Four days after finals, my husband and I finished packing up my worldly possessions from my apartment and moved them to the Phi Delta Chi house, where I will be living starting in the fall, for storage. Packing and moving was a pain but we were happy to get the moving done (thanks to the help of a day laborer we hired at the U-Haul vehicle pick-up station)!
Our 11-year-old purple convertible Toyota Celica took us more than 1000 miles in less than one week: from San Francisco to Klamath Falls, Oregon, then back to Los Angeles. Our major destinations of interest were Lava Beds National Monument and Lassen Volcanic National Park, with the former being a disappointment and the latter a pleasant surprise. It was interesting learning about the different types of lava rocks and formations and how the lava caves were formed. However, being a person with little curiosity about caves, entering one was enough for me even though there were more than ten lava caves developed for visitors to explore. The Petroglyph Point was the only highlight of Lava Beds National Monument, where we learned about the ancient size of Tule Lake and history of the rock art and the Modoc War.
Lassen Volcanic National Park was a true delight. Its lush green pine forests, snow-capped mountains, serene crystal blue frozen lakes and geothermal features filled my eyes with wonder. In a way, it is a combination of Yosemite and Yellowstone without the summer crowd. I was surprised that there were waterfalls in the park because I had imagined it to look like the planet Venus from the description written in the Lonely Planet.
We drove through most of the park and hiked through three miles of the snowy Bumpass Hell Trail to see geothermal features. The steam vents, fumeroles, mud pots and boiling pools were not as impressive as those in Yellowstone, but the trek was quite fun with lots of slipping and sliding in the hilly and snowy paths. The views of the snow-capped mountains were also breath-taking. Our hike was delayed twice for trail maintenance by the California Civilian Corps, composed of mostly young men and women, who worked hard to make our paths safer.
The road trip was such a good way to relax after one of the most stressful final examination week of my life. It was nice to just soak in the fresh air of nature during the day and come back to a clean hotel room for a refreshing shower at night before going out for dinner.
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