Sorry it's been so long since an update. Things are getting really busy as the summer winds down. This will probably be my last entry just because the next two weeks I am going to have my mind on leaving and getting ready for school. I already had a dream I forgot to pack all the things in my night stand. Since my last entry I have successfully climbed Mount Lassen, visited San Fransisco, and turned 21. These are all life changing things. We did the whole trip of Mt Lassen in about 4 hours. It's a 2,000 foot ascension and [View Full Entry]

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Well last weekend I finally did some sight seeing around this area. Although every week I write from the "Lassen Volcanic National Park" location, I don't actually work there. I work for the forest service of Lassen National Forest. It's different, but this site doesn't have Chester as a location option, so I could request it, but who has time for that? Anywho, my roommate, Shannon, and I went on the hike through Bumpass Hell. Some name huh? Bumpass was this guy's last name who found the place. He called it hell because he thought this place would be similar to [View Full Entry]

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Life has finally settled into a "normal." I always think it's cool when that happens. You move somewhere, or go back to school and it's hard to get in the swing of things and before you know it, you have. Well I put in a picture of fire camp cause it looks really neat and I feel like it's almost overwhelming to see that many tents in one spot. The fires are becoming more and more a commonality to my life. We gage the days by how bad the smoke is. The morning it's more clear and sometimes the winds will [View Full Entry]

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Well forest fires are abound here in Northern California. It feels like war time, not that I would know how that actually feels, but we have firefighters everywhere. They are eating lunch behind our barracks and in our lawn chairs, not that I'm complaining... but it's just a whole different atmosphere to see people just lying around waiting to be told where to go and what to do. Ok I know it's Tuesday, but I have about an hour before the library closes and I have so much to share and I just can't wait until tomorrow! Well this was my [View Full Entry]

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My days off here are Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and I aim to update on Wednesdays, so I will start that regularity today. I don't have much to report as I have only worked one day, but I have some pictures of the good old outdoors to share. Last weekend I had free to get acclimated and essentially bore myself to death. Everyone I live with was out of town and I barely saw a person around the barracks all weekend. Friday I went into town and that's was when I updated last. Saturday I wanted to go down to Lake Almanor [View Full Entry]

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3rd day since I've landed in California. Gosh where do I start? Well I live with the archaeologists currently, but there was talk of moving me so I get my own room. I currently share a room with a girl from Ohio, go figure. Ohioans are everywhere I look, I swear. But everyone has been really nice. And the barracks aren't that bad either. It's like a little house with 3 rooms, 2 baths, living room and kitchen. No internet which is bummerirrific. I don't have pictures of the place yet; I'll wait till I find my permanent home. This whole [View Full Entry]

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(Panoramic picture above is frozen Lake Helen in Lassen Volcanic National Park) Another spontaneous trip - Shasta and vicinity. Shreya and I planned a weekend trip to Northern California while returning home from office on Friday evening. We drove to Sacramento and stayed the night at my cousin’s place and started heading further north to Lassen Volcanic National Park. Lassen Volcanic National Park Some background about this national park - whole of the USA was surprised when a volcano erupted in Northern California in 1914. It was followed by series of explosions fo [View Full Entry]

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Lassen NP is at a high altitude and is one of the coldest places in CA. It was sunny and 36 degrees this morning. The Visitor’s Center is only open Friday, Saturday and Sunday during this time of the season. We were happy it was Friday! We got an interpretive guide and started our tour through the park. Lassen Volcano erupted in 1914 and had outbursts over the next 7 years. It acted similar to Mt. St. Helen’s. As we drove through the park snow was more evident and got deeper as we climbed in elevation. We understood why the park [View Full Entry]

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Lassen National Park. The name's not very familiar is it? It wasn't to me either. A park isolated by spectacular surroundings in Northern California where the Sierra Nevada end and the Cascades begin, Lassen is about halfway between Lake Tahoe and Mt. Shasta. My impressions of the park before I visited were a bit unimpressive. But within 5 minutes of passing through the Park Service gate, I knew I was visiting the most underestimated National Park in California. With a week off work, I was on my way to visit friends in Bend, Oregon. Having never visited the Pacific Crest north [View Full Entry]

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