The Schettler Saga: Lassen Volcanic National Park

Day 16: We drove 585 miles and 12 hours to Reno KOA....once we pulled in, we set off for the pool before it closed, and swan with a very, um, interesting family that was living in the KOA. I didn't know one could actually live in the KOA. Let's just say...I've learned KOA does not equal Fun Valley Family Resort. 😳 I thought that we were possibly being filmed secretly on Reno 911. We finished our swim, cleaned the nasty pool scum off of us, played a game of Monopoly, and crashed.

Day 17: We woke up to a 62 degree Casita 2.0 and 55 degrees outside!!!! We're finally out of the desert! The original plan was to drive from Reno straight to Albany, OR to see Great-Grandpa and pick up Dad, so he could continue the camping extravaganza with us. From Albany, the 5 of us we're planning to camp with our cousins (Amy, Darren, and Faith) in LaPine State Park, then head up to Mount Reinier NP, Olympic NP, North Cascades NP, then on to the Floathouse. Sadly, our plans changed on December 19th when Dad was disgnosed with Staga IV Adenocarcinoma of the Esophogus/GI and passed away less than one month later on January 16th, 2017. I miss him everyday. I know he would have loved this amazing summer trip, and I can feel his presence with my always.

We decided in February to rework our plans and hit Lassen Volcanic National Park and Crater Lake National Park before LaPine, then go to Great-Grandpa's in Albany afterwards. These two stops were right on the way and places I have always wanted to visit. LVNP is currently covered with snow, currently 39 degrees with a high of 55!!!! We had a few things to do in Reno before heading to LVNP....Walmart, Discount Tire, local bicycle shop, and CHIPOTLE next to MCDONALDS!!! We have cooked every meal since El Pinto in Albuquerque almost two weeks ago, and what were the odds that all these stops were in the same parking lot? We had 3 very happy boys and 4 full tummies. We pulled into our beautiful campsite in Manzanita Lake Campground in LVNP 3 short hours later.

All four of us were VERY happy to be out of the desert and 100+ degrees. Our skin is so dry from the desert that poor Cole's fingers were all peeling away and gross. We were so ready for our time in the pine trees and volcanoes! The trees here are so beautiful!

We made tacos, played a very serious Chess tournament, and went to bed.

Day 18: I love this Campground! It's so peaceful and reminds me of Idaho with the pine trees and beautiful serene lake. We started with a 4 mile run around the campground and laundry, then set off for the most interesting Ranger Talk about Earthquakes, Volcanoes, and even a demonstration of the original 1927 Seismograph! My Dad would have loved it!!! I'm sure he would have had hundreds of detailed questions about compression waves, secondary waves, and all the others waves I can't remember. Carson got to demonstrate the compression wave with a slinky.