Under the Night Sky - Travel

This past weekend, Ryan took me to his childhood camping spot at Trinity Lake. We set up camp on a cliff overlooking the lake. It was the most beautiful view to wake up and fall asleep to. The first night, we all laid under the star-blanketed sky and counted the shooting stars. I've never seen anything like it in my life. I wasn't planning on photographing the stars, but the sky was clear and there was no moon (and I had Internet on my phone to read a tutorial). It was perfect.

Lassen Volcanic National Park - Travel

Bumpass Hell

Bumpass Hell trail is a 1.5 mile hike to Lassen's sulfur works. Elevated at 8,000 feet you get a view like no other. There are perfect spots you can plop on a rock and enjoy the scenery.



Sulfur Works

About a mile into the hike, you begin to smell the stench of the sulfur holes. You get to enjoy this for another 20 minutes until you actually reach them. The sulfur holes are big pits in the ground spewing out clouds of sulfur gas. There are also a bunch of pools and small creeks of water that are boiling hot. Many pools are literally bubbling from the heat.

Lake Helen - Travel

Standing above Lake Helen, you are blown away by the crystal clear, aqua blue water and the mountains and trees that surround it. There was still some snow left over from the winter and boys being boys, Ryan and his brother felt the need to swim in the icy cold water. Probably the coldest water they've ever swam in, they didn't stay in long. While they stood there feeling proud of conquering the lake, a German woman who must have been at least in her 70's came down and asked us how the water was. After telling her it was super cold, she got in and said "Oh, this is nice!" as she slowly paddled around. Pro.