Lassen Volcanic National Park, CA.

 Aug/2015 - This park was a hidden gem for us, we saw it on the map in route to Oregon and decided to check it out, so glad we did. We ended up camping here for several days, there was much to see and so many hiking trails. Our campground was on this little Lake Manzanita, there was a nice trail around the lake. We watched a few sunsets from this point. The highest mountain in the background is Lassen Peak which last erupted in 1917. We hiked to the top, which was a challenging climb for me but well worth it with beautiful views, we were surprised to find small patches of snow on the top, although it was very windy and cold up there.

Lassen reminded us of a little "Yellowstone". We walked the boardwalks over this hydrothermal area. Warnings to stay on the walkway explain the surface may look solid but in places it's a thin crust with boiling acidic water underneath. I liked the colors in the landscape. 

There have been many eruptions in the park and surrounding area. We climbed another volcano, Cinder Cone, a type of eruption where the top and inside blew out. It was a steep climb, all on loose cinder, another good workout worth the effort. I've never seen anything like it. Note the little pine tree growing on the top of this volcano, others on the left also making a come back. There's a trail that circles the top (which we did) but we were exhausted and didn't take the trail down into the center. 

View from the top of Cinder Cone over the back side. We were blown away when we looked over the back side and saw this view of the lava and cinder beds. It was like being in a watercolor painting. 

Heading down Cinder Cone, much easier than going up. 

At the bottom looking back at Cinder Cone, I feel a sense of accomplishment. 

(You can see part of the trail.)