The Roads, The Trails and Me- Part I

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I went to Sunday breakfast at the Prescott American Legion Post this morning, as I do at least twice a month, when here.  Those with whom I am close were either not there, or were busy with their serving tasks, so for some reason, I was just pacing around, until my food was ready.  One old friend quipped, “Gary, you’re walking around alot this morning- thinking of buying the place?”  When I had finished eating and went to leave, he chortled “Good God, now he’s walking on.”

That set me to thinking- I have been a restless soul, for as long as I can remember.  My first punishment, when I was three, was for walking up to Grama Kusch’s house, which meant I had to cross at least one street alone.  I don’t remember whose hairbrush hit my backside first- Mom’s or Grama’s.  When we moved to Adams Avenue, and I was five, I preferred walking to the horse corrals, hiking the hills near home, checking out the abandoned railbed or going over the hill to my aunt’s house to playing ball, riding a bike or watching television.  My favourite board games were route-oriented: “Risk”, “Monopoly” and checkers.  I loved the TV show, “Route 66”, as much to see the different places the guys went each week, as to see which hot girl Buzz would meet.  My other favourites on the tube were more sedentary, but still cerebral (Perry Mason, Checkmate, Soupy Sales :})- yet that’s another matter.  My first job was delivering newspapers.

I chose active Army duty over National Guard, because my feet were itching to get to a different place, or two.  That eventually led me to Fort Myer, Va, where I walked all over the DC metro area- one time going from the south entrance of Rock Creek Park all the way to Germantown, MD.  After that, there were ten months in Viet Nam, where wandering was not an option- but I did get to see Sydney, on R &R.

In college, I was a director of campus tours and travel, at the community college and backpacked around North America in the summer of 1972.  My part-time job that Fall, at UPS, entailed sorting parcels going to various spots.  I wanted, at one point, to deliver mail for a living, but a postal hiring freeze that year squashed that idea.

When I taught in a classroom, I was okay with being focused on the tasks at hand, since they involved children and growth.  On weekends, though, I covered insane distances- in Maine and Atlantic Canada, and later on- all over Arizona and Sonora.

Penny settled me down, somewhat, though she shared my wanderlust, to a point.  Aram anchored us further- we did take trips here and there, mostly in summer, but a growing child needs the security of home and neighbourhood.  A teen needs such things all the more.  So, I practiced stillness, learned a modicum of stationary behaviour and focused on the growth of my spirit.

Penny has gone to the spirit realm, and she was one of a kind.  There are plenty of people about whom I care, but I have only one soul mate, and we see each other in dreams and in visions.  Aram is grown, and is pursuing his own dreams.  I am, and will be, there when he needs me.  Mostly, though, I’m on my own- and my soul goes follows its given course.

Next:  A revised view of the path ahead.

Northwest by North: The Learning, The Changes

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More important than lists of places and acknowledgement of people, in the long run, is- “What did you get out of this trip?”  My wife would have asked that; in fact, she has, in the manner of spiritual thought.

There are three things I learned, between Sept. 6- Oct. 3.

  • I can navigate, without always relying on GPS.
  • There is always someone who will help me get where I need to be.
  • No matter how “end-of-the-line” a place seems, its people invariably are connected to someplace even further.

There are some ways in which I have changed, as a result of this journey.

  • I felt it easier to cry, when my spirit was deeply affected by memories of Penny or by the intense spirituality of a moment.
  • I was more flexible inside, when a message came to me to change my schedule or my itinerary.  I did not, once, grudgingly go along with changing circumstances, but rather embraced them.
  • Imagery, both waking and dreaming, was much clearer.  I could see into the future, as well as observe images more current.

Now, I am very pleased and honoured to take each item on the agenda handed me by the Universe, each day, and move forward to where this life journey is taking me, or where it’s having me stay.

Northwest by North, and Back: Fond Remembrances

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Posted by on in Personal goals, Travel

I am now happily back in my own house-sitting labour of love.  I won’t have any photos to show on this one- redundancy is not my thing.  Nonetheless, I look back and think fondly of the places I saw:  Hoover Dam;Lake Mead;  The Alien Store;Lake Merritt; San Francisco; Jack London Square; Tomales Bay; Muir Woods; the Coastal Redwoods; the Lost Coast; Point Coquille; Astoria Column; the Columbia at St. Helens and at The Dalles; Portland; Ocean Beach, WA; Lake Quinault; Kalaloch; Forks; Lake Ozette; Neah Bay and Cape Flattery; Port Angeles; Sequim and Jamestown; Seattle; Wenatchee and Ohme Gardens (even with the fires); Yakama Nation; Goldendale and Maryhill; Deschutes River, at Maupin, OR; Crooked River Gorge, at Culver, OR; Smith Rock; Downtown Bend; Rogue River Gorge, at Union Creek; Ashland, OR; Mount Shasta; McCloud, CA; Lake Britton; Lassen Volcanic National Park; Feather River and Spanish Creek Gorges; Reno; Winnemucca; Elko and the Ruby Mountains; Bonneville Salt Flat; Salt Lake City; Price Canyon; Fruita, CO; Glenwood Springs; Northglenn; Colorado Springs; Wolf Creek Pass; Mesa Verde; Ute Mountain Chimney Rock; Four Corners Butte; and my beloved Peaks, welcoming me home.

More important, though, are the people: The clerk at the Alien Store; the clerk and her little daughter, at Atomic Inn, Beatty;  Tom, Michele and their kids, in Reno, my hosts on two occasions; the California Baha’i Regional Council, for such a masterful Commemorative Weekend; Marta, Christian and the team at San Francisco Baha’i Center, making the Bay Area feel like home; Dona and Ian, at Abalone Inn, Point Reyes; the put-upon staff at Nick’s Cove (because of the bees); the ranger at Standish-Hickey Recreation Area; the staff at Harbor Inn, Brookings; the waitresses at Matty’s (even if you didn’t like my politics); the waitresses and owner at Bonnie’s Grill, Port Orford;  the clerk at Shooting Star Motel, Bandon; the waitress at High Tide Cafe, Charleston, OR; the staff at Sea Lion Caves; the owner of Budget Lodge, Portland; Khai  and Jim, and the waitstaffs at Tina’s Corner and at Pastini’s, all of whom made my Portland visit special;   the guys at Hawaiian Islands Cafe, St. Helens, OR; the gentle old man and his boss at Thunderbird Motel, Aberdeen, WA; the staff at Lake Quinault Cafe; the waitress at Kalaloch Lodge; the staff at In Place and the kids who found my camera, in Forks, WA; the waitress at Warmhouse, Neah Bay; the staff at Feiro Marine Life Center, Port Angeles, WA; Ted Lew and his mother, in Seattle, for being such gracious hosts for two days; the various vendors of Pike Place, especially the waitress at Athenian Seafood; Mr. Vinny, of Vital T-Leaf, for his kind seminar on tea preparation; the people of Seattle Chinatown; Robert and Carla Wilson, Mitra McCauley and her husband, Dan, and Caroline and Robert Kirkpatrick, of East Wenatchee, for bringing me to your community and letting me be a part of summoning the power of the Holy Spirit, in Wenatchee’s time of need; the staff at Mai Lee Thai, East Wenatchee;  the staff at Ohme Gardens; the waitress at The Igloo, Wenatchee; Jackie and her husband, at Ponderosa Motel, Goldendale; the waitress at Top Hat, Goldendale; the couple at Bake My Day, Goldendale; the street coffee vendor in The Dalles; the staff at KOA, Culver, OR; the entire crew at Sidelines Grill, Bend; the reptile curator at Smith Rock; the staff at Union Creek Resort and Beckie’s Restaurant; Jody Bourne Weah, my host in Ashland, OR; the waitress at Greenleaf Restaurant, Ashland; the crew at Fireside Village, Hat Creek, CA; the NPS staff and volunteers at Lassen Volcanic National Park; the waitress at Joe Bob’s, Reno; Deborah and the crew at Flying Pig Barbecue, Winnemucca; the clerk at Economy Inn, Elko; the couple at McAdoo’s, Elko; Carol Curtis, my host in Salt Lake City; the Baha’is of Utah and Robert Stockman, for a marvelous Commemorative in Salt Lake City; the Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Colorado Springs, for hosting such an intimate and unforgettable Commemorative Weekend at Glenwood Springs; the proprietors of Rodeway Inn, Glenwood Springs, the staff of Vic’s Route 6 Grill, and the waitress at Zheng Asian Bistro, for making my last weekend on the road so restful and nutritious; my dear sister and brother in Northglenn, Mindy and David Kosak, for hosting me once more; the faculty and students at the U.S. Air Force Academy, for putting our nation first; the volunteers at Garden of the Gods, for sharing such an exquisite place with humanity; the waitress at La Baguette, for reviving me with splendid pastry and tea; the waitress at Del’s Diner, Fort Garland; the gents at Wolf Creek Lodge; Jackie and the crew at Junction Restaurant, Pagosa Springs and, by no means least, the team at Macy’s European Coffee House- always ready with a hearty bowl of soup, vegetarian sandwich and epicurean beverage.

Thanks also to those of you who have borne with me for this past month.  It has made me closer to my Lord, to Abdu’l-Baha, to my many friends and to my guardian angel and soul mate.

The Flip-Flop, Day 14: The Four Corners and Back to Prescott

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Posted by on in Hiking and Nature, Travel

Yesterday, October 3 brought me along one of southwest Colorado’s most magnificent sights:  Wolf Creek Pass, with its spectacular blends of foliage and rock.

 This Castle Rock is at Wolf Creek Pass’s east summit.

 East meets south, at this face of WCP.  Below, one can catch a glimpse of Treasure Falls, southwest of Wolf Creek Pass.

I finally found a breakfast spot, at 9:50.  Junction Restaurant has tasty breakfast skillets, and Jackie will discuss anything from styles of eggs to the sorry state of the Everglades, in her native South Florida.  Junction is on the east end of Pagosa Springs.

I had hoped to catch some views of Wetherill Mesa,at Mesa Verde National Park, but the gate attendant said Wetherill was closed on August 31.  I did catch this view of fading foliage, near Mesa Verde’s entrance, before heading on to the Four Corners.

One of the truly special things about some of the southwest’s natural features is the way they seem to  line up.   There are two Chimney Rocks in Colorado.  The one near Ignacio and Bayfield, east of Durango, is a newly-minted National Monument.  The one south of Towaoc lines up almost perfectly north of Ship Rock, New Mexico and south of Sleeping Ute Mountain.  I stopped for several minutes at the Ute Mountain Chimney Rock, approaching it with reverence and contemplating its seeming relationships with Ship Rock and Sleeping Ute Mountain.

The Four Corners has a raised platform, where one may simultaneously put a hand or foot on each of the four adjoining states:  Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.  To me, Mother Earth has her own monument to this accident of politics:  It’s the small rock formation, which is just at the northwest tip of New Mexico, seen below.

Just north of Flagstaff, the San Francisco Peaks, sacred to several indigenous nations, rise up and offer seasonal foliage of their own.

The peaks told me I was close to the end of my journey, and after a satisfying supper at Macy’s European Coffee House, I was a short hour and twenty minutes away.  Now, I have five weeks of being in one place.

The Flip Flop, Days 12 and 13: Colorado Springs and the Mountains Beyond

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Posted by on in Hiking and Nature, Travel

Monday, October 1, was my change-of-season, do nothing day.  Actually, I did walk about 1 1/2 miles on Northglenn’s Grange Hall Creek Trail, a paved route from Fox Run to the dog park.  There were lots of prairie dogs in the area just across from the dog park, which is in west Northglenn.

Besides that walk, I chose to not take a chance on making my uncle in Longmont, or friends in Boulder, possibly catch what I felt was coming on.  As it happened, I felt better by evening, having rested.  Such was Day 12, of my journey towards home.

Tuesday was different. After patiently working my way past the logjam caused by an accident on Denver’s south side, I spent time in three of Colorado Springs’ signature attractions.  First was the U.S. Air Force Academy, which marks the first time I have visited a service academy.  The Air Force cadets lucked out, in terms of scenery, getting the mountains of CS’s north side as their backdrop.

The civilian visitor is more than welcome here, but must enter and exit through the North Gate.  The Visitor Center offers a  good overview of life at the Academy, both in video and in stationary display,

After a Philly steak, at the Visitor center’s food court, I checked out the Academy’s Cadet Chapel, which offers spiritual care for every Faith and denomination.

The interior is equally inspiring.

Feeling that our future Air Force officers are in good hands, I went on to the stunning scenery of Garden of the Gods.  This is a city park of Colorado Springs, willed by its last private owner, Charles Elliott Perkins, who only visited the area twice.  He insisted that the city keep the park free from commercial development, that it not serve alcoholic beverages in its cafe and that the park itself be free of charge to all visitors.  ( A film on the park, at the Visitor Center does charge $5 admission, but the film is, of course, optional).

Here are five scenes from this magnificent place.

This is an view from the main parking lot, where we gathered for a free guided tour.

Here is Man and Lion.  Below, are the Cathedral Spires.

On the very left of the photo below, one may discern the Kissing Camels.  Sandstone can produce amazing images.

 After the guided tour was over, I continued on to Balanced Rock, about three miles southwest of the Main Garden.

One major attraction of Colorado Springs, visible from the Garden, remains:  Pikes Peak.  I will start out early in the morning, when I next visit the area, in order to make that special hike.

 The guide said the area on top of the ridge, between the Garden and Pikes Peak, had been the worst damaged area in the recent, horrific fire which hurt Colorado Springs so badly.  It is, fortunately, barely visible to visitors to CS, now.

I had one area left to check out on Tuesday:  Old Colorado City, on Colorado Springs’ west side.

On this south side of the street, I enjoyed a small eclair and iced tea, at La Baguette.  Its namesake bread is available for a very low price, and the pastry, my first eclair (pronounced here AY-klayr, as it is in France) in nearly thirty years, was “magnifique”.

The north side of the street has its standouts, as well.

Bancroft Park is a small, but pleasant hang-out for area youth.

Colorado Springs, as shown here, is indeed younger than Denver, by just a year.

My journey had only a day left, so on I went, gassing up in Pueblo, the friendly desert town to the south of CS, getting supper in Fort Garland and stopping for the night at Wolf Creek Ranch, a reasonable ski resort, at the foot of formidable Wolf Creek Pass.

It’s not as big as Union Spring, but few places are.

Next up- Back through the Four Corners, to home.

The Flip-Flop, Days 10 & 11: Glenwood Springs and Reflections on Baha’i Events Past

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Posted by on in Personal goals, Social, Travel

The gathering at Glenwood Springs Community Center, yesterday and this morning, was the most emotionally intense of the three Commemorative events I’ve attended, marking Abdu’l-Baha’s visit to North America in 1912.  The events in San Francisco and in Salt Lake City were exquisite, spiritually uplifting events, as was this one.  They were brief, where this weekend’s event was spread out, time-wise.

San Francisco was the largest Baha’i event I’ve ever attended.  That I had a great time there tells me I am making strides in socializing, even where I am a shrimp in the ocean.  There were over 2,000 people, but, probably because I have friends in the Bay Area already and because we had the “ice-breaker” of a walk around Lake Merritt in Oakland, the day before, I felt more at home than I did at my last huge gathering in 1985. (I don’t count the Grand Canyon Baha’i Conferences, in Phoenix, because I always feel comfortable at “home” events.)

Salt Lake City was a small gathering, but I also enjoyed it greatly.  This, too, is progress on the “me” front, because I did something spontaneous.

This weekend, though, was a riveting amalgam of high-level scholarship, reunion with long-lost friends and the fading, but still inspiring colours of a Colorado High Country autumn.  The intimacy with which I was able to connect with Abdu’l-Baha and His life brought tears of joy to my eyes, which is not something for which I’m noted.

Photo time:

Here is the venue, Glenwood Springs Community Center.

The mountain backdrop is showing the rust-colours of iron-rich soil.

Session in Glenwood Springs Commemoration of Abdu’l-Baha’s Visit, in 1912- on Sept. 29, 2012.  Mrs. Bushra Bruss presented on the topic of Abdu’l-Baha’s sojourn in Egypt, in 1910-11.

I drove to Glenwood Springs from Salt Lake City, in tandem with these two ladies.  Carol is a long-time friend of Penny’s and mine.  Jill is her friend from Washington State.

This morning’s presentations featured period-piece drama and a scholarly talk, both continued from yesterday’s session.

The two ladies above are playing the roles of two fin-de-siecle women in California, who knew Abdu’l-Baha.  This dramatization is excerpted from a film in progress, entitled “The Luminous Journey”, by Tim and Anne Perry. Below, Kathryn Hogenson speaks on the topic of  Phoebe Hearst and the Baha’i Faith, which she has thoroughly researched and on which she has written a fascinating, well-ordered book, entitled  “Lighting the Western Skies”.

Today would have been Penny’s 58th birthday.  That, and the intensity of seeing so many old friends from our days on the Navajo Nation, heightened the emotional intensity of this weekend, for me.

I will always hold the encounters and experiences of this past month, very high among the journeys of my life- right up with our pilgrimage to the Baha’i Holy Places in Israel and in London (1982), our teaching trips to Guyana and to South Dakota/Nebraska (1984) and our years in Korea (1986-92).  Spirituality will be much more a part of my work and my travels, going forward.

As I left Glenwood Springs, headed for the Denver suburb of Northglenn, for a visit with my sister-in-law and brother-in-law, the foliage in Glenwood Canyon was still bright, though it has peaked.

The Denver area will be my venue tomorrow, feeling like a home away from home.

The Flip-Flop, Days 8 & 9: Elko to Glenwood Springs

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I write of these two days together, as they were not specifically hiking or touristy days, but were intended to get me to gatherings honouring Abdu’l-Baha, on the Centenary of His visit to North America.  Specific to yesterday and this coming weekend, we commemorate His visits to Glenwood Springs, CO and to Salt Lake City.  Logistical concerns led us to observe the visits in reverse chronological order, so Salt Lake City had its observance last night.

I set out from Elko in early afternoon, after taking an hour or so to visit the area’s signature Ruby Mountains.  Enjoying a picnic lunch by a burbling creek or river is always one of my life’s pleasures.

Here are a couple of reasons why a trip to northeast Nevada is delightful:  The crest of the Ruby Mountains and Spring Creek, with its picnic ground at Power House.

Lamoille Canyon, Ruby Mountains, NV

The Ruby Mountains are the westernmost of three ranges that rise up from Nevada’s Great Basin.  Heading east to Wells, one encounters the Humboldt Range and near Wendover are the Silver Island Mountains.  From there, entering Utah, the mountains trail off to the north of I-80, and we are greeted by the Bonneville Salt Flats which, with the Great Salt Desert, make up the remains of ancient Lake Bonneville.

This area also fades, after about 50 miles, and scrub desert alternates with the foothills of the Wasatch, closer to Salt Lake City.  I was pleased to reconnect with one of our old friends from the Reservation days- who was actually with Penny, the night she and I first met.  About 120 people attended the commemoration event, held in a conference room on the fourth floor of Salt Lake City’s magnificent Central Library.  I give you a file photo of that structure.

After a great night’s sleep and hearty breakfast, we headed out towards Glenwood Springs.  I traveled alone, but no matter- we will all be together tomorrow and Sunday.

En route, I was amazed to see autumn foliage in Spanish Fork Canyon.

This sort of scene would repeat itself, along with stunning rock formations, in underrated, but fabulous Price Canyon, about sixty miles southeast of the Salt Lake Valley.

My lunch was at  a rest stop in Horse Canyon, just north of Green River, UT and I-70.

My journey through the rest of the Great Basin, in Utah and Colorado, led past the turnoff to the Utah of legend:  Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, etc. and thriving, lovely Fruita.  Then came Grand Junction, Grand Mesa and the winding Colorado River. These will have their own share of my time, later on.

Glenwood Springs will be my home for the next two days.

The Flip-Flop, Day 7: Inner Journey in Reno and Across the Great Basin

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Yesterday, I spent the entire morning examining the course of my life, with the help of a dear friend in Reno, and while writing my post about Day 5 of this return trip.

Since Penny passed, I have been occasionally influenced by friends and family to attempt certain ventures or go in a certain direction.  Yet what remains most important to me is my relationship with the Creator.  All else needs to be weighed against that.  It follows that, since God and Baha’ullah value family, an ordered but inclusive society, based on justice and the unification of the entire planet, people need to follow certain basic rules.  We tend to not like rules.  They make us uncomfortable, often require sacrifice of individual wants, for the common good and sometimes appear, on the surface, to be at variance with individual freedom.

I long ago came to the conclusion that no freedom is without serious cost.  On planet Earth, and probably elsewhere in the Universe, wherever there are sentient beings living together, there is a medium of exchange.  Actually, there are several, money and barter being the pecuniary ones.  Courtesy and reciprocity are the social ones.  The medium of exchange between Creator and created, in my humble opinion, is the Creator gives us nearly limitless resources, opportunities to grow spiritually and boundless love.  We, in turn, listen to His Messengers, follow certain rules and desist from whining, cursing and rebelling when things contrary to our wishes are mentioned in those rules.

All this, and more, came out of the conversation I had with my friend, Michele, yesterday morning.  Had her husband, Tom, not been working, and been present, he would have most likely concurred with us.  Obedience to the laws of the Universe imparts benefits, personal growth and long-term happiness.  Rebellion and “the insistent self’ impart angst, doubt,depression and near-constant anger.  We have free will, though, so we get to choose which of the two paths to follow, and God won’t decide for an individual which path he or she walks.  Most of us dovetail between obedience and rebelliousness.  I know I have, and I also know which path has brought more satisfaction to my life.

So, that was the upshot of our discourse.  Having found this a lot more satisfying than a circumnavigation of Lake Tahoe, I leave that lovely spot for another journey.  The road yesterday afternoon led east, across the Great Basin of northern Nevada.  The beautiful spots in this sparsely-traveled area are largely in the interior, south of I-80.  Most of the countryside along the Interstate looks like this:

It has its own vibrancy, though, this seeming wasteland.  The people here are self-reliant and live by the type of sentiment I saw posted in a restaurant in the northeast Nevada commercial hub, Elko:  “The best place to be is together.”  I would say that’s true, both in terms of individual sensibility and of social connectedness.  It has its water sources, like the Humboldt River, and the Truckee.

I heard Basque men speaking in their unique and melodic language, and found out what happens to pigs who attempt to fly.  They become marvelous tasting pulled pork, like the kind served at Flying Pig Barbecue and Pub, in Winnemucca.  ( I misread the sign last night- and called it “The Pig Barbecue”.)

En route to Elko, I passed by Battle Mountain, a testimony to the struggles between the Shoshone and the Euro-Americans in the latter part of the 19th Century.

In Elko, I found a clean, friendly and eclectic community.  The Hall of Justice is its most prominent building.

Elko has its share of casinos and some hidden gems, like the restaurants on East Fifth Street, of which I chose Mc Adoo’s for breakfast, on this morning of Day 8.  The little sign in the photo, and the aforementioned quote, say it all about this unassuming little nook and the lovely couple who run it.

The chalkboard says “Happy Fall”.  Same to you, Elko! 🙂

Next up:  Day 8- On through the Great Basin, to Salt Lake City.

The Flip-Flop, Day 6: Lassen Volcanic National Park

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Posted by on in Hiking and Nature

After shaving by using my side view mirror, and saying a few prayers, I left Lake Britton and had a decent breakfast at Fireside Village, in the small town of Hat Creek, CA.  The creek for which the town is named is an integral part of the Mount Lassen drainage area, as is Kings Creek.

I arrived in Mt. Lassen Volcanic National Park around 9:30 A.M. and spent six hours there, enjoying the contrasts- from lushness to austerity.

We are greeted almost immediately by the great peak, with plenty of the legacy of its 1915   eruptions, much in evidence.

I looked around Loomis Museum, which features a seismograph that records all tectonic activity in the area, with photographs taken by B.F. Loomis, right after the eruptions of May 19 and 22, 1915.  Comparative photos are also shown of the area, both before the eruptions and several years after.  It is noteworthy that Lassen Peak is the southernmost volcano in the Cascade Range, with the Sierra Nevada beginning closely to the south.

Not far from the museum is Manzanita Lake, which, along with the aforementioned creeks and other lakes to the north of Lassen, sustained several Native American tribes  in the area.  Native crafts are well-displayed in the museum, along with the story of Ishi, the purported last member of the Yahi Tribe, who lived west of Lassen Peak.

Here is a view of Manzanita Lake.  If I come back to Lassen, it will be to spend a couple of days in a cabin at Manzanita Lake.

The forest has suffered this past summer, from lightning-caused fires.  There are several areas of the park that are still closed to the public, and fire crews were much in evidence along the main park road.  West and north of Summit Lake is the main hot spot area.

Still, the damage caused by rock and magma far surpassed that done by forest fire.  Here is a rock field, just east of the Manzanita Visitor Center.  There are four basic types of rock at Lassen:  Basalt, andesite, red dacite and gray dacite, (shown below).

Lassen Peak may be hiked, to a point within 1,200 feet of the summit.  After that point, the tuff underfoot becomes too treacherous, and is thus closed to hikers.

Several boulders are on display in the Devastation Area, site of the worst damage from the May 22, 1915 eruption.  Below is a red dacite specimen.

Below, is Kings Creek.

I spent an hour or so in the Summit Lake area, enjoying a light lunch and another beautiful lake.  An 11-mile hiking loop is available from Summit, on another visit.

The piece de resistance, however, is an unexpected sight, with an even more unlikely name:  Bumpass Hell.  Kendall Bumpass, a cowpoke from Hat Creek, found this area of mud pots and boiling springs, which have an average temperature of 200 degrees Fahrehheit, in the 1890’s.  He lost his own left leg to an unstable patch of boiling soil.  Bumpass Hell is the largest of five hot spots in Lassen Volcanic National Park.

At the edge of heat and sulphur,  small plants, like this purple heather, thrive in patches, uptrail from Bumpass Hell.

I would spot more awe-inspiring scenes, beyond Lassen, in the Spanish Creek/Feather River Gorge area, north of Lake Tahoe, on the way to Reno, and another visit with my friends.

Lassen Volcanic National Park was the fourth California site to be designated a national park.  It remains among the most eclectic.

The Flip-Flop, Day 5: Rogue River Valley and Elizabethan Ashland

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Posted by on in Hiking and Nature, Travel

Monday, Sept. 24, found me waking up in one of the finer places in which I’ve stayed, hotel-wise.  Union Creek Resort has several cabins, which are in reality country houses, along the upper Rogue River, east of Prospect, OR.  I could easily stay here for several days and just relax, albeit sans TV- which I have done more often than not this trip, anyway.  Here is the cabin I used the other night.

The folks here were as gracious and helpful as any I’ve met, anywhere in the world- and the Rogue River Gorge is a spectacular backdrop.

It’s quite apparent why the Rogue is a favourite of white water rafting buffs.

I stopped briefly downriver, at Mill Creek Falls, closer to “downtown” Prospect.

The Rogue River defines so much of what makes this southwestern sliver of Oregon’s interior. One could easily, as I said initially, spend days in relaxation and meditation.

I continued, through bustling Medford, to the laid back ambiance of Ashland, interior  southwest Oregon’s southernmost town, and a haven for theater, especially Shakesperean theater.  The Ashland Springs Hotel is among the tallest buildings between Portland and Santa Rosa, if not San Francisco.  I waited briefly here for my friend to appear.

The staff here were very warm, in greeting the various guests, and phone inquirers, who happened along while I was waiting.

Once Jody arrived, we went by the Elizabethan Theater, and its two satellite theaters.  This is the nation’s oldest Shakespearean venue, and is an outdoor theater-in-the-round.

The Shakespearean Festival takes place for several evenings, right around this time in September.

We had a fabulous lunch at Greenleaf Restaurant, along Ashland Creek and in the central plaza.  It was hot in Ashland that afternoon, but the creek made a big difference in comfort level.  I will caution against drinking much, if any, of the lithium water that is available on the plaza, for tasting.  I gave it a shot, in sporting fashion, with no ill effects. Lithium water is what it is, though.

After lunch, before Jody had to leave, we sat in Lithia Park, by a duck pond, and discussed life in general.

After Jody left, I went back to Lithia Park and explored a bit further.  Some resident deer had captivated a woman, who was hiding behind a post, so as to get several photos of the creatures.  I found a blind of my own, and took the animals’ portrait.

There are numerous small gardens within Lithia Park as well.

My days tend to start early, get taken up longer than I expect, with posting and other aspects of my routine (praying, etc.), so before I know it, it’s mid-afternoon. I returned to my car, gassed up and headed towards Mt. Shasta and the small town of McCloud, CA. , which sits serenely at the great dormant volcano’s foot.

Here is a northern view of Mt. Shasta.  Below, is McCloud Hotel.

Mt. Shasta is more clearly visible from this southeast viewpoint.

Finally, I found Lake Britton, and a campsite operated by Pacific Gas & Electric Company, on forest service land, east of Mt. Shasta. This gave me the perfect amount of solitude, which I rarely crave, but needed on Monday evening.

Next up:  Lassen Volcanic National Park.