Lassen Volcanic National Park

Lassen Peak in the sun

The trail to the top starts here

The hail...

...was heavy enough to collect on the wiper blades

Our mascots were glad to be safe, dry and warm

SUSANVILLE, CA - - After a 'let's look for  a laundromat before we leave town' routine, we split from Yreka to begin our random trek back towards OB.  In this part of the country - - due to mountain range and wanna-be mountain range terrain there are very few straight-shot roads East / West or West / East.  Even the Interstates meander on a route of least resistance. 
     We hooked onto I-5, great if you're North or Southbound.  So we looked for roads off the I-mess and took the scenic route to Lassen Volcanic National Park.  We've been there before and it's a very interesting place, especially with the sun shining and recent snow covering the largest plug dome volcano in the world  (from a volcanic eruption 27,000 years ago and a more recent volcanic action between 1914-17).
     Our collective memories put our most memorable visit in 2006.  We'd finished our summer jobs in Alaska and were wandering down the 'Trail of Volcanos' from Oregon to CA.  The weather was quite nice when we got to the trailhead for a hike to the top.  The trailhead sits at 8,500' with the 'strenuous' trail rising up another 2,000'  in a 2-mile zig-zag.  And at the top, we met a group of ladies from Weight Watchers as they completed their climb. 
     Today, we stopped, looked around and took photos while the temperature dropped; the wind kicked up and very dark clouds roiled above us.  Which prompted the thought that it had snowed at Crater Lake yesterday.  Somebody must have been listening because it started to rain hard; snow flakes and hail then mixed in.  The 'snoosh' was quickly sticking to the trees, rock and road as we made our way to the nearby visitor's center...where the electricity soon failed. 
     Time to try and outrun the storm which we eventually did.