Today we are on the road from Tonopah, NV to Lassen Volcanic National Park. After stopping at the gas station next to the RV park, we were on the road pretty early – around 7am. The landscape is the same as yesterday, but there are a lot more cars on the road, and it’s a US Route, not a state route, so the road is better.
One of the things we’ve been surprised about is how many large scale solar plant installations we’ve seen. Even in Indiana and Illinois, we saw large solar arrays providing power to their communities. Now in Nevada, we just came upon one. Looking off in the distance at the huge blue mass, I said, “Is that a solar plant?” Hubby, said, “No, I think that’s a lake.” (we’d seen several basin lakes like this where cattle could get water in the desert.) As we got closer and could see more detail, we realized it wasn’t a lake, it was just a huge solar array about ¼ of a mile long and almost that in depth.
We arrived at Lassen Volcanic National Park and went to the Visitor Center to watch the orientation film and stamp our passports. Then we set out on the drive up the mountain on the scenic drive. Since we had to go so slowly up the mountain, we let the kids sit between us up in the front of the RV so they could see the scenery better. We came to several spectacular overlooks. The sun was shining and it was nearly 90 degrees, but there were still several feet of snow on the sides of the road in some places and it was raining and hailing.
We made it to our campground and found an older couple parked in our campsite eating a picnic lunch. Hubby got out to talk with them and explain that the site was reserved, pointing to the post with our name on the registration slip. The couple apologized and started to pack up their lunch, but we told them to take their time and finish eating. They said they were about finished anyway, but hubby and our son stood and talked to them while they packed up. It turns out they were 86 years old and lived not too far from the park. They had come up for a picnic. The gentleman told us of how he was a veteran of the Korean War, but never had to go to Korea because he knew how to type and they needed office clerks badly, so he became one and was spared from being sent over-seas. Hubby helped them load their cooler into the trunk of their car and we were ready to set up camp. I felt bad about interrupting their picnic. :(
Our site was on Summit Lake with a beautiful view. After we set up camp, we fixed dinner and took a walk over to the lake. The other three decided to take a swim in the lake, so I stood on the shore and took some photos (I don’t do cold water!) While they were swimming, I collected some kindling and tinder to start a fire in our fire pit. As the sun set we started a fire and roasted s’mores, listening to some music on our Bluetooth speaker. As the flames died down to hot coals, we decided to start getting ready for bed. We would be able to sleep in a little in the morning because our drive to Redwoods National Park would only be 4-5 hours.
