Lassen Volcanic National Park

Lassen Volcanic National Park was expecting warm weather Oct 28-29 and the snow from the storm last weekend had mostly disappeared, so I made hotel reservations on October 27.  The kids and I picked up Dave from work and we headed out.

We spent the night in Red Bluff and enjoyed the indoor pool at the Holiday Inn both Friday night and Saturday morning.  Our arrival at the park was a refreshing change from Yosemite--only two cars were in front of us at the entrance booth instead of a huge line.

Our first stop was the Loomis Museum/Visitor Center at the northern entrance to the park.  Laura was excited to begin working on her next Junior Ranger patch.  We ate lunch on the shore of Manzanita Lake.

Next, we left the park to see the Subway Cave lava tube in the Lassen National Forest.

We spent the rest of the day exploring the park.

Devastated Area Interpretive Trail

One of the many huge rocks on the Devastated Trail

Some rocks in this area are 27,000 years old and some are only 100.

The parking lot for the Lassen Peak trail had a little snow.

View of Emerald Lake

The view from the Bumpass Hell trailhead.  We started the trail, but since it was getting late, we did not make it to the end.

In spite of the boiling water, mud pot and steam at Sulfur Works, the sun was setting and the air was getting chilly..

We arrived at our cabin at Mill Creek Resort just as it was getting dark.

We found a geocache on our way back to the park in the morning..

The next morning we explored the visitor center and Laura finished her Junior Ranger badge.

Being sworn in as a junior ranger.

Before heading home, we hiked to Cold Boiling Lake.

Picture with the park sign just before heading home.

Yosemite

Dave has been eager to see Yosemite ever since we arrived.   I originally made a reservation for Yosemite Lodge for October 28-29 and we wanted to see Lassen Volcanic National Park this weekend, but Lassen was expecting a snow storm and the road through the park closed on Thursday.

So, we decided to see Yosemite today and hopefully Lassen next weekend.

I ended up making a reservation in Mariposa at the Mariposa Lodge for Friday night.  We stayed in what turned out to be the top floor of a tiny house which had 3 bedrooms, a living room and a huge kitchen.  Dave and the kids even took advantage of the pool and hot tub in the morning before we left.  The kids were happy that none of the had to sleep on a rollaway or sofa bed.

It took us a while to get to Yosemite Valley--the road between Mariposa and Yosemite Valley is slow and winding.  The long line to get through the entry station and the construction on the roads in the Valley did not help.  We were lucky to find a semi-legal parking spot somewhat near the visitor center.  We had a nice picnic lunch and then walked on the lower Yosemite Falls trail which was mostly flat but had some good views.

Little Yosemite Falls

We saw several deer (one is in the background to the right of the kids).

We had to walk back to the visitor center instead of taking the shuttle because of the road construction.  On the way, several deer crossed right in front of me.

 Laura was really excited by the wildlife (squirrels, deer and some pretty blue birds).  We made our way back to the visitor center by foot since the shuttle would not take us directly there because of the road construction.  There, Laura finished up her junior ranger badge requirements before heading back to the car.

We had enough of the crowds in Yosemite, so we left for home and stopped at In-N-Out Burger for dinner on the way.

Laura the photographer

Laura fancies herself a nature photographer.  She got a few great photos at the aquarium:

Notice the little white fish under the rock.

Early October

Yom Kippur started the evening of September 29, so we hurriedly celebrated Benjamin's birthday before Sunday.  On Saturday, the synagogue had the older kids run the service for the little kids, so all three of ours helped with the service.  Afterwards, while the adult service was still going on, they made mezuzot for people who lost their homes in the hurricanes in Texas and Florida.

Sunday, to celebrate Benjamin's birthday we went to the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose.

We learned how to pick a giant lock.

Benjamin made friends with a robot who said "cheese" when I took the picture.

Both Laura and Benjamin built devices to propel a ball across the "river"/

In the evening, Dave ordered Chinese food delivered for dinner.

Wendesday, October 4, we celebrated Sukkot at the synagogue and enjoyed Mike's Pizza after the service.

On Thursday Laura started a skateboarding class.  She has also been taking a chess course after school on Thursdays.

October 6, Laura's school, Vallejo Mill, had a color run fundraiser.

On October 7, we visited Coyote Point Regional Park in Fremont and October 8, we met up with Iyer and his son in Shoreline Park for a bike ride on the Bay Trail.  Afterwards, we had dinner on Castro Street in Mountain View.

October 11 we celebrated Simchat Torah at the Synagogue.  They have a tradition of giving the kids candy and then the kids enjoy negotiating candy trades among themselves.

October 14 we went to the Monterey Aquarium.  Fortunately we stopped at AAA to buy tickets on our way because the line to purchase tickets when we got there was very long.  Aquarium was fun but crowded.

Laura and Benjamin pretend to be cephalopods at the aquarium.

Cephalopods change color or pattern depending on their mood.

On our way home, we stopped at the Gilroy outlets so that Laura could shop at Justice and then had dinner at a nearby Chinese buffet.

October 15 Laura finally got to show Dave the skate park and Tree House Playground.