Lasser National Park

"Miles of its flanks are reeking and bubbling with hot springs, many of them so boisterous and sulphurous they seem ever ready to become spouting geysers . . ." John Muir "Mountains of California", 1894

Lassen Peak's May 1914 eruption launched three years of sporadic volcanic outbursts and the area was made a national park in 1916 because of the active volcanic landscape. It serves as a century-long example of how Mount St Helens might recover from its eruptions in 1980.

We spent a full day driving around and thru the park. The narrow black-topped road twisted back and forth as it took us up to 8,500 feet (Lassen Peak measures 10,457 feet) and offered beautiful views of the area. We stopped here and there for quick walks, a picnic, and explorations of the various rock. We saw hundred year old rock side by side with rock thousands of years old.

We worked our way back to Susanville for our second night there. Tomorrow we head to Oregon.