Mom planned a trip through northern Northern California and Souithern Oregon. (Did I mention “Oregon” rhymes with “in,” but not with “on”?) This area is often referred to as Jefferson State (even Jeffersonia in fiction, according to my buddy Chris).
We went to Lassen Volcanic National Park and saw the Sulphur Works and Bumpass Hell in addition to an up close and personal view of Mt. Lassen. Our roadtrip also afforded some nice views of Mt. Shasta. On Linsey’s advice, we diverted east to see Lava Beds National Monument, home to a variety of lava tube caves. I managed to get in and out of Golden Dome Cave. We saw the permanent ice at the bottom of Skull Cave. The Modoc Indians used these caves during their war with the US. We also peered over the seemingly endless Devil’s Homestead, a long hardened lava flow.
From there, it was on to Crater Lake—a lake of water caught in the caldera of what used to be Mt. Mazama, who blew her top long ago. The water in the lake is as pure and as deep as is it is blue. You can’t really understand this blue until you see it first-hand. Even then, you think someone added food coloring to the nearly 2,000 ft-deep lake. I hiked down the steep trail to Cleetwood Point, where a Park Service-led boat tour of the lake embarks and disembarks.
From there, we headed west and traveled the Pacific Coast Highway to Patrick’s Point (colleague Nancy Smith’s favorite), Fort Bragg, and Point Reyes. We even managed a stop in Bodega Bay for lunch. We ate where Hitchcock’s The Birds was filmed. But we did not eat crow. We had a day in San Francisco then rushed back to catch Willie and Lobo live at The Palms in Davis. What a trip!
2001 08 Jefferson State
iMovie Bonus: Wizard Island
iMovie Bonus: Aqua Jeffersonia
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