Mt. Lassen Volcanic National Park

We have never been to this national park so we were anxious to get into the park.  We were told at the entrance gate that the only road that goes from one end of the park to another was closed 16 miles ahead.  Reason:  snow and ice on roads.  Just our luck this trip.  We decided to visit the visitor's center for info on the park and then drive as far as we could.

Mt. Lassen is one of the largest plug dome volcanoes in the world.  It last erupted several times between 1914 and 1921.  An amateur photographer was able to capture pictures of one of the eruptions.  For the first time, the world was able to see an eruption of a volcano.  Mr. Loomis was so interested in the volcano that he personally built a seismograph to help monitor the volcano.  That seismograph is still used along with 8 others strategically placed around the mountain.

He also built this building to house the pictures he took and to generate interest in making Mt. Lassen a national park.  He was successful because it became a national park August 9, 1916.  All four of the different types of volcanoes are found in the park.  I didn't know there were four kinds of volcanoes.  These are shield, cinder cone, plug dome, and composite volcano.

During one of the eruptions, a boulder this size was not uncommon.

This was called a "puzzle" rock.  Looking closely at the pieces and I can see how pieces could be put back together into one huge rock.

Our first look at Mt. Lassen. 

With Carol standing in front of the stone, you can see how big it is.

We could go no farther.  The ranger at the entrance told us that the problem was ice on the road.  There are no guard rails on the roads and the park couldn't take any chance that icy roads could cause vehicles to slid off into the valleys below.   

Mt. Lassen has had its share of fires as these charred trees show.

This area was called Chaos Crags and Chaos Jumbles.   This was the view from both sides of the road.

350 years ago, the north side of this mountain collapsed and deposited itself here.  

There is nothing worse then waiting for paint to dry.  As we were leaving the park, we got behind trucks painting the white line on the side of the road. 

I did find something worse then waiting for paint to dry and that is trying to post pictures for my blog when the internet is nearly non-existent.   I wanted to post the pictures we took while on a hike around a lake but have been unsuccessful.  Even my own personal hot spot is out of range.  I just saw a commercial for Verizon.  It showed a lady riding a horse out in the wilderness and she was able to get an internet signal.  Well, evidently, Verizon has never been to Shingletown, California because thee is no signal here.   Maybe tomorrow Winnemucca, Nevada will have stronger internet signals and I will continue this post then.

Tomorrow begins the first of four days of driving.  We won't even unload the car.   We have enjoyed the northwest.