29 Jun 2013 Lassen Volcanic Park to Redwood
Nat. Park
We just got back from our ranger
“briefing” at the Redwood State Park in Northern California. Since you can not camp in the actual park, we
wanted to be as close as possible and camp in the State Park, which butts up
right next to it. Nice! So, tomorrow, we will hike right into the
National Park and have the same luxury of staying in it as well.
Last night
we stayed in the Lassen Volcanic National Park just east and up the mountains
from Redding, California. It was
something spectacular to say the least.
We only wanted a spot to half the distance from Tahoe to Redwood, and
stumbled on this gem. Time was a
concern, so we just did the drive in, looked around, and then immediately set
up camp. I wish that we could have seen
more, but that will be another time. The
only reason that I knew of this place was from a long ago ham radio contact
that I made in Las Vegas. There was a
guy transmitting from the park and I got his card in the mail after we made a
contact. Wow. Seeing it in real life was truly something
special.
Leaving
Lassen this morning was sad, I must say.
We made some German traveler friends the night before and left before
they even woke up. We exchanged travel
information and chatted for a few hours.
I have always wanted to talk to foreign travelers that we have seen in
our national parks, but never had the courage to. After traveling a few places in the world, I
really wanted to ask them a few specific questions about their travels and how
they were being treated in the USA. They
said that people were being nice and helpful and they were REALLY enjoying
their time. The boy and girl mentioned
that their mother kept saying that this was the most beautiful place she had
ever seen. And, that was for every new
place that they stopped. Geez! They hadn’t even seen the Grand Canyon
yet. I wonder what her reaction will be
when they get there, or even Zion. They
were from outside Berlin and were visiting the USA for the first time. I, of course, had to tell them that we are a
huge fan of the Berlin Philharmonic. I
don’t think that it mattered to them, but just being excited about Berlin made
them happy. We told them about our
travels there 2 years ago and had a lot to talk about . The brother and sister really wanted to talk a
lot and ask about the USA. Its funny how
polite and formal English learners are.
Everything they said was polite and formal without slang. It seemed so weird, especially when they
would get excited about something and just let go. I wished them the best on their USA travels
and left a card on their window when we left.
Getting to
Redwood NP was no easy feat! Little did
I know that the roads across California from Lassen NP were some of the most
twisty and mountainous of all time. In
two places, the mountain roads were shut down to only one lane and we had to
stop and wait to take our turn. This was
OK since the scenery was spectacular and I could listen in to the construction
work on the CB radio. That big ugly
antenna has almost paid itself off! We
crossed through the northern Sierra mountains and into the southern
Cascades. I couldn’t really tell the
difference except for coming close to Redding.
This is where Mt. Shasta can be seen in the distance, and what a
sight! It pokes up in the middle of
nowhere like an ice dagger coming out of the ground, still full of snow almost
into July and towering above everything else.
Maybe someday, I will get to the top of that one.
We stopped
for lunch, gas, groceries, and WiFi in Arcata. Then we headed north on the CA
101. It is a joy to have the moist, salt
air to breath. I just don’t think the
metal on my truck feels the same way.
Seeing the ocean is making us crave sea food. Over the next few days we will have the
opportunity to indulge in some of the Pacific’s finest.
Tomorrow is
a full day in the redwoods and then on to Oregon. For some funny reason, the ham radio is
getting a ton of noise on the 14MhZ band.
I will have to hold off tonight and just get to bed. Oh well.
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