Just Because She's Cute

I started back to work the middle of August and have been frightfully distracted with managing my time and sanity between work and family. As you may have noticed, the volume of pictures has gone down significantly. But I have not abandoned the photos altogether, so it's just a matter of getting caught up!

Fairly unconcerned that I set her in her chair on the front porch while her dad and

I did yard work.

Seriously, I am one chill baby.

Chillin' on the front porch wears me out.

Who can resist my cuteness?

(Evie, right around her 3-month mark…)

Our National Park Next Door

Mount Lassen Volcanic National Park is a mere

1.5 hours from Chico (which is an average distance for anything of interest outside of Chico). We were experiencing the itch to get out of town and opted for a place that was yet unexplored by us. What a great find! Mount Lassen is not heavily trafficked, and the scenery is really interesting. Take a look…

Lassen Peak

Lassen Nat'l Park, looking east.

Mount Tehama, now known as Broke-off Mountain.

A ja-zillion years ago, Mount Tehama blew its top off and scattered volcanic rock all over Northern California. Anywhere you go in the Chico area, you can see evidence of this ancient event. Broke-off Mountain is now a great hike (on my list) and is said to provide great views.

The focus of our trip was the Bumpass Hell trail, which led down to a concentration of fumaroles (holes in the volcanic landscape from which gas and vapor escape). A boardwalk allowed us to walk amongst the bubbling pools of mud, while sulfur seared our nostrils.

Evie is enjoying a little break from the Ergo.

Steam and mud; a little too hot for swimming.

We highly recommend a trip to this National Park, and we'd be quite happy to be your novice tour guides the next time you come to visit our area.