Lassen County

 Susanville is the county seat of Lassen county, and is known hereabouts as a micropolitan area. The entire population of the county is about 34,000, with Susanville comprising half of that. We decided to explore the area, but all the anticipation, we could only come up with two points of interest in town, the Fort Roop historical site and Inspiration Point. Off we went.

Fort Roop was located at a strategic crossroads during the great pioneer migration westward, and flourished as people settled in this fertile valley. Today the site is near a lovely public park and adjacent to the historical museum. It’s said that the trees surrounding the fort today were planted by the city’s namesake, Susan Roop.

This huge tree slab is indicative of the trees in the old growth forests in the area.

Another mile west on highway 36 brought us to Inspiration Point……road. Listed as a place to view the city and contemplate the universe, we instead found a lovely neighborhood of houses set among tall pines. No photos….nothing to see here, folks.

Our next venture was a daytrip to nearby Lake Almanor. Almanor is a power generating lake for the west coast utility company, Pacific Gas and Electric. The lake was created in 1914 by PGE’s predecessor, Great Western Power, and was named by the company vice president for his three daughters: ALice, MArtha and elaNOR. 

It’s about 30 miles from our “home” to Lake Almanor, and the road is a construction mess through old burn scars. With all the stops and one lane sections, it took us an hour and a half to get there.

At long last, Mt Lassen came into view. Not much snow this time of year!

Lake Almanor is a beautiful , 44 square mile surface area lake in Plumas County, California. At an average depth of 90 feet, it is a huge body of water used for power generation and water flow control in the Feather River. Of course, water sports and fishing are a big draw and used heavily by the residents of the many shoreline homes.

In the more shallow edges of the lake, waterfowl take a break from their trips north and south.

The little town of Westwood, just east of Lake Almanor, hosts a “Chimney Days” charitable day each year, and seeing signs advertising that event, we were puzzled. Another miles or so east, and we discovered the focus of the event.

And the story behind it.

After getting a close look, we decided: 1. We needed to back away, and 2. There may not be a festival next year.

After a close look at additional burn scars, we topped a hill and took a look at the valley that surrounds Susanville.

Tomorrow will be our next to last day on the road this summer. We expect to spend an overnight with friends in Auburn, CA, and head home the next day.

It’s been a trip of opposites. The weather started hot in June and has finished cool. We have seen close friends be happy, and have seen them angry. We started our trip with a trailer that was performing well, and ended it with a different rv, hopefully in better condition. But we have enjoyed the scenery, the great new friends, and spending quality time with each other! The Old Age Sucks Tour has been a success, and we’re already planning a trip for next year!

Like they say: Ya gotta go with the flow!

Nothin’ Serious

 We had three full days available to us in Tionesta, and after our day in Lava Beds we wondered what to do with the next two days!

We woke up to heavy rain, but a slight break in the weather sent us to the nearest town, Alturas, California. Alturas has a population of about 2800, and we were convinced that a restaurant or coffee shop would be a great diversion on a rainy day. We spent a half hour driving around this little agricultural town and found….exactly…..an ice cream shop. That was closed.

Alturas is 50 miles from Tionesta, and there isn’t much beyond that except Nevada, so we headed back north toward home.

Still looking for something fun to do, we passed Tionesta and went on another 30 miles to the town of Tulelake. Other than having a huge waterfowl wildlife observation area, Tulelake has the unenviable distinction of having been the site of one of the World War II Japanese incarceration camps. Nothing remains except an open field and a monument.

Still looking for food, we kept driving north into Merrill, Oregon, population 850. This is getting serious, we haven’t eaten in hours! Finally we found what turned out to be a food truck with absolutely wonderful burritos!

Ok, finally! And back to camp with full bellies! 180 miles for a burrito. Perfect.

Our last day in Tionesta, a Friday, was unusual in that we were the only campers in the park. We were in the country, no neighbors, no lights, and vultures circling overhead.

Next day, leaving the quietest, most unusual rv park we’ve ever stayed at, we started south on CA 139. Turning right near Alturas, we continued toward the Modoc National Forest.

Approaching Susanville, we got a good look at Eagle Lake. Eagle Lake is the second largest lake entirely in the state of California and is home to Osprey and Bald Eagles. The trout in the lake have adapted to the high alkaline water common in Modoc lakes and can reach a weight of 10 pounds and can live for 11 years!

We’re staying in Susanville, along with 17,000 residents. Originally known as Rooptown, it was renamed for the daughter of Isaac Roop. Farming, mining, and lumber were the early industries at what was the intersection of two pioneer trails in the 19th century. As those sources of livelihood declined, Susanville faced tough times. Between 1963 and 2007, three prisons were built in or near town, two state facility and one federal. Roughly half of the city’s population works at these facilities, which house about 6,000 inmates.

Susanville lies in a wide, fertile valley, and is a major source of Angus cattle.

We’ve landed in the Susanville RV Resort, site 63. This park is a bit old, but is well kept and immaculately clean. The checkin staff has been friendly and professional. We would recommend this park!

Now to find something to do tomorrow!

 

Rain and Rocks

We’re staying in the tiny area known as Tionesta, CA, consisting of a handful of homes and two rv parks. Before 1955, a post office operated here because local employees of the Great Northern Railway lived here. Now the nearest post office is in Tule Lake, CA, 25 miles away. Tionesta is the southern gateway to Lava Beds National Monument and the 800 or so caves there so hiking and cave crawling are huge in this area.

We had hoped to see a beautiful night sky last night, but the remnants of the day’s storm and a full moon foiled that plan. It was, however, a pretty fancy sky last night.

Fitst thing this morning we took off west to find a glass mountain. Initially, the trees were mostly pinion trees, but as we went deeper into the Modoc National Forest, we began to see Douglas Fir and Ponderosa pines.

Glass Mountain is a huge volcanic deposit, containing large amounts of obsidian left from an eruption that occurred about 2.1 million years ago. The road became narrower and narrower and we saw a lot of no trespassing signs posted by the Louisiana Pacific lumber company. When we lost cell phone reception and the road turned to beat up asphalt and gravel, we decided to turn around!

Back in Tionesta, we decided to drive north into Lava Beds NM. Signs of forest fires were everywhere.

Early afternoon storm clouds began to gather, and the clouds were spectacular!

We made it!

If you have an interest in geology, you will be fascinated by this place! A variety of types of lava flows are identified, don’t ask me, but the overwhelming magnitude of the flows from past volcanic eruptions and activity cannot be adequately described.

Valentine cave was our introduction to lava tubes, where lava continues to flow under cooler, surface lava. Many of the tubes are open for exploration by the public after registering at the visitors center.

The storm continued to form and we continued to explore!

In a number of places, collapsed tubes could be seen.

Lava formations were scattered everywhere.

Known as The Devils Homestead, this huge flow occurred relatively recently, about 10,500 years ago.

We missed seeing Skull Cave, a relatively short cave, but interesting because it contains pockets of ice that have remained there, year round, for as long as anyone can remember!

Exiting the north entrance, we saw what was between us and home!

And, guess what….the rest of the day has been a washout…..