A delightful visit with family and friends called us south to the San Francisco Bay area over the Labor Day weekend. The trip down was a relaxed, two-day drive down I-5. Relaxed, that is, until we got into the Bay area. Fortunately Jim, Diane's brother, gave us excellent instructions and his sister is an excellent navigator.

While in the Bay area we attended a beautiful wedding and walked a beautiful beach - Carmel-by-the-Sea! On the trip back we followed our recommended philosophy - drive back roads and don't make reservations. These "back" roads were US 50 from Sacramento to Lake Tahoe, then Route 89 to Mt. Lassen National Park.

We spent a day in the park, then headed east and north to the Tule Lake and Lower Klamath Lake National Wildlife Refuges. We've been to Klamath Lake in the spring of 2002, but each season is different.

I've marked our route from Mt. Lassen to Tule and Lower Klamath Lakes. This is a great way to spend a few days getting from the San Francisco Bay area to Oregon.

These thumbnail pictures are linked to larger pictures, usually 60-70 k each.

	This is the famous Carmel-by-the-Sea beach. Yes, the sands are white, the sun was hot, and the scenery took your breath away.
	Yep - here we are, just to prove that we really were at Carmel-by-the-Sea!
	We turned north on Route 49 to the site of John Sutter's sawmill. On January 24, 1848, James Marshall discovered gold flakes in the channel under the water-powered mill. That started the great California Gold Rush and the legends of the '49ers, as the prospectors came to be known. The foundation timbers and saw blade are from the original mill. Here's a neat but large panorama site. Here's a site with pictures of the entire park.
	The next day we were in Lassen Volanic National Park. The park is actually the active core of Mt. Tehama, a much larger volano that no longer exists. Hot, fuming places like the Sulphur Works, seen here, stand in stark contrast with quiet beaver ponds and reflective lakes.
	This is Bumpass' Hell - named after its discoverer. Sadly he stepped through the thin crust and lost a leg. Park service crews have built timbered walkways. Yes, we stayed on them!
	Hat Lake. The "brush pile" beneath the dead tree in the center is a beaver lodge. The "wall" in the foreground is a working beaver dam.
	In 1915 Mt. Lassen erupted violently and blasted pyroclastic flows over its eastern flank. Today this is known as the "Devastated Area." Here Diane reads one of the interpretative signs.
	B.F. Loomis, a local photographer, was camping in the vicinity, waiting for Mt. Lassen to erupt. He entered the devasted area as soon as possible and begain taking photos. This rock was still hot when he first photograhed it. Today it's known as the "Hot Rock."
	A dirt road leads from Route 44 to the Butte Lake campground. From there a 3-mile trail leads to Cinder Cone. Along the way you pass the "Fantastic" lava beds and the "Painted Dunes." The mound to the right is the shoulder of Cinder Cone.
	Cinder Cone is one of the most perfectly symmetrical volanic cones in the world. This trail leads to the 1000-foot summit and into the inside of the cone. Look closely - two hikers are descending the trail. This give some perspective. This site shows what the top looks like. We've hiked to the top before and opted not to do it this time.
	From Lassen we headed east and north (map) to Tule Lake. During World War II Tule Lake was a detention camp for US citizens of Japanese descent. Today the lake is a National Wildlife Refuge. Here a western greebe swims by.
	Three black necked stilts were soaking up the sun when we drove up. Watching these long legged birds stand up is like watching a large tripod assemble itself.
	Several flocks of white pelicans occupied the refuge. Here some of them head down a channel in the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge.
	Another flock of pelicans, geese, and - look carefully - some sandhill cranes.
	The long billed curlews and avocets were dining in this afternoon.
	Several pelicans and a cormorant relaxed in the warm afternoon sun. We waved good-bye and headed home!

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