7-6-17

It was a real struggle to get up but we dressed quickly and since our hotel didn't have free breakfast we ate from the stash in the car on the hour long drive to Lassen Volcanic National Park. 

We arrived just in time for the visitor center to open on the northwest side of the park. Unfortunately for us, we couldn't complete the drive through the park because like Crater Lake, the snow had the road open only 9 miles in to the park. We attended a junior ranger program and walked the short trail at the devastated area. This volcano erupted in 1916 and a guy actually caught it on film. It was really interesting to see before and after pictures and to see how the places look 100 years later. It was also interesting to be able to piece together all of the different volcanic sites we have seen and see how they really are in a ring or chain. Lassen is closely monitored and they do expect it to erupt again, they just don't know when. 

We are finding that since hitting California, we have been unable to stay on the schedule we set and today was no exception. We arrived to John Muir's home later than expected and hope to drop back in tomorrow if we can. We also passed an 80 acre wildfire on the way there and expect to see more as we make our way through California. I have been to John Muir before so Lorelei and I now have the same number of parks. I'm roughly estimating we are around 250 parks. I need to look at the list to get a good count. 

We headed to the hotel for an early arrival at 5:30 and after dropping our stuff in the room and using the ice machine to refill our cooler, we walked next door to Chick Fil A for dinner. We relaxed with a movie and catching up on emails. The boys come tomorrow night and then the second half of the trip begins.