Our Volksvegan Adventure

It was difficult for us to leave the beautiful Mt. Shasta (the mountain of course, but the town was awesome as well). From there we went to Lassen Volcanic National Park, an active volcanic area that last erupted in 1915. We climbed Lassen Peak, the volcano that erupted and the highest point in the park at just over 10,000 feet. The geology was really interesting and the top of the peak was a craggy maze of lava rock towers and snow-covered mud.

We then hiked to a place called Bumpass Hell, named after the guy who discovered it and then lost his leg stepping through the crust into boiling mud. It reminded us of Yellowstone, a bubbling, steaming, sulfuric display of earth’s extremes. After being on Mt. Adams and Mt. Shasta, both volcanoes in the Cascade Range and part of the “Ring of Fire” along with Lassen National Park, it was a cool way to end our volcanic experience.

From Lassen we went through Redding to Arcata. We visited Arcata and Redwood National Park a few years ago on our first road trip together, so it definitely brought back memories. We found some yummy pizza, then checked out a bead and crystal shop where we talked to the guy working there for a while. Of course we had to head to the Co-op, which is the biggest grocery store in downtown Arcata.

In Arcata we found a gas station selling B99 Biodiesel (99% Bio/1% Diesel). We have normally only found B5 – B20 while on the road, so this was quite a surprise. We had to get some regular diesel as well as bio because we don’t have viton seals in the bus yet. Biodisel erodes the natural rubber seals in the injector pump of older diesels. So we tend to stick to B20.

We camped North of Arcata at Patrick’s Point State Park, and in the morning after a rain we went down to Agate Beach to collect rocks and shells. Then we headed to the disc golf course on Humboldt State University, which was overgrown with redwood trees and very confusing. From there we stopped by the park near campus and ran into our friend Hallie, who we knew in Moscow and hadn’t seen for a long time. We caught up with her, swapped road stories, and then parted ways as the sun went down below the trees. Our last stop in Arcata was for pizza, then we got a quick beer at Lost Coast Brewery in Eureka on our way south.

We camped along the way down Highway 1, a gorgeous and windy drive along the ocean. We had breakfast looking over a cliff into the Pacific, and stopped at a random beach access route that led to a nice little cove with a private beach. We played in the waves and collected shells and beach glass. Juneau had never played in the ocean before, and he was pretty wary of the waves. From the coast we turned inland, and the road was lined with towering redwoods. We drove through a tunnel of forest that gradually opened up to open vineyards, a little pocket of Northern Cali wine country. We stopped in Boonville to visit a friend and checked out Anderson Valley Brewery, which also had a disc golf course. There has certainly been a lot of brewery visits and disc golf on this trip!

From here we hope to go to Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks, then head back up North for the Okanogan Family Faire. Hopefully some other faires and events will be along the way. Stay tuned…