Mile 5848 – Redding, California. Started off early for Lassen Volcanic Park. On the way the sky turned brown with smoke and the sun became almost obscured. We stopped at a ranger station and were told there were more fires in Lassen Park but they were contained and the roads were open. We decided to go ahead. Glad we did. We drove out of the smoke and into the park under clear, sunny skies, due to a favorable wind direction.
Before the Mount St. Helens eruption, Lassen Peak was the only other volcanic event in the U.S. in the 20th century (1914/15). We have not been to this park before and now I regret we did not allow more time. The trail to the peak is closed most of the time, but they opened it for Labor Day weekend. By the time we got there, though, it was too late in the day and we were already committed to our next destination (San Francisco), so we could not come back. But we did take a short hike at Summit Lake and ran across a family of deer.
We drove through areas that were ablaze only weeks before. Most blazes are contained now, but some are not. We learned not only about volcanoes but also about forest fires. We drove by blackened areas that still smelled. Our hotel tonight has fire fighters staying in it. Tomorrow we expect to be in the clear, fresh city (!) air of San Francisco, courtesy of the Pacific Ocean.
[Photographs © 2012 P.J. Gardner. All Rights Reserved. Photograph of P.J. Gardner by Arjan Post.]