We headed North out of Quincy with its railroad history – train spotters would love it here!
A little lunch stop at the lakeside in Chester was beautiful as we watched rainstorms moving all around us.
Our destination was Lassen National Park which is a volcanic area with still lots of geothermal activity. The main road through the park is 30 miles long but this Spring they still have over 20 feet of snow so up to now only six miles of the road from the South entrance has been cleared. We could drive one mile to the Sulpher Works to watch the bubbling mud pools.
After that we could cycle or walk a further five miles up to Lake Helen. We set off on our trusty Wal-Mart bikes through the cut in the snow.
It was a steady constant climb which kept you warm at first but then the wind picked up and it got much colder as we climbed. Then the threatening clouds set in looking like another thunder storm was due. Just over four miles in and the rain started so we turned back and whizzed down to the shelter of Fred. The main storm seemed to skip us in the end but you never know in the mountains. As we drove later we saw a spectacular fork lightening show and torrential rain. We drove down from the mountains and the temperature rose. An indoor meal was required with the rain which is always a logistical game.Next day we headed to Redding to explore their river trail and cycling path. We started near Sundial Bridge (which is an actual sundial set for Solstice day) and headed up the Sacramento River.
It was hot – like over 30 degrees hot! We passed through a whole burned out area where last July they had terrible, devastating fires.
We saw a lovely hummingbird and beautiful butterflies.After lunch we tried to go swimming to cool down but it seems a whole school had taken over the pool so we changed our minds and headed off to Shasta Lake. We found an area called Bailey Cove and went for a swim there instead. It was very refreshing and there were warm and cooler patches to choose from. Another thunderstorm cut short our swim. We spotted a bald eagle on its nest as we drove away. That evening we found a lovely place to stay on the lake edge. A gorgeous place to have a sunset beer.
Another swim the next morning was too irrisitable and may also have provided the opportunity to do some laundry 😆
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