California Vacation Guide 2015 - 21

At Castle Crags State Park,
jagged rock formations look like
something out of Game of Thrones.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP

KODIAK GREENWOOD (3); TAI POWER SEEFF

Weed; Castle
Crags State Park;
Bumpass Hell,
Lassen Volcanic
National Park

steps because "I lost
a really good stick."
I mean, where else
would I rather be?
The next day, at
Loomis Museum
and visitor center,
park rangers check
our kids' newly
acquired vocabulary
with phrases like
"pyroclastic flow"
and "quenched blobs," then swear them
in as official Junior Rangers. Right hands
raised, too-big ranger hats teetering on their
heads, they solemnly promise to "continue
to explore and protect the natural world"
wherever they go.
It turns out to be an easy promise. This
is volcano country, and not 15 minutes
after exiting the park, we pull over in
Lassen National Forest, strap on headlamps, and climb into our first lava tube. A
natural tunnel formed when a river of lava
cooled around the edges, then drained out
the middle, Subway Cave is surprisingly
smooth, except for "lavacicles," the last bits
of molten lava that dripped off the ceiling.
THE COOLING SPRAY OF
WONDROUS BURNEY FALLS

W

e find the biggest wow of the
day north of the park-a wide
curtain of falls powering over
a fern- and moss-covered cliff and into a
deep blue pool at McArthur-Burney Falls
Memorial State Park. It's something out of
a dream: the water, which gushes year-

Bonus Adventure:
West To The Sea
Keep the family vacation-mobile rolling
by continuing west on Highway 299.
MILE 0 Turtle Bay Exploration Park

(Redding). Learn about Wintu Native
Americans, see wild bald eagles, and
stroll across Sundial Bridge.
MILE 11 Whiskeytown National Recreation Area. A sapphire lake ringed by
mountain peaks, plus waterfalls and
70 miles of trails.
MILE 46 Weaverville Joss House State

round, is a bracing 42 degrees. Teddy Roosevelt called the falls one of the wonders of
the world, and as we turn our faces toward
its cooling spray, I can see why.
We tootle around the base of 14,163foot Mount Shasta to the town of Weed
(yes, Weed) and its charming lumber museum. A nice volunteer gives us directions to
Pluto's Cave, another worth-a-visit lava tube.
Poking around its vast, cool interior, I recall
reading how John Muir visited here in the
1880s and saw animal skulls left by Native
Americans who used the tube for shelter.
Heading south on I-5, we keep finding unexpected adventures, like Castle Crags State
Park, with jagged rock formations that look
like something out of Game of Thrones.
Our last stop, Shasta Lake, is no secret,
a popular reservoir for boaters since the
1950s. We settle in our cozy cottage at
Tsasdi Resort, the kind of place filled with
come-every-summer families. On our last
day, the kids pile into our bed for a morning snuggle. Sunlight dapples the knotty
pine walls, and all I want is this. Just this
again next year. -LISA TROTTIER

Historic Park. California's oldest continuously operating Chinese temple.
MILE 46-103 Wind through the rugged
and remote Trinity Alps, with dips in the
brisk but inviting Trinity River.
MILE 103-144 At tiny Willow Creek,
along the Mad River, coast redwoods
and U.S. 101 meet northeast of Arcata.

Trinity River

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of California Vacation Guide 2015
