Hot Lowlands, Cool Altitudes, Fine Theater

Yesterday, July 1, was one of those great days with a full schedule of fascinating experiences  from a national park to superb theater. It was also a day to learn from very strong experience that attitude affects outside temperatures.

We left Chico early, about 7 AM, heading to Lassen Volcanic National Park.  It’s about two hours, mostly heading up to higher altitudes.   Already on our departure the heat was well over 80F (27C), and the air conditioning in our car was going full blast.  The first sign that we were heading into different territory from the populated centers of the valley along the Sacramento River was a sign saying “No Fuel Next 62 Miles.”   We rose through the burned out plains with their California oak trees, into canyon country.  Deep tranches through the earth with multicolored strata showed how the layers had settled.   Then the pine forests began with the rushing streams, still with water in them from the Sierra.  The road twisted and turned, rose up and down through the mountains and caused us to slow down from the legal 55 mph speed limit to about 25 mph for some of the bendy turns.  By then we could open the windows to the temperatures in the 60sF/18C.

We arrived at the Lassen Volcanic National Park about 8:55, needing to wait five minutes for the Visitor Center to open.   A 20 minute video, that was very good, tuned us in to what we were going to see—four different types of volcanoes, in the only place in the world where they are all within the boundaries of a national park.   Cinder Cones, plug domes like Mt Lassen,  ones, worn down ones, known as erosional, and shield volcanoes. (John forgets the scientific names).   Mt. Lassen last blew its top exactly 100 years ago so you can see lava flows everywhere, cooled off, mostly.  But in some places there are still crusts with hot water flowing beneath them gurgling to the surface, so you are not allowed to hike near them.  Lassen is a magnificent park and had very few visitors, though we did have a car in front of us with a couple of cigar smokers—John hated the smell.

At one point it was so brisk and cold that we needed to close the windows of the car.   At 8511 feet  (nearly 2600 meters) we felt our ears pop and even had slight headaches from the altitude.  But it sure was cool.

From Lassen we found our requisite coffees at the Higher Ground Café in a village (really a wide spot on the road) called Shingletown, about 30 miles outside Redding.  The baristas had a great time making Ben’s concoction.  We decided the artwork in the foam was of a Mt. Lassen eruption.

Mt Shasta is down there somewhere

A stop for lunch north of Redding led us to picnic on the banks of the Shasta Lake Reservoir.  With the drought the water levels are so low that it is impossible to see the water from picnic tables on the I-5, merely seeing dried sandy banks which would normally be full.   The birds, crested blue jays, make a cawing noise, even worse than their East Coast brethren, but they went after the remnants of the Indian food we had had the night previous and offered to them.   A strong sign recommended against children heading toward a fence, with the threat of rattlers in the area.

All the time during this trip below 3000 feet (1000 meters) the weather was so hot we had the strongest blast from the car a/c going.   It was 105F/41C when we reached Ashland.   

Ashland, though, is as lovely as ever, even in the heat and we sat under shade trees to talk about the last year since we had seen Jane and Pater.   With lots and lots of iced water.

Dinner at the Peerless Hotel, unlike last year, was inside.   John enjoyed his sampler of dishes with lamb meatballs, while Ben enjoyed a Romesco soup of the day with ahi poke small plate, and a lobster fennel salad.  The wine was a Plaisanace Ranch Vineyard Appletree Valley Viognier, which was surprisingly good.  (Ben loves viognier, while John has not found it to his  taste till now.)

Then it was off to the theater:   Dumas’ Count of Monte Cristo, outside in 90F/32C heat in the Elizabethan Theater.  The production was quite a soap opera, melodramatic, and lots of fun.    In effect the director had made it quite farcical, quite unlike the book.  We enjoyed it for the acting and theatrics as much as for the plot, which lacked the depth of the original Dumas novel according to Claire, one of our group.  Anne, another member, and John agreed it had a hilarity about it that Dumas probably had never thought.