Park 18: Lassen Volcanic National Park, CA:  We traveled from Redding, CA about 45 miles to the NW entrance to Lassen Volcanic at Manzanita Lake.  To our disappointment, the 30 mile main park road was still mostly closed due to snow and we were able to only drive 10 miles from the Visitor’s Museum to the Devastated Area.  From 1914 until 1917 this once dormant volcano erupted over 150 times, spewing cloud of volcanic steam, ash and lava for miles.  Since 1921 Lassen Peak has remained quiet, but it is still considered an active volcano.  What makes this volcanic region unusual as compared to the others in the Cascade Range is that Lassen is composed of each of the four types of volcanoes.

Our visit was short as it was very cold and still snowing!  We followed a large brown bear from the safety of our car as he foraged the roadside after his long hibernation in this frigid, scarred countryside.  There were many signs of renewal since the massive May 1915 eruption as young trees and stubborn grasses take hold in a slow, natural comeback unaided by human hands.     

Odometer: 7,738 miles.



Debris field at the Devastated Area

"Small" rock thrown miles by one
one of the final eruptions in May 1915