Moving Further North!

Moving Further North! 

On the way out of San Francisco, we made a stop in Martinez, CA to visit the home of John Muir. Most of us know about his conservation and environmental work that helped Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon, but before that time, he was just John Muir, husband, father and fruit farmer. In 1823, Don Ygnacio Martinez received 17,700 acres in Contra Costa County, California. In 1848, the U.S. took California from Mexico and gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill. John Muir's in-laws bought property and erected a two story home. John Muir and family moved into house in 1912. Fruit ranching continued from in-laws to Muir and 120 acres are farmed. Part of the farm including the house are  part of National Historic monument. A self-guided audio tour helps you get a full grasp of what transpired in the farming community. Holly, one of my friends, is actually a docent at the site. When I asked her how much she enjoyed being a docent and she said she simply loved it. I have heard the same thing from others who volunteer for the National Park Service. 

From there, we moved north and east towards Redding and Lassen Volcanic National Park. We headed through the coastal redwoods and as we were coming down one of the mountains, we heard a terrible noise from our towed car. Obviously, I pulled over to see what was happening. The tires were hot, but I couldn't see anything particularly wrong, so we continued our journey to the Mount Lassen KOA. When we settled in and tried to move the car, it became obvious that the transmission was gone again. By the way, we bought this car because Ford said it could be towed and, it even clearly states it in the manual. We had the car towed to a shop who said that the damage was way beyond his capabilities and that the engine appeared totaled as well. There was no way we could get it fixed in Redding. We rented a car and planned to to rent a tow dolly and tow our car behind the RV to Salt Lake City. So being our 13 stay in SLC.

But, before that, Mount Lassen.

By the way, that photo was in June. At Lassen, snow arrives early and stays late.  Mt. Lassen is one of the largest plug dome volcanoes. This type of volcanic event is something we usually see in the distant past, but the last time Mt. Lassen erupted was in 1915, a time when my grandfather was already here. Shortly thereafter, the park was created on 8/9/1916. At 10,547', it is pretty high up there. The road through the park takes you up about 8,500' where the snowfall averages 600-700', making it the snowiest place in California. 

And yet, thermal vents were in numerous locations throughout the park.

Miles away, on the side where the volcano blew, are giant chunks of rock that weren't there in 1914 and were there in 1915.

Hiking, boating, and you name it, all in one place.

After some wonderful sightseeing, Utah.