Not the park experience expected.
Our trip to Lassen Volcanic didn't go as planned. We left Lake Tahoe early in the afternoon, thinking we had plenty of time to reach our campsite, get our passport stamp, and do a short hike to officially visit this northern California park. Since we hadn’t yet added the Bronco to our house on wheels, I drove ahead to take care of groceries and errands. With Drew driving the RV, which takes longer, we planned to meet either on the road or at the campsite.
However, what should have been a three-hour trek doubled due to closed roads, switchbacks, and mountains. Three hours into the drive, I lost service and GPS. I texted Drew, "I don’t like not having service. All the negative possibilities go through my mind, especially being separated from you. You probably won’t even get this. I’m going 80 trying to reach you. Not having service really gives me anxiety."
I had to rely on road signs and landmarks, lessons from my teenage years. I eventually found the campsite at 9 PM in the dark, but the RV was nowhere to be seen. Drew had texted an hour earlier, "We are in the park." I circled the campgrounds, thinking maybe he went to a different site by mistake. No luck. I drove five miles out of the park to where I remembered getting one bar of service and called 35 times, but nothing worked. I drove back to the site, hysterically crying.
Our campsite neighbors saw me and immediately started to help. I showed them a picture of the RV, and we divided the park area in thirds, each group searching and planning to meet back at the site 45 minutes later, or sooner if we found them. We were unsuccessful. It was a very scary time. All the worst-case scenarios went through my mind—had they gotten into a wreck, were they in the wrong part of the park, had they been attacked by bears, were vultures circling, or had they hit a deer?
At 9:45 PM, I saw park rangers and explained the situation. We decided I should drive to a place with consistent service and call them back-to-back. Finally, I got through. Their shoddy GPS had taken them to the wrong portion of the park. Once Drew realized this, he started driving to get service but struggled. They first went to Susanville but couldn’t find an RV site, then found one in Chester. He was 1½ hours away from me! I found enough service to pull up GPS directions before losing service again. I reunited with my family at midnight, and it was the best reunion of hugs. From now on, I may not leave the RV’s side while we’re on the road and driving separately!
The following morning, the twins and I visited the southern entrance visitor center and got our official passport stamps and stickers. I made the twins do a tiny hike in the park so we could truly claim the visit!
Some interesting facts about the park:
Lassen Volcanic contains all four types of volcanoes found in the world: shield, plug dome, cinder cone, and composite.
Lassen Peak is the world's largest plug dome volcano and the Cascade Range's southernmost volcano.
The park is considered active but has been quiet since 1921. The most recent eruption in the contiguous United States before Mount St. Helens in 1980 was Lassen Peak's 1914–1917 eruption.
P.S. Manzanita Campsite is really awesome if you need a campground in Lassen Volcanic! Just make sure you have a plan if you get lost or separated from your family!
