With school out, we headed north on our first road trip in a long time to explore the volcanic mountains of northern California and southern Oregon. On Sunday, we drove up to Dunsmuir, a town in the shadows of Mount Shasta. It was a great stopping off point and chance to see a cute little mountain town and some nice hidden waterfalls.
The next morning we headed over to Castle Crags State Park. We went on a number of outings in the park. First we went to the viewing point where we could see the Crags - wonderful granite outcroppings. From that same point we could also see Mount Shasta, a volcanic mountain, and the Grey Rocks, a set of greenstone rocks. From that point we could see all three major rock types - sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic.
After this hike, we went down to the Sacramento River part of the park, and played in the river and skipped rocks.
Then we went for a drive up to Girard Ridge Lookout - for another view of the mountains, from the other side of the river. This was the first time taking the 4WD Subaru on rough dirt roads.
After a day of exploring it was time for a night at the Railroad Resort Park. We stayed in an old rail car and it was as awesome as you would expect. It was great to swim in the pool with a view of the Crags, and just play around the resort. Liam was in heaven.
The next morning we headed off to Crater Lake National Park via Lava Beds National Monument. We took the "off the beaten path" road to Lava Beds, and ended up on a dirt road for about 10 miles going through Modoc National Park on the Volcanic Scenic Byway. It was amazing to see no cars for hours. We entered Lava Beds at the Mammoth Crater, which was the source of most of the parks lava flow. Around the crater was a hike called the Big Nasty!
From there we headed to the park headquarters and took advantage of Elsa's Fifth Grade National Park Pass and got a park pass for free and flashlights to explore the caves. We explored a number of caves, starting with the simple Mushpot by the visitors center. Then we went into the more challenging Golden Dome, and headed deep into this cave where it got so very dark and narrow.
The next cave was the Catacombs where we stayed to the left in the easy part of the cave to explore.
We enjoyed Sunshine, a cave that had collapses that allowed sunlight to enter and was great to explore.
This was such a great place to learn about. After a few hours here, we headed north via the Tule Lake National Refuge. We made it to Crater Lake and checked into the Crater Lake Lodge. It was great to walk around the Rim Village and see the amazing lake.
The next morning we woke up to a snowstorm! The snowflakes were really mini-snowballs! We drove around part of Scenic Rim Drive, but half of it was closed due to snow. At one of our stops to see the lake in the snow, Liam and I had a snowball fight! The snow reminded me of when Arne and I met at Yosemite, in a snowstorm in May. We seem to have good luck with parks and summer snow!
On the way out of the park we stopped at the post office and then tried to do a small wildflower hike, but the kids did not enjoy doing this in the snow.
So, we headed down to our next stop - Lake of the Woods - where we stayed in a cabin that Liam gave a 9 out of 10. It was nice to settle down for a few nights in one place. The cabin had a DVD player and we continued our movie series for the trip - the Indiana Jones movies.
The next day we rented a pontoon boat and spent a few hours out on the lake, cruising, fishing, and then Liam and I jumped in! It was a bit cold, but still a lot of fun.
On Friday, we left the Lake of the Woods and went to the Crater Lake Zipline and met up with my childhood friend Shelly and her kids. The kids spend an hour zipping around and we had a great chance to catch up.
After this, we were off to Lassen National Park via State Route 139, California's loneliest road (and fifth most scenic route in the country). Lassen is an amazing mountain, and the views driving through the park were amazing. We stopped and explored a few times, including smelling Sulphur Works and experiencing the hydrothermal areas of the park.
We spend the night just outside of the park at the Lassen Mineral Lodge. It was great being up in the mountains. We then had a beautiful drive home.
It was nice to have a family adventure to start off Summer 2021.
