I-5 interstate champion

     I had a great time with the family. We went out to eat, explored, and chilled.

      A couple days of getting rest did wonders. I explored the beach, Cabrillo National Monument, USS Midway , In and Out (haha), and various other areas.

      Seeing the family was needed. Watching the kids play and having a sleeping buddy (Burt) helped take the fatigue away.

      It's always sad leaving, but I had to be there for me to be sad, so It's a good thing!

     I made the decision to grind out miles. I ended up driving from San Diego to the Plumas National Forest near Orobillo, CA. An estimated 600 mile day. The trip up was 90% dull, 10% fun. The Plumas area was gorgeous. I didn't bother setting up camp due to arriving at the campsite around 9pm. I slept at the featherfall trailhead. The town of Orobillo seemed like a cool place to walk around.

     The next day I headed to the Lassen Volcanic National Park. The ride up was a few hours, but hanging out in the park was short. A lot of the park roads were closed due to snow. Something I should have predicted. I checked out the visitor center and tried my luck by driving another 1hr45min to the Northern entrance, which had roughly 10 miles of road before it was closed. I didnt even bother going back into the park. I couldnt hike any trails and getting any decent pictures seemed out of reach.

     I drove into Oregon and reached the campsite, which was closed. The campsite was up a large mountain not too far from the Oregon/California border. I just ended crashing in the car outside the locked gates. I had driven roughly 1000 miles in two days and wasnt looking for another place.

     Woke early as usual and turned on the GPS. The GPS is acting funny lately. Just a few more weeks buddy. You can make it!

     Crater Lake National Park, if you can guess, has the same problem with closed roads due to snow. Only 8 miles of roads within the park were opened. Although they had a section of road opened for bicyclists, hikers, and dog walkers. Not my cup of tea. The one view I had from the lake is cool. Apparently this was once a volcano 7700 years ago. It erupted and collapsed. With the annual snowfall of 44 feet, in the area, the melt eventually filled the basin. A deep blue color contrast with the snow laying upon the rocks is a sight to see.

     The book I have does not list anymore national protected lands within Oregon (book does not include forests).

     I stayed in a National Forest last night in Oregon. I shouldve written it down because I completely forget the name of it. Anyway I woke up at 2am to my cooking pot being tampered with. I scared away whatever creature was causing the issue but the bugger kept coming back. I ended up just leaving the area at 3am because I couldnt fall back to sleep.

     Mt. Rainer National Park, WA. Cool as hell. The mountain can be seen from miles way. Miles upon miles. Sitting at a little over 14k feet the structure towers over everything in the area. I hiked the crater falls trail about 3-4 miles total. Checked out the visitor center and am headed towards Montanna.

     I couldnt pump my own gas in Oregon. Didnt know that wasnt a self serve state, haha. Washington and Oregon are beautiful states. I forget to stop driving to take pictures. I have so few of the areas.