From Harbour Bridge to Golden Gate Bridge: 2–3 Years Living in the US

[CaptainCurtis]

I’m back from my trip up to Lassen and Redwood National Parks, so time for a long overdue catch-up. Friday October 3rd was moving day - out of the Residence Inn and into the apartment I found on Furnished Finder. I’ll be here for three months, with the option to extend in monthly increments. As a reminder, I’m based in the North Oakland / South Berkeley area.

To move all my stuff (and prepare for my road trip the next day), I really needed a car. Through my Marriott Titanium Elite status, I received complimentary Five Star elite status with Hertz. I also found an Amex Platinum discount code online, which brought the rate down to just USD $31 per day, including all necessary waivers and liability coverage. It obviously helped that I was collecting and returning the car in Walnut Creek rather than at an airport. I booked a medium-sized sedan deliberately, hoping to receive the Kia K5, as it’s the car I’m considering leasing while I’m here (more on that later).

So, first thing Friday morning, I took the short walk from the Residence Inn to the local Hertz - literally about 300 metres. I did, in fact, receive the K5. I was a little frustrated that they’d just washed the car, as the water made it impossible to photograph any existing scratches or damage. I nonetheless did so a few hours later once it had dried and emailed the photos to the store for their record.



I spent about 30 minutes driving around the suburbs to get used to driving on the right-hand side again, having last done so in the US back in 2017. It didn’t take long to get comfortable, and then it was back to the hotel to load up the car with my copious number of suitcases and boxes. It ended up taking two trips, but I was done by early afternoon.

Next stop was REI (Recreational Equipment Inc.) to grab a few supplies for the trip - hiking pants (Patagonia Quandary and Cotopaxi Subo, the latter heavily discounted), a day-use backpack (Osprey Talon 22L), and some snacks.

Dinner that night was at my favourite Italian restaurant in Rockridge, Sfizio, which offers a casual order-at-the-counter setup with delicious homemade pasta. The menu is limited, but everything is fresh and incredibly tasty. I had the spaghetti with meatballs and some focaccia to mop up the sauce.



And then it was off to sleep for my first night in the new place.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

Saturday October 4th

I deliberately didn’t set an alarm, wanting to make sure I was well-rested for the drive up to Lassen. My excitement must have got the better of me though, as I woke up around 6AM and was on the road by 6:40.

The drive to the southern entrance of the park takes about 3.5 hours via I-5, turning onto CA-36E at Red Bluff. There’s a more scenic option via CA-32E at Chico, but it adds roughly an hour to the trip, so I opted for the quicker route this time.




I made a quick stop in Red Bluff for gas and a coffee (Starbucks was the best available), before continuing on toward the park.




Not far outside Red Bluff, the roadside landscape starts to hint at what’s ahead. The dark, jagged rocks scattered along the highway are evidence of prior volcanic eruptions - a small preview of what awaited inside the park.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

After a few more turns through the foothills, the landscape began to change - pine forests thickened, the air cooled, and before long I’d reached the southern entrance to Lassen Volcanic National Park.

Lassen Volcanic National Park sits in far northern California, forming the southernmost reach of the Cascade Range, which stretches all the way north into Canada. It’s one of the most geologically fascinating and underrated parks in the US - often described as a “mini Yellowstone” thanks to its mix of volcanoes, alpine lakes, and steaming geothermal features. Most of my colleagues in the Bay Area hadn't heard of the park - criminal.

The park contains examples of all four types of volcanoes found on Earth, making it a bit of a geological showcase.

The park’s centrepiece, Lassen Peak, rises to 10,457 feet and is the largest plug dome volcano in the world. It last erupted between 1914 and 1921, making it the most recent volcano in the lower 48 to erupt before Mount St Helens blew in 1980. You can still see that history everywhere - boiling mud pots, hissing steam vents, and sulphuric pools scattered around areas like Bumpass Hell and Sulphur Works.

Beyond Lassen Peak, the park also features a shield volcano (Prospect Peak), a cinder cone (Cinder Cone, surrounded by the Painted Dunes), and a composite volcano (Brokeoff Mountain, the eroded remnant of a much larger ancient peak, Mount Tehama).

Because of its elevation (the road reaches 8,000ft in many parts), snow lingers well into summer. The main park road (Highway 89) runs 30 miles north to south through the park, climbing past alpine lakes, lava fields, and steaming vents. It usually opens fully around late June or early July and closes again by late October due to snow. This short window makes early autumn (i.e. now) one of the best times to explore: fewer crowds, crisp weather, and colourful alpine landscapes.

The Southern entrance to the park.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

From the southern entrance, Highway 89 winds its way north through the heart of the park. My early arrival meant I had time to drive the full 30-mile stretch of the road on my first day, stopping at many of the major viewpoints and trailheads along the way. To keep me company, I downloaded the National Park Service’s self-guided audio tour, which plays short clips at key stops along the highway and adds an extra layer of history and geology to the drive.

My first stop after entering the park was the Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center, located just past the southern entrance.



Unfortunately, it was closed due to the ongoing US government shutdown, which meant no maps, ranger chats, or the usual exhibits to set the scene.

 

[cove]

We spent a year living in Orange County California in 1984. Rent then was $900 USD a month. Now it is about $3800 USD a month. We both joined AAA road service. Then driving over in the US it was short rights and long lefts.
The best thing we did was a month long unlimited mileage sedan from Hertz. We used AAA maps and drove 12,200 miles mostly on interstates. America is an amazing country for touring.
Going back to Los Angeles today from Minnesota as our Mississippi cruise has finished in Saint Paul.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

The next stop was Sulphur Works, the easiest geothermal area to access in the park and just a few minutes from the visitor center. Even from the parking area you can hear the hissing and bubbling of the mud pots, with steam vents rising beside the road and the sharp smell of sulphur hitting almost immediately - a reminder that the volcano beneath your feet is still very much alive.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

A quick stop at a pullout at Diamond Peak Scenic Vista. From the audio tour:
When Brokeoff Volcano stopped erupting some 400,000 years ago, the acidic water of the hydrothermal areas and glacial ice began to slowly carve away the mountain, leaving only remnant peaks like Mt. Brokeoff and Diamond Peak. Diamond Peak survives because the lava that it’s made up of is harder than the surrounding rock and less susceptible to the incessant workings of ice, water, gravity and weather.

First looking north towards Lassen Peak.





Looking west towards Mount Brokeoff.




Looking south, towards the entrance to the park.

 

[RooFlyer]

If you know my background, you'll know why I'm loving this. I lived on a mine site in NW Nevada for 6 months and made many long-weekend trips west into California. Tried to find my pics from 1990 of Lassen to compare to yours, but they are slides, buried somewhere.

 

[VPS]

If you know my background, you'll know why I'm loving this. I lived on a mine site in NW Nevada for 6 months and made many long-weekend trips west into California. Tried to find my pics from 1990 of Lassen to compare to yours, but they are slides, buried somewhere.

I was wondering whether you'd seen this thread and thought you'd be enjoying it