A G: California/Oregon - by Aaron Redwood Natinoal Park, Crater Lake, Mt. Shasta, McArthur Burney Falls

The Redwood National Park and Crater Lake National Park

~Aaron

The deepest lake of the United State - the Crater Lake

The Crater Lake

These 2 days and night were very fabulous. We visited many excellent places during this short period of time. Along the way to Crater Lake, we went through the Drive-thru tree in Myers Flat, stopped at the Carson Mansion, crossed the Redwood National and State Parks, and played at a beach just beside the road. We viewed many of the Crater Lake attractions in just the one day! Stopping at the Mt. Shasta Vista Point and the McArthur-Burney Falls State Park was very pretty.

About to enter
the Drive-thru tree

See the big branch it grew
to stop itself from falling?

The Drive-thru tree

The tree from a distance

Standing in the front of the tree

Holding my brother up in front of
the Drive-thru Tree

Climbing up to a tree house

See our face in the
heart holes?

See my face in the hole?

A bear statue

Age 3200: grain rings indicates growth rate

The Drive-thru Tree is one of the few in the world! It is a living redwood tree! It was tilted at an angle, but this tree grew a huge side branch to prevent it from falling. Our car did manage to get inside, but it was a tight squeeze through the tree. Once through, we climbed out of the car and into the nearby treehouses. Can you see our faces in the holes? A bear statue stood nearby, maybe because the area has bears.

The Carson Mansion at Eureka, California,
the most grand Victorian house in the United States

The Carson Mansion at Eureka, California

The Carson Mansion is a beautiful redwood Victorian mansion started to be constructed at downtown Eureka in 1884. It is considered as the most grand Victorian house in the United State. It was built for William Carson, owner of a successful logging company. In 1854, he shipped the first load of redwood to San Francisco. Before this, nobody had cut down redwood trees. He built the mansion to suit himself. Today, the Ingomar Club turned this mansion to a private club and only the club members can go inside.

The redwood forest

The root of a redwood tree

A giant redwood tree

In the Redwood National Park

At the exit to
the Redwood National Park

Crossing the Redwood National and State Parks was wonderful. We never realized we were inside until we nearly left the parks. At that point, we noticed that we’d been driving inside it for about 2 hours! The two parks combined must have been very large. The explanation we read talked about how to view more wildlife: travel quietly and look carefully. The park contains many giant redwood trees along its road. Some are as big as 3 persons open arms connection.

A beach of
the Redwood National Park

Playing at the black sand beach

Playing at the
black sand beach

Seagull's meal - a crab

Playing at the beach was a fun experience. We stood in the waves while scooping up mud to throw at the waves. If they got too big, we just ran away to see if it could be quick enough to hit our feet. Crabs lived there, because I saw a crab leg lying in the sand (probably a seagull’s meal). My brother even found a shell in the sand, which he cleaned and kept.

Campfire at Mazama
Campground, Crater Lake

The Crater Lake

The clear deep blue water of the Crater Lake
Why deep blue?
Blue light is not absorbed by the water well.
It hits the water and comes back into our eyes.

Volcano inside a volcano

Wizard Island,
A volcano inside a volcano

The shallow lakeshore (colored green)

The green lakeshore

Close-up view of the Phantom Ship

The Phantom Ship

The Pumice Castle

The Pumice Castle in the crater

The flag trees - windy existence
The Crater Lake covered with deep snow and strong wind

See the LIao Rock at the right hand side mountain top?
LIao is the spirit chief of the below-world

Crater Lake National Park was an awesome place. It is well known for its deep blue color. Why the water is so blue? Because it is the deepest lake in the United States and the 7th place in the world! Its deepest part measures 1932 feet (589 meters). We came when the sun was about to go down, so we set up tent in the darkness with only 4 sources of light: 3 lamps and the moon. Our campfire was warm compared to the chilly Oregon night. The following day, we drove around the entire lake, seeing the Wizard Island, Phantom Ship, reading how Crater Lake formed (basically Mount Mazama’s volcano eruption and collapse 7,700 year ago), the Pumice Castle, and flag trees with leaves only on 1 side. From mountain to lake, the Crater Lake has its own story. We also learned that you could swim inside the lake and fish with artificial lures. Do you know that the Crater Lake doesn't have native trout or salmon lived in there before? Now Rainbow trout and Kokanee salmon make Crater Lake their home. The trout here is said to be very good trout.

The shiny clear water at the end
Cleetwood Cove Trail

The clear water of
Cleetwood Cove

Rocks inside the lake

People diving at
Cleetwood Cove

People swimming at Cleetwood Cove

At Cleetwood Cove

The Cleetwood Cove restroom

At Cleetwood Cove

The Cleetwood Cove Trial on the north side of the Crater Lake allows people to hike down to the water. It was 2.2 miles long. My dad, my brother and me managed to arrive at the lakeside and touch the water. It was super cold. Some people lined up to dive from the cliff side into the lake.

Mount Shasta and Shastina Cone
Left mountain with glaciers: Mount Shasta (a 500,000 years old volcano)
Right mountain: Shastina Cone

Mount Shasta lookout

Mount Shasta

Mount Shasta lookout

California's highest mountain, Mt. Shasta, was a great place. It is already 500,000 years old! It’s a stratovolcano and erupts every few hundred years. The last eruption was in the 1700s and was seen from the sea. It also has the largest glacier in California.

At the top of McArthur-Burney Falls

At the top of
McArthur-Burney Falls

At the bottom of McArthur-Burney Falls

At the bottom of
McArthur-Burney Falls

McArthur-Burney Falls is a nice state park. There are already over 200 bald eagles in this park by itself! It also has a few Juniper trees. The space was donated to the state by the McArthur brothers in their parent’s memory. Many animals live here for the summer, then go to warmer areas in the winter. The falls are enormous. A trial led us to the bottom of the falls. To listen to a huge amount of water pounding down from high up was fun.

Our 2 days and 1 night journey was fantastic. Along our trip to Crater Lake, our stops were at the Drive-thru Tree, the Carson Mansion, the Redwood National and State Parks, and played at a road-side beach. We viewed most of the Crater Lake attractions in just the one day! Stopping at the Mt. Shasta Vista Point and the McArthur-Burney Falls State Park was a good idea because of the scenery. I had a very cool time in this trip.