Mt. Lassen

We couldn't take our usual day-trip to Juniper Lake, because the forest road to the lake was still snowed under, so we decided to return to Mt. Lassen National Park to see the geothermal areas. Unfortunately, the hike to the big, impressive geothermal area also was closed due to snowbanks (and you do NOT want to end up off-trail in that area because you couldn't see the markers -- you will lose a leg or worse). So we made ourselves content with a drive along the main road, which still offered plenty of sights to see.

First was a steam vent:



And then a bubbling mud pot!



After suffering through the first 40 days or so of the record-breaking Texas heat this summer (which lasted a full 70 days with temps above 100 degrees), this trip to a high altitude with cool air was a very welcome treat!



We made snowballs.

We goofed around with lava rocks from the last Mt. Lassen eruption.

The boys with Lassen Peak in the background:

A glacial erratic, meaning this rock is a much different age than all the land and rocks around it, and was transported to this location when a glacier pushed it down Lassen Peak:

Lake Helen. That's right, that's a LAKE under all that snow. It was so pretty in real life -- the most amazing shade of blue from the mountain-clear water and the blue sky reflecting in the snowmelt.

We found a sledding hill!

It was a blast. Everyone was jealous when we returned to the Texas inferno and boasted that we'd been snow-sledding on vacation!