After leaving the acres and acres of lush vineyards in Napa, our next stop was a campground at Folsom Lake (near Sacramento, CA). Why Folsom you ask? Folsom is infamous for its prison which achieved notoriety in Johnny Cash’s Folsom Prison Blues.
Murphy and I enjoyed sunrise walks to the lake (and I played the song as we walked along). One morning we met Marley, a rescue French Bulldog visiting with his dad from Colorado. Marley’s dad asked if they could play together at the water and I said, “Sure”. Surprisingly, Murphy and Marley had a blast retrieving sticks. Who knew Frenchies like to swim?
The real reason we were at the campground was to visit a very dear family friend, Sandie and her husband Lee. I have known Sandie since my early teen’s and consider her my “other” mother. There could not be a sweeter person on earth. Dave, Murphy and I enjoyed dinner at their house in nearby Lincoln. Sandie and Lee have two adorable small dogs, Jack & Sophie. Murphy got along great with them, well, except when he went into the master bedroom and Sophie chased him out. He ran out with his ears back and tail tucked. Too funny! I tried to get a picture of the three of them, but I could not get them to hold still. The next day, Sandie and I met at Paris Baguette to satisfy my sweet tooth and enjoy a girl’s afternoon, while Dave bought two trailer tires. The four of us met later for a delicious Mexican dinner. The visit went by way too fast!
Sandie knew how much Dave and I like our S’mores from following along last year’s Alaska blog and had bought these delicious caramel s’mores clusters at Costco. I cannot stop eating them. Addicting. I am so glad Dave and I do not have a Costco membership. Maybe it is time…
After sadly saying good-bye to Sandie and Lee, we headed to Lassen Volcanic National Park. But first, a stop in Oroville, CA, right along the route to our next stop. My mom has a cousin, Daryl, who lives in Oroville and she thought it would be great if we could stop by to say “Hi” and share some family pictures. My mom remembers babysitting Daryl and his siblings in Pipestone, MN where they all grew up. I took pictures of some of his family photos and shared them with my mom over email. Below is a picture Daryl had, with my grandma (my mom’s mom) and Daryl’s mom, plus their other siblings. My grandma is the one in the middle holding her purse.
Now about that volcano. Lassen Volcanic National Park is about 3 hours driving distance from Sacramento. The area was established as a national park in August, 1916 after a series of eruptions from Lassen Peak, between 1915 and 1917 drew national attention. The park has a many great hikes and a scenic drive through the middle of the park. As we didn’t have a doggy day care to leave Murphy for a longer hike, we decided to enjoy the scenic drive. Here are photos of many of the points of interest along the way.
Hot Rock. This boulder was once in the vent of Lassen Peak. A violet mudflow carried this 30-ton rock speeding down the slopes of the peak during the eruption. It was reported to be hot to the touch for many months after. Throughout this area, about 3 miles from the peak, you can see the remnants of the mudflow.
Snow! We stopped along the drive so Murphy could enjoy playing in the snow.
Lassen Peak Trailhead. Just a short 2 ½ mile hike to the top of the volcano (10,457 feet) climbing 2,000 feet. That could get your heart pumping! Dave and I would have loved to hiked to the top; but no dogs allowed. Dratz.
Lake Helen, a glacial lake, sits at the base of Lassen Peak, at 8,000 feet. Due to the high elevation, the lake is frozen and covered in deep snow for most of the year, with ice starting in October and remaining until July-August. During the winter, Pacific storms come in from the west and cover the lake with copious amount of snowfall (600 – 700 inches annually), making it the snowiest place in California. It was absolutely gorgeous.
Emerald Lake…oops I forget to take a picture. Well, the emerald color is from algae anyway. Here is a picture from the National Park Service website.
Here is a picture of some mud pots. This is one of several geothermal areas in the park. Just like Yellowstone (but on a much smaller scale). Check out the difference in the landscape in the second picture. I guess no green grows where the geothermal activity is beneath the ground.
Below is a picture of acres of burned trees from the 2021 Dixie Fire, which was California’s largest wildfire at the time, consuming 963,309 acres, almost 1500 square miles. Lassen lost 73,000 acres to the fire.
Dave and I enjoyed a few side trips while visiting Lassen. First, we drove north about 50 minutes to see the gorgeous Burney Falls, and hiked a loop down the river and back too the top of the falls.
As we were only an hour away from Lake Shasta, we drove over so Dave could see the nearly full lake and the majestic Mount Shasta in the distance. Unfortunately, due to a nearby wildfire, there was a bit of smoke in the air so Mt Shasta was obscured. Dratz!
Our final stop before heading west was at Subway Cave Lava Tube. Formed about 20,000 years ago by the Hat Creek lava flow. It is a self-guided tour about 1/3 of a mile long. And it is pitch black inside. Good thing Dave had a good flashlight in the truck. The iPhone one just did not cut it. I could see why they called it the “Subway” cave. A subway train could make it through there. Pretty neat.
Here are a few miscellaneous pictures.
Loving the cool temps and gorgeous scenery Brenda, Snow in July, and we’re not in Alaska! Dave, and I really want to go back to the snow Murphy.
A great visit it was, but way too short!! Thanks for including us in your journey!! Love you to the moon and back❤️❤️❤️
Thank you for refreshing our memories. We spent many camp outs in that area when the kids were young. Spelunking was always a hit!
S’mores from Costco?!?!?!
Reta