California Bound

 
Broke camp and decided to head south towards the Sierra Nevada Mountains.  The Perseid Meteor Shower starts on August 11^th and we plan on being somewhere with really dark skies.  Our first thought was the Snowy Mountains, but at 11,000 feet it is a bit brisk at night for stargazing.  Oregon had some really dark skies and beautiful stars, but we’d been there a week.  Off we headed and ended up stopping for the night in Lassen Volcanic National Park.

Top of Mount Lassen

 

Lupine

If Cooper was not along for the ride this would have been The Place for star gazing.  Out in the middle of freaking nowhere…totally dark sky and clear.  Along with quite a few hikes we’d been set for the week, but no dogs allowed on the trails…the usual NP nonsense.  We did spend the night and drove most of the way through the Park.  The views were much better than we’d thought…there are not huge expanses of black lava fields which was somewhat surprising.  The area even has a few thermal areas…one right alongside the roadway.  We would have loved to do a few of the hikes, but got to save something for another time.

A glacier left the boulder behind

 

Early morning

Anyway, we decided to continue to Quincy, CA and see if there was anything to do during the day since it is in an area deemed to be ‘one of the darkest’ in California.  Stopped for a fantastic breakfast at the Courthouse Café…French toast, bacon and eggs along with a latte.  No lunch necessary after that meal…Cooper laid outside and ‘occasionally’ (like every 3 minutes)’ popped up to stand in the doorway.  A visit by the local ranger district office convinced us just to continue south. 

Reflection in Emerald Lake

 

Active mud pot

It was still early in the day and Lake Tahoe was only a couple of hours away so we ended up driving to Lake Tahoe.  Jeez the traffic around that area is crazy insane.  Everyone wants to be on the beach, but no one is in the water.  We know it is cold, but why just lay about the beach getting hot?

We got out of town after resupplying and headed up into the Sierras…in a campground by Capels Lake.  Close to where we spent some time last August.  It is certainly plenty dark for the meteor shower and we have a perfect site with 360 degree views.

 Just need clear skies and we will be all set.

Cooper's friend

Bee



Broken Mountain...part of ancient volcano

Early morning reflection at Summit Lake

Steam vents