Sunday, June 26, 2011
After brunch with the Adler clan, Mark and I set out for Lassen Volcanic National Park. Molly, Stuart, Rebecca, and Scott will follow a bit later. We stopped at Target and picked up a thermal bag, then stopped at Costco at the San Francisco airport for provisions for the week.
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| Tree Man welcome to rental home |
We found our rental house without any trouble, although we were glad to make the trip in daylight. The house is down a gravel and dirt road, across a bridge made of two logs. The house has high cathedral wooden ceilings and everything you need to be comfortable.The decor is a mix of hunting lodge and African and Asian items. Stuffed animals also decorate the walls. There was warm bread, jam, and butter welcoming us.
We settled in and waited for the Stuart Adlers to arrive. They came around 8 pm and we made a dinner of grilled chicken, salad, and gin and tonics.
We watched a bad movie - Boiler Room (Giovanni Ribisi, Ben Affleck, Vin Diesel, Ron Rifkin, Scott Caan) - and tucked in pretty late, with a plan to gather for breakfast at 8 am.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Monday dawned with clear blue skies and sunshine, and a perfect temperature in the low 70s. We sat on the second deck level and had a nice breakfast of Special K and fresh blueberries.
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| Breakfast on the deck |
We set out for Lassen National Volcanic Park and Manzanita Lake. As we arrived, we joined a ranger talking about butterflies in the park. We learned that when moths sense a bat's sonar, they dive rapidly to escape their predator. The largest butterfly in the world is in Papua, New Guinea, and is a foot across.
After watching the video about the development of the land in the park, we set out on our walk around Manzanita Lake. We had beautiful views of the surrounding mountains, and it was a lovely walk.
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| View from the trail |
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Mount Lassen reflected in
Manzanita Lake |
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| Partially submerged tree trunk |
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| Duck family |
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| Molly and Rebecca on the trail | |
We ended at the camp store, supplemented our cheese and crackers lunch with Hansen sodas and smoked chipotle hummus.
Next, we headed for the trailhead to hike up Cinder Cone. We missed the turn, and after a bit of circular driving, we found the turn to the trailhead. The first part of the hike was on level ground, walking on cinders from the volcanic action hundreds of years earlier.
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Chaos crags - chunks of volcanic rock
100 feet from the eruption |
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| Linda along the trail to Cinder Cone |
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| Throwing snowballs in June |
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| Chaos crags |
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| Rebecca, Scott, Stuart, and Mark at the bottom |
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| From the base of Cinder Cone, looking up |
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| Very steep incline |
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| View from part way up the sl |
But the challenge came at the base of Cinder Cone. The incline was an average of 30 - 35 degrees, straight up, the crunchy gravelly path up the side of the cone. It was not an easyt climb, but the views from the summit were spectacular.
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Looking across the cone
toward the mountains |
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| Snow patches in the cone |
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| View of painted dunes from the top |
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| Mark at the summit |
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| Cone |
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| Lip of cone |
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| Deep hole |
It was still very clear and sunny, and not hot. At the summit, the wind was quite stiff. The walk downhill was very fast and fun; walking with heels dug into the cinder gravel worked well.
We had a great dinner of grilled steak, grilled corn on the cob, sauteed mushrooms and onions, steamed sugar snap peas, and a nice glass of merlot. After dinner entertainment included laundry. We were all quite tired after our climbing and hiking, and sat around talking and watching TV. It was late again by the time we went to bed.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Today is rainy, as predicted by the ranger at the ranger station at Manzanita Lake. We lazed about in the morning, and Rebecca phoned vineyards to see if we could visit today. We didn't get any responses, so we made a plan to take a drive after lunch.
The rain let up after lunch, and we set out to drive the northern route in the park. We stopped at each of the viewing turnouts. At Chaos Crags chunks of volcanic rock travelled 100 feet from the eruption and subsequent avalanche.
We went to Subway Cave first. There is a short hike through pretty vegetation to the cave. The literature says that the Indians knew of the cave, but didn't go in it because they believed evil spirits were inside. The cave is at a constant temperature of 46 degrees F, and is a lava tube 20 feet under the surface, and pitch black. Even with our flashlights, we couldn't see much in the cave. We did find the lavacicles - tiny points of lava hanging from the roof of the cave - and remnants of a mud bubble.
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| Subway Cave opening |
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| Looking out of the cave |
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| Mark and Stuart in cave |
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| Cave rocks |
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| Mud hole remnant in cave |
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| View of top of lava tube |
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| Flowers along the trail |
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| Mark and Scott on the trail ahead |
The trail continued around the top of the cave, and back to the parking lot.
Our next stop was the Spatter Cone trail near the cave. Spatter Cones are the result of another form of volcanic eruption, in which the lava solidifies in chunks as it falls from the eruption. The trail wound uphill through pretty flowers to the top of the spatter cone. Along the way were several vents; one deep one was surrounded by barbed wire. Linda managed to trip and fall between rocks lining on the trail, but managed not to crush her camera, and wasn't hurt beyond a small scrape on her hand.
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| Nature is amazing |
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| Old lava |
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| Lichen on limbs |
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| Wild flowers on the trail |
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| Vent hole |
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| Brilliant blue wild flower |
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| Summit of Spatter Cone |
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| Lone Sentinel Pine on trail |
We had a great dinner of vegetarian chili that Rebecca and Scott made.
We went to bed hopeful for better weather on Wednesday.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Rain again this morning, but it let up around 10. We had a call back from one of the vineyards about going for a tasting. We made a date for noon, then packed egg salad sandwiches for lunch, and set out for vineyard. We found the spot without any trouble, and the rain let up, but it was still cool and overcast.
The tasting took place in a big metal shed on the farm where the wine is made. Alain, the vintner farmer, opened the gate for us and guided us into the "tasting room." He started by giving us a taste of the unfinished wine from the spigot. It was good, even though it wasn't ready for bottling. Alain served us some local cheese along with the various wines we tasted: syrah, petit syrah, white wine he distributes for a friend farther away from Manton, port, and another young red. We bought a few bottles of wine to enjoy for the rest of the week, and several bottles of port.
Alain was very casual and an interesting person. Alain grew up in Geneva, Switzerland, and he emigrated to the US after being forced to leave Yugoslavia when Russians moved in. He has lived in Manton for the past 30 years, and started out farming with Christmas trees and pumpkins. As people moved to buying plastic trees, he began the vineyard. Before we left, he told us about the Indian springs near by, off the Ponderosa Way. Ponderosa Way was built by the CCC in the 1940s as a public works project; the road runs from Mexico to Canada.
We found Ponderosa Way, a narrow rutted, dirt road, barely passable in places. There were no signs and few landmarks, and we initially overshot, ending up at a spot where the road was washed out by a field.
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| Road washed out and cascading over the edge |
Stuart made a 6-point turn to retrace our steps. Scott noticed a turnout by the road, and Linda hopped out to investigate. We found the spring! And it was definitely worth the bumpy ride. It is a beautiful hidden grotto and waterfall, by a stream in the woods. Alain said the Indians felt it was a spiritual place, and that is easy to understand.
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| Mark at Indian Spring |
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| Between the falls |
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| Another wild flower |
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| By the falls |
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| Another angle |
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| Falls over the rocks |
We stopped at the general store in Manton, and enjoyed our picnic lunch sitting on the benches outside the store. Mark found orange Hostess cupcakes, and enjoyed the childhood treat.
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| Orange Hostess cupcakes |
It started raining again, and we stopped at a second vineyard. This place was more commercial, and expensive, although there was no charge for the tasting. The vintner at this place said, "Wine making isn't hard. I can teach you everything you need to know in 2.5 hours." He didn't think much of the four-year degree in viticulture and enology from UC Davis. We purchased a $35 bottle of Cabernet, because we felt obligated to get something. We had the wine with our steak dinner a few nights later, and it was surprisingly quite good.
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| Cornucopia salad |
We had a delicious dinner of Cornucopia salad that Rebecca and Scott made for us. After dinner we watched a chick flick,
Music and Lyrics with Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore. Then we played several rounds of Outburst, a game most of us hadn't played before. There was much laughter, and the men won both rounds. We went to bed too late, but had a good day.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Woke up to rain again. We got a later start to our day, and it took us until 11 or so to make our picnic lunch and get out the door. We drove to the south entrance to the park, and were looking forward to seeing Bumpass Hell and the boiling mud holes. As we entered the park, we started seeing patches of snow along the sides of the highway. We drove to the parking area, and were forced to stop there. The road was closed to cars beyond the parking lot. The mountains and ground all around us were snow covered. We sat on the warm rocks and ate our picnic lunch. It was strange to be warm in bright sunshine, in short sleeves, surrounded by snow piles.
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| View of the snow-covered mountains |
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| In the parking lot near Lake Helen |
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| By our lunch spot |
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| Snow covered land |
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| Isn't it summer time? |
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| Deeper than Molly expected |
After lunch we set off down the plowed road to get a view of the frozen glacial Lake Helen. It was a beautiful sight, and we walked a mile and a half or so down the road. Forty to fifty fees of snow lined the roadside. We could see the tracks made by some skiers criss-crossing down the hills in several places.
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| 40-foot high snow |
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| Short sleeves in the snow |
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| Frozen glacial lake |
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| Bright blue frozen lake |
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| Road cut through snow piles |
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| Blue snow |
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| Another view of lake |
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| On top of snow |
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| Lake view |
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| Hiking the road |
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| Surrounding mountains |
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| Another perspective |
When we'd had enough walking, we headed back down the mountain to the parking area near the steam vents and boiling mud hole. There was a parking area at Bumpass Hell, but all the trails were covered in deep snow and closed. We were all disappointed that we couldn't see one of the main attractions of the park.
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| At Bumpass Hell |
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| Boiling mud bubble |
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| Steam vent |
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| Strong sulfur smell |
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| View from the road |
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| Long way down |
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| Steam vent |
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| Mark and Stuart at Bumpass Hell |
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| Tree growing sideways! |
We headed back to the house. Before dinner, we watched another bad movie - The Astronaut's Wife - a terrible remake of Rosemary's Baby. Dinner was vegetarian chili that Rebecca and Scott made the night before. It was very good, and hit the spot after being out all day. It was too buggy to eat outside for dinner.
But later on, the men built a fire in the firepit down by the stream. The wood was still damp, so it took a good bit of cardboard, little sticks, and blowing to get the fire started with the damp logs that weren't split. Once it was going though, it was toasty warm, and Rebecca and Scott roasted a few marshmallows. Off to bed with the hope of sunshine tomorrow.
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| How many PhDs does it take to build a campfire? |
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| Enjoying the campfire |
Friday, July 1, 2011
Today dawned bright, warm, and sunny - yay!! After a good breakfast of scrambled eggs, sitting on the deck, and a long call to the help line for the breadmaker instructions, we set out for the day's adventures. First stop was Manzanita Lake, where we rented 3 double kayaks for an hour's paddling around the lake. Mount Lassen reflected beautifully in the lake. There were quite a few folks fishing on the lake, but we didn't see anyone catch anything. It was very peaceful and beautiful, and a lovely way to spend some time.
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| Molly and Stuart on Lake Manzanita |
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| Mount Lassen |
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| Reflections |
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| Ducks by the lake |
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Paddling Scott, Rebecca,
Molly, and Stuart |
We sat on a bench by the camp store and ate our picnic lunch, enjoying Hansen sodas and vinegar and salt chips with our sandwiches. Molly and Scott had soft-serve ice cream cones for dessert.
Most of the trails in the park were closed, so we drove further east to Butte Lake, with the intention of hiking the trail and swimming in Bathtub Lake, which the tour info said was a favorite place for swimming in the park. The trail to Cinder Cone started in the same parking lot, so we found our way without trouble this time.
We chose a trail up the hill around Butte Lake to Butte Creek. It went uphill through the trees, but wasn't very well marked, and not as interesting nor as steep a climb as up Cinder Cone. We did see a bald eagle in a tree by the lake, and several flew overhead while we walked. The trail reached the creek and some of us crossed a thick tree trunk to the other side, then turned around and headed back to the head of the trail.
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| View from the trail top |
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| View from trail summit |
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| Stripped bark |
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| Butte Lake |
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| Crossing Butte Creek |
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| Butte Lake |
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| Coming across the creek |
We found the branch to Bathtub Lake, changed in the bathrooms into our bathing suits (not easily done), set out on the .4 mile walk to Bathtub Lake. It wasn't an especially pretty trail, and again not well marked. We found Bathtub Lake but it was extremely uninviting - a mat of bugs hovered over the algae covered lake and grasses grew along all the sides. By now we were getting tired and hot, and we turned back without a cooling swim.
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| Bathtub Lake - not so inviting |
Back at the house we had a delicious Shabbos feast of fresh bread from the bread maker, lots of fresh vegetables and salad, grilled chicken and grilled pineapple, with grilled pineapple and vanilla ice cream for dessert.
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| Shabbos dinner |
We made a good dent in the food that was left, but didn't manage to finish it all. We cleaned up, and packed after dinner. This was our last full day in the park. It's been a good week.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Stuart, Molly, Rebecca, and Scott left at 5:40 to drive to San Francisco. They met up with David, Molly's brother, for breakfast, then brought Rebecca and Scott to the airport. Mark and Linda got laundry started and left around 9:40.
We decided to spend the day in wine country, and headed to Sonoma, to the Imagery Winery. We visited that vineyard on a previous trip, enjoyed the wine and art exhibit, and Linda wanted to get more port wine glasses.
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| Sonoma hillside |
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| Hay stacked in the fields |
We stopped in Sonoma for lunch at a Mexican restaurant we ate at once before. The fish tortillas were very good, too. Then we went on to Imagery Winery, and drank our way through a tasting. We hit the winery at a lull, and Quinn was very attentive, pouring us tastes of wine not on the tasting menu. Each one was enjoyable, though some we liked much better than others. As of July 1, Massachusetts residents are allowed to have wine shipped from other states, and after much discussion, we decided to join the wine club as an anniversary gift to ourselves. We ordered 2 bottles each of lutein, something else, and muscato di canelli. We'd had more than enough wine, and it was late afternoon, so we drove back toward the airport and checked in. We had dinner at Hunter Lodge restaurant after gassing up the car. Then to bed, for an early morning.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
We were up early and at the airport by 7:15 am for our 9:00 flight home. It was total chaos at United check-in area. For some unknown reason, the lines to check a bag were a mile long, inside and out at the curb. Linda finally got the attention of a United official, who checked our bag in for us at a kiosk, because it was nearing time for the flight. Once on board, the flight was fine, though packed. Luggage came pretty quickly, and we took a taxi back to Mark's parked car. It was good to be home again, and sleep in our own bed. But it was a relaxing vacation, and we had a great time with family.
