Lassen Volcanic National Park

Now's as good a time as any for a perspective check at this under-visited national park

California is a lovely and serene piece of paradise between cataclysmic natural disasters.  Right now, fires are burning all over the northern and central parts of our state. Smoke chokes the air as I write this. Hundreds of fires, most caused by dry lightning strikes, burn through our overly dry landscape.  And it's only June!  Welcome to the world of global warming. It's real. It's with us. Now, we must act to minimize its impact for generations to come. But that's another story.

I'm actually filing this post to urge you to spend some gas dollars if you can to visit one of California's most beautiful but volatile natural treasures, Lassen Volcanic National Park.  Lassen is only about five hours northeast of San Francisco, but it's typically off-the-radar of most Bay Area travelers. Too bad. It receives only about one-tenth the visitation of Yosemite.  It deserves more, but the good news is that you can enjoy Lassen without combating crowds. You can hike to the 10,000 foot summit of Lassen Peak, California's last active volcano.  Lassen erupted about 90 years ago, and continued to spew rock and ash for a number of years.   Nearby, you can explore places like Bumpass Hell and Boiling Springs Lake, where California bubbles and steams and is clearly still under construction.  Lassen is at the southern edge of the Cascade Range that includes volcanos such as Shasta, St. Helens and Ranier.   They will erupt someday, and the serenity of places like Lassen will give way to cataclysm, in true California style.  So go now before the earth rumbles and nature exerts her force as she always does and surely will again.

And then, let's do what we can to help nature regain her balance by reducing the carbon we're forcing her to absorb. Volcanos do a good job of spewing debris into the atmosphere.  They don't need any assistance from us.  Cataclysms will come soon enough without our needing to lend a hand.

For more tips from Doug McConnell, visit www.OpenRoad.tv, a great guide to travel in the West

Posted at 06:20 PM in Doug McConnell’s OpenRoad.TV Tips | Permalink