| Thursday, August 11, 2005 � Got woke up this morning by the sound of some motor running in the bus. What the heck is it? It was a heater in the kitchen area that had kicked in from the low temps overnight, and leaving the windows open set off one of the propane heaters. It�s been some time since we�ve had it this cool. So we closed the place up and shut off the thermostat, and went back to bed. Got up at 7:30AM after having gone down about nine last night made for a good long sleep that I don�t do that often. Being able to awaken to the beauty and sweet fragrance of the pines here is a treat. So we�ll shower and head out to check this park out this morning. We�ll be gone most all day exploring. We drove through the park with the Jeep stopping at the turnouts offering views and explanations of the history of the making of this area. There are many trailheads here as well. In fact, hiking is the name of the game for staying in this park. Although the views from a vehicle drive are not shabby by any means, it really is a hiker�s type area. We decided we would hike �Bumpes� Hell� This is a moderate 3-mile hike. The reward at the end is a 16-acre area comprised of sulfuric steam beds and bubbling mud pits. Surface water reaches several hundred feet below the earth�s surface where there is a bed of hot lava. It turns to steam and rises creating this unique area of steam and bubbling pits. This site was discovered in 1860 by a man named Bumpes, hence the name. He was checking out the area and the ground being very soft here he sunk in the mud and severely burned a leg, which he eventually lost. So you must stay on the trails provided or suffer the same risks. We stopped and had a packed lunch along the way as well where we were joined by local tourist type chipmunk. Cute little guy, but it was almost like he worked there for the park service if you know what I mean. We got back and finished seeing the rest of the park from the Jeep. We considered taking another hike that was 5-miles, but decided we�re only good for one short one a day. So we headed back to camp about 4:00PM, stopping at several other campgrounds along the way. We found we are in the one suited best for us. It has the largest spaces, and being located just at the north entrance, we will be able to avoid driving Ol School through the park which has some heavy switchbacks and grades. We will take 44 around the park towards Lake Almanor tomorrow. One the way back we also stopped at a local store of necessities here in the park to buy some cranberry juice. Patty used the juice to make us another fizzy blended drink. We played some backgammon and watched a new neighbor pull in with a motorhome and setup. We noticed he was leaning quite noticeably to one side. Being the level freak I am, I took him one of our 4x4 inch blocks we carry to help him get straightened out. Well we ended up talking to them for quite awhile. They are Bob and Bonnie from Redlands California. Bob owns a Farmer�s Insurance Agency and Bonnie is a nurse. Both are cancer survivors and really nice people. After visiting together past dark now, me and Bonnie were talking how it was time to get BBQ�n. I told her there was a way to BBQ a steak out here without having to setup your BBQ. I told her we are going to BBQ some steaks tonight and they are so big, which they were, that we could feed all four of us. She liked that idea and offered to make a salad and some homegrown zucchini made with Parmesan cheese. We provided mushrooms as well. So we had a great dinner together and enjoyed the conversation and their company. Through conversation we found they are headed north, and since we had just come from that area, Patty showed them pictures of the Burney area on the computer after dinner for them to consider stopping to see along their trip. During dinner, we had a nice big fire blazing from wood me and Patty stopped and picked up earlier during the day from downed trees we found along our trip today. After dinner everyone turned in. We�ll be heading south tomorrow. Another lousy day in paradise. |
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Friday, August 12, 2005 � We headed out of the park about noon or so. We didn�t see our new very best friends this morning. We just packed up at our leisure and hit the road. We left going north out of the park so as to avoid going over Lassen. We took 44 to 36 around the park. We arrived in the afternoon to Lake Almanor, where we played in the water for awhile and enjoyed the coolness from the heat. We�re leaving for Greenville just a short drive south of here. There we�ll meet Bill Goss, whom we�d met at the Bluebird rally in Williams Oregon last year. He owns the lone pharmacy in Greenville. We arrived at his store late afternoon, and what a quaint country store it is. It�s a corner location with lots of gifts in addition to the pharmacy. We spent some time buying trinkets and the like. We found a new instrument to add to our fast-growing band. It�s a gourd with laced beads around it. The tone of this as a rattle is incredible. It�s a bit larger than I wished, but the tone is too good to buy something smaller. After the shopping spree, we leave to follow Bill to his home about twenty minutes away. We crossed this large valley to get to his 1800�s home. His place is Beautiful! Bill�s girlfriend, Connie was home, and she cooked up a great lamb dinner that night. We had a really nice evening visiting and touring this grand old home.
We had to leave fairly early the next morning as we�ll be watching our Grandson, Mason today, while Veronica, Kurt, and Brandon meet the kids mother in San Francisco for a birthday dinner celebration. We got out of there about 10:00AM, but not before we rode the Wizer�s. These are motorized bicycles that Bill and Connie are thinking about selling on their travels as Bill is thinking of retiring. We had a great time, and it is very peaceful here. We�ll look forward to coming back here again. Bill and Connie were gracious hosts, and good friends.
See ya�s next time�. |
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