get water for your radiator if needed. We began the steady six mile climb up the steep winding road with a grade of 6% to 7% and a hundred curves some of which were hairpin curves. I am sure the scenery was fabulous, but with constant curves and no guardrails, our hands gripped the steering wheels and our eyes never left the road. When we reached the top we felt both a sense of relief and victory. We had conquered the road from hell!

After driving an additional twenty miles we finally arrived at our campground which was conveniently located five miles from the west entrance to Yosemite National Park. Over seven hours after leaving Carson City, we arrived at our campsite as the sun began to set.

After our stressful travel day, we decided to rest the next day. We did drive the five miles to the visitors center at the entrance to the park to get a map and some information so we could plan our next several days.

Our first day into the park we decided to drive to the Yosemite Valley Visitors Center. At 747,956 acres, Yosemite is huge, and since 94% of the park is protected wilderness, most of it is never seen except by back country hikers. There are some roads you can drive in the park, but it takes quite a bit of driving to get anywhere. The park does offer a free shuttle bus which takes you to various places in the park, but we preferred the flexibility of using our own car which was a luxury since gasoline in the park was $4.79 a gallon. It was a 23 mile drive each way to Yosemite Valley, but the views were well worth it. We were surprised at how much traffic there was even after Labor Day, and we could imagine how crowded it must be in the summer. There were many turnouts to stop and take pictures, including massive cliff faces such as El Capitan and Half Dome, two of the most popular icons in the park. El Capitan is a massive granite monolith that stands 3,593 from base

7,569 FT El Capitan has a 3,000 vertical face

to summit. Half Dome is Yosemite’s most distinctive monument. It was shaped by forces uplifting as well as erosion from rivers and glaciers. While it appears to be a dome that was

Upper Yosemite Falls is dry in SEPT

The Iconic “Half Dome”

broken off to leave a half dome shape, scientists now think the half dome is the original shape.

We stopped at Swinging Bridge to have lunch. We couldn’t figure out why it was called swinging bridge since the bridge didn’t swing, but could only guess that the swinging bridge washed away and was replaced by this more permanent bridge. We tried to have lunch at a nearby picnic area but the bees swarmed over the food to the point we were afraid we would swallow a bee so we had to retreat to the car to finish eating.

Swing Bridge doesn’t swing anymore

Diane in the Yosemite valley

Bill in Yosemite valley

A parked deer

We arrived at the parking area for the Yosemite Valley Visitors Center which was crowded with cars and people. There is actually a half mile walk from the parking lot to Yosemite Village where the visitors center is located. This is truly a busy little village for tourists with the visitors center, gift shops, a nature center, art gallery, museum, theater, Indian Culture exhibit, Wilderness Center, a market, restaurant and post office. We have found that the national parks have excellent movies on the parks, and we watched two outstanding movies on Yosemite Park at the visitors center.

The idea of establishing a national park first began with Yosemite. A man named Galen Clark was disturbed by the logging he witnessed in the park and lobbied to protect Yosemite Valley from development. This led President Lincoln, in the midst of the Civil War, to take time to sign the Yosemite Grant in 1864 to protect the land. Yosemite became the nation’s third National Park in 1890. We have been hearing a lot about naturalist John Muir since we first visited the Redwoods several months ago. Muir had a major influence on enlarging Yosemite, including a three day camping trip in the park with President Theodore Roosevelt. John Muir said of Yosemite, “It is by far the grandest of all the special temples of Nature I was ever permitted to enter”. During their camping trip which included weather so cold they bedded down with forty wool blankets and awoke to five inches of new snow on the already five feet of snow already on the ground, Muir showed Roosevelt the beauty of the park and convinced him of the need for further conservation. Roosevelt signed the Yosemite Recession Bill in 1906 which expanded the park boundaries. During his presidency Theodore Roosevelt signed into existence five national parks, eighteen national monuments, fifty-five national bird sanctuaries and wildlife refuges, and one hundred and fifty national forests. President Roosevelt said, “There can be nothing in the world more beautiful than the Yosemite, the groves of the giant sequoias….our people should see to it that they are preserved for their children and their Children’s children forever, with their majestic beauty all unmarred”.

September 4, 2014 Lassen Volcanic National Park, California Part 2

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We could have easily stayed longer in this park since there were so many things to see and do, but we had scheduled only three nights and needed to get on to our next reservation. We only had time for one hike and we chose one of the most popular hikes in the park, Bumpass Hell Trail. This hike is only three miles round trip which sounds easy, but it is at an elevation of 8,400 feet and over rocky terrain. The last quarter mile there is a drop of 100 feet into a hydrothermal basin, which meant a steep 100 foot climb back out.

The day was beautiful with not a cloud in the sky and we arrived at the trailhead parking area early to avoid heat and crowds. From the parking lot we saw a huge balanced boulder. When

A balancing rock near the trailhead

glacier ice filled this area 10,000 years ago it carried vast quantities of rock down into the valley. When the ice melted, rocks such as this were left behind.

The trail was narrow with a gradual climb and though rocky in places, was a fairly easy hike. From the trail we had a great view of Lassen Peak.

Bumpass Hell trail

Lassen Peak from the Bumpass Hell trail

As we reached the area where the trail drops steeply into the hydrothermal basin we could hear the steam escaping from the vents. From a distance the sound reminded us of semi trucks. In the basin there were boardwalks constructed to walk on and view the activity. There were signs warning people to stay on the boardwalk since visitors who had ventured off the boardwalks for a closer view had been badly burned. The park newsletter also warned of the dangers of being severely burned in the hydrothermal areas of the park.

View from the top of the trail before descending into the basin.

The hydrothermal basin is 16 acres of boiling pools, fumaroles, and mud pots. This vent area is part of the 240,000 year old lava dome of Bumpass Mountain. The highest recorded temperature here was 322 degrees! And just like Sulphur Works, there was a strong smell of sulphur.

On the right is Big Boiler the hottest fumarole in the world; steam measured as high as 322 F.

It took us about an hour to walk along the boardwalks and see all there was to see in this fascinating hydrothermal basin. We climbed the steep trail out and once we reached the top the rest of the way to the car seemed easy. We were glad when we made it back to the car since the day was heating up and it was time for lunch and some ice cold drinks from the cooler. We were proud that we had made the hike at this elevation, the highest altitude hike either of us had ever done!

What a fascinating park Lassen Volcanic National Park turned out to be!

September 2, 2014 Lassen Volcanic National Park, California Part 1

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While we were in Weed we stopped off at their Visitors Center and the lady there suggested we stop by McCloud River Falls on our way to Lassen Volcanic National Park. I was a little apprehensive about finding a parking place long enough for the RV and our tow vehicle at the falls, but Bill was confident we wouldn’t have a problem and he was right. Since it was a weekday and after Labor Day, the parking lot was almost empty. We walked down to the observation decks at both the upper and middle falls. It was a lovely falls as the water tumbled over lava cliffs, and we could imagine it being even more spectacular after the spring thaw.

McCloud River upper falls

McCloud river middle falls

Sadly as we traveled down toward the park we entered an area devastated by fire with burned hillsides and forest. We passed a couple trucks burned to the shell as well as some destroyed buildings, but we also saw where many houses had miraculously escaped fire.

We arrived at Manzanita Lake Campground in Lassen Volcanic National Park for a three night dry camping stay. Lassen is known for mountain scenery reminiscent of Yosemite and geothermal features similar to Yellowstone, but the best thing is this park has only a fraction of the visitors of Yosemite or Yellowstone. As expected after Labor Day, the campground was sparsely inhabited which was just fine with us. There were loads of firewood to gather and unlike most state parks who want to sell you firewood, here they did not mind us gathering wood for a campfire. We enjoyed nice campfires under the stars on two nights, but we were mindful of the extremely dry conditions in the area and were super careful.

Lassen Volcanic National Park was designated a national park in 1916. All four types of volcanoes are found in the park (shield, plug dome, cinder cone, and composite) as well as three different types of geothermal features (steam vents, mudpots and hot springs). Lassen Peak, one of the world’s largest plug dome volcanoes, erupted in 1914 and continued volcanic outbursts for three years.

We stopped by the Visitors Center and watched an excellent movie about the park and the volcanic activity which shaped the landscape. We purchased an auto tour book so we could learn more about the area as we made the thirty mile drive from south to north through the park. There were sixteen pullouts where we could view and learn about that area of the park.

Hot Rock, was swept from the summit of Lassen Peak in 1915 by an avalanche and mudflow after an enormous steam explosion on the summit. It weighs about thirty tons, the weight of a fully loaded semi truck.

30-ton rock placed here during the eruption, five miles from the peak

Near Lassen Peak, the road reached 8,511 feet, making it the highest road in the Cascade Mountain range.

Lassen Peak

Lake Helen

Do you see a face?

Juniper Lake

Near the south entrance of the park we came to Sulphur Works, the most accessible hydrothermal area in the park. The steam fumaroles and mudpots are evidence of the continued volcanic activity in the area. Spring snowmelt and rain soaks into the ground and then percolates downward through cracks and fractures. Eventually it comes in contact with hot rock and trapped gases. The water is superheated and rises to the surface as steam. The hydrogen sulfide gives the area a very strong smell of rotten eggs and the temperatures in the pools have been measured at 196 degrees.

Sulphur Works

We also managed to find four geocaches in the park also!

August 29, 2014 Weed, California

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We spent a relaxing four days at Collier Memorial State Park near Chiloquin, Oregon. We had been without internet or good cell phone service for over a week so we spent lots of time working on blog posts, doing paperwork and planning our fall and winter itinerary. It takes time to research places to stay and make reservations. Now that summer is over the parks will not be as crowded, but there is always the holidays to plan for, and the earlier the better. There are many snowbirds that come down from Canada and snap up spots in the nicer RV resorts.

Our second day at Collier we began to notice smoke in the air from four surrounding Oregon wildfires. Even though the fires were not that close, we could definitely smell the smoke. The smoke continued to worsen during our stay and when we left on August 29th for Weed, California, there was hazy smoke in the air.

We had a wonderful time in Washington and Oregon and the time passed by so quickly. Today we entered California again. We passed through farmland with cattle grazing and the beginning of irrigation and crops growing in the fields. We made a stop in Klamath Falls, Oregon at a Walmart to stock up on supplies and food. We wanted to take advantage of this last Walmart in Oregon since Oregon has no sales tax.

As we crossed the border into California we had to stop at an agricultural checkpoint where we were asked where we were coming from and if we had any fruits or plants. Bill told them we had just bought a bag of apples at Walmart in Oregon and they told us we could go. We thought as we traveled further south the smoke would begin to dissipate, but if anything it got worse. For most of our two hour trip the visibility was only about two miles.

We checked into a small, no frills campground in Weed, California (population 2,900), for a four night stay during the Labor Day holiday. Weed is a little spot in the road but we wanted to stay away from the craziness of crowded state and national parks during the final summer holiday.

We ventured out to Main Street to visit the post office. We did a little geocaching and it is always amazing to find some unexpected sites in these small towns! We came across this Alaskan totem pole where a geocache was located. Turns out this totem pole is at the beginning of Highway 97 which is the beginning of the Alaskan-Canadian Highway. If you stayed on Highway 97 you would eventually pass through Canada into Alaska. There is another totem pole at the end of the highway in Alaska.

Another wonderful find while geocaching was the “Living Memorial Sculpture Garden” located about fifteen miles from our campground on Highway 97. This garden, located with a view of Mt Shasta in the distance, was founded in 1988 by a group of Siskiyou County veterans to celebrate veterans of conflicts from the Revolutionary to the present. Dennis Smith, a Vietnam veteran, is a metal sculptor whose works are displayed in the garden. There is also a Memorial Wall and every Memorial Day and Veterans Day, new names are etched on the wall and read aloud. At the entrance to the area is “The Peaceful Warrior”, a lone figure with one arm raised, representing those who love peace and will fight aggression to preserve that peace. This sculpture honors those willing to step forward when asked to do so. There are nine other sculptures in the park where we walked through a labyrinth to see them. We took pictures of some of our favorites to share in the blog. “Those Left Behind” is a female figure accepting the American flag.

Those left behind

“Who can repay those who have lost loved ones in combat? What on earth can compensate them for the loss of life?” “The Greatest Generation” sculpture depicts the second raising of the flag on Mt Suribachi, Iwo Jima, on February 23, 1945. “The Nurses” sculpture honors nurses, Navy corpsmen, Army medics, doctors and pharmacists who bring healing. “The POW-MIA” sculpture was the most moving, showing a soldier in a cage. Outside the cage is a metal arch where over the years people have left POW and MIA bracelets, wreaths, flags, flowers and personal notes.

Our main reason for stopping in Weed was to see Mount Shasta, the largest composite volcano in the Cascades and the second highest peak in the Cascades, with only Mt Rainier being higher. When we arrived in Weed, Mount Shasta was nowhere in site due to the smoke and haze from the wildfires. We hoped the visibility would improve during the four days we were there and on the day before we left the smoke cleared enough for us to get some fairly good pictures.

North face of MT Shasta and MT Shastina

South face of MT Shastina and MT Shasta

We drove the fourteen mile Mount Shasta Scenic Mountain Drive which took us halfway up the mountain to an altitude of 7,900 feet. Many mountains are considered to be sacred places, especially to Native Americans, but we found Mount Shasta to be considered one of the most sacred mountains in the world. There are small sacred communities near the mountain offering spiritual energy and peaceful experiences as well as spiritual guidebooks of the area. At one viewpoint we found many sacred circles made of rocks. We took a hike on the Panther Meadow Trail which would have been prettier in the spring when the wildflowers were in bloom.

Trailhead for MT Shasta starting at 7,900 FT

Bill spent the rest of Labor Day laboring with jobs around the RV like washing the tow car, checking the water in the RV batteries and cleaning the tanks.

Through the Eyes of the Selphs

Bill and Diane's travel notes and pictures

Category Archives: Hiking

December 1, 2014 Big Island, Hawaii Part 4

November 21, 2014 Maui, Hawaii Part 2

November 15, 2014 Kauai, Hawaii Part 2

November 12, 2014 Kauai, Hawaii Part 1

September 22, 2014 Sequoia National Park

September 20, 2014 Kings Canyon National Park

September 16, 2014 Yosemite National Park Part 1

September 4, 2014 Lassen Volcanic National Park, California Part 2

September 2, 2014 Lassen Volcanic National Park, California Part 1

August 29, 2014 Weed, California