Happy Monday! Hope you have a great week ahead. Last week featured a long heatwave here in California, with temperatures hitting 41C (105F). So I’m looking forward to a much cooler week!

Some things last week:

I didn’t get to post last week as we were on a road trip. We made it to Crater Lake in Oregon and Lassen Volcanic National Park. Crater Lake is a long 7-hour drive from us, and it was made even longer when we had to take a detour due to the Mill Fire, which exploded off the highway that we were supposed to drive through. They closed the highway shortly before we got there, so we quickly had to plot another route that took an extra hour. Sadly, homes were destroyed and two people died in the fire.

In Oregon, the skies were smoky due to that fire and a few others burning in the area. But luckily, when we made it up to Crater Lake, the skies cleared up and it was gorgeous. Crater Lake is, as you might have guessed, a lake in a volcano crater. A volcano erupted and then collapsed some 7,700 years ago. It’s the deepest lake in America and interestingly, it has no inlets or outlets so it’s one of the clearest and cleanest lakes. We drove around the rim, stopping to see the viewpoints.

There’s also a short hike out to see the Pinnacles. After the eruption, these valleys were filled with ash and pumice. Essentially these are ancient gas vents that hardened. The streams eroded the softer material and we are left with these towering pinnacles. Fascinating!

At Lassen, the major attraction is Bumpass Hell, named after the person who found it – and unfortunately stepped right into one of the boiling mud pots, resulting in the amputation of his leg. Today, a rough trail lets you reach the boardwalk where you can safely view the boiling waters and bubbling mud pots. It’s definitely quite a sight to see (and smell).

Luckily right by the Bumpass trailhead parking lot is Lake Helen and it is cool and clear. It would have been more reflective if not for several people swimming in it!

Near the north entrance of Lassen is the Subway Lava Tube. About 1/3 mile long and completely pitch dark, you’ll need proper flashlights to make it through safely. As we left, one group was walking with just their cellphone light on and it was hardly providing light!

Currently…

Reading:

The Charmed List – Julie Abe

Watching:

Rings of Power on Amazon. Well, I’ve only watched the first episode so far. And it was not bad, dramatic, exciting. But somehow at the end, what I couldn’t help thinking was, oh they took the humour out of it. Not like the LOTR movies were all hahaha funny, but some parts were at least fun or amusing, like the competition between Gimli and Legolas on their number of kills. Granted, this was the first episode, so maybe there will be some joy sometime in the future?

Listening:

Nothing at the moment

Eating and Drinking:

I had coffee and toast for breakfast

Cooking:

The kids want to have Japanese curry sometime this week. And it’s definitely looking to be a cooler week than last week’s ridiculous heatwave. So I’m also thinking I’ll bake some sourdough bread and cake. My starter seems to have survived my 5-week absence. It looked a bit sad last week but I’m trying to feed it more often (usually it’s kept in the fridge and fed once a week) and give it more time at room temperature, so it seems to be on the mend. I hope!

Last week:

I read:

Long Distance – Whitney Gardner

Tokyo Ueno Station – Yu Miri

My Berlin Kitchen – Luisa Weiss

I posted:

Library Loot (September 7 to 13)