Here is a map of Lassen Volcanic National Park and Lake Almanor in north-east California, the area of this short adventure.  We stayed in the small town of Chester on the north-west shore of Lake Almanor, which gave us ready access to both the lake and the national park.  Lake Almanor was formed by damming the North Fork of the Feather River at the lake's southern-most point. The lake is heavily developed along its eastern edge and on the prominent peninsula that bisects the lake from the north.  (Map courtesy of the National Park Service).

We drove up Highway 89 to Childs Meadow before driving to Chester.  The wildflowers were beautiful and we could see snow-covered Brokeoff Mountain (above left) and Mount Lassen (above right) in the distance.

The next day we explored Lake Almanor.  We drove most of the way around it. It is a beautiful lake, but its eastern side and the peninsula are unfortunately privately developed and the lake is inaccessible in these places.  The photo above left was taken from near the dam at the southern tip of the lake shooting approximately north towards the peninsula.  The second and third images above were taken from the western shore that is more accessible.  We saw many waterfowl, including Western Grebes doing their mating dance.  The right-most image above was taken from the rest area to the east of Chester on Highway 36 looking back at Mount Lassen.

The left-most image above is a NASA map showing the path of the annnular solar eclipse of May 20.   Note that the center passes very nearly over Chester.   We and some others from the Bidwell House moved to a nearby meadow to observe the eclipse.   Bob and Priscilla brought their 8" reflector telescope equiped with a filter for solar observation, so we were able to see the eclipse both through our solar glasses and through the telescope.   Denise and I are in the right-most picture proudly wearing our solar glasses.   Unfortunately, I wasn't prepared to photograph the eclipse so I borrowed the fifth image above under Creative Commons from "Brocken Inaglory".   The annular eclipse to my eye looked even more symmetric than this image shows.

Next we headed up to Lassen Volcanic National Park to see what could be seen with the road closure.   The first image is a map of the south-west corner of the park showing Bumpass Hell beyond which the road remained closed.   Nonetheless we were able to see some dramatic, beautiful, snow-covered scenery. The second image is of Brokeoff Mountain from Highway 89 south of the park entrance.   The next is of the three year old Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center (with Brokeoff Mountain in the background).  Last is Mount Lassen from the edge of Highway 89.

We then drove to the Bumpass Hell parking lot, the end of the line.   Here we could look back towards the south, the way we had come, and towards the west where Brokeoff Mountain is prominent.   In the third image, Denise stands by a glacial erratic at the edge of the parking lot.

Finally, as we returned, we stopped at the Sulfer Works for some geothermal activity and the eagerly-anticipated smell of rotten eggs.   Everwhere we looked we say geothermal pools, hot springs and and rising steam.

Here is our home away from home for this adventure, the Bidwell House.   The owners Eva and Filip Laboda were very gracious hosts and made us feel very much at home. We highly recommend the Bidwell House and will definitly return.

On our drive home we approached the Sutter Buttes on Highway 99, and having passed them many times before, we decided to explore them.  The buttes rise dramatically from the Sacramenta Valley floor near Yuba City, as can be seen in the Google satellite map to the left, and are comprised of extinct volcanic lava domes.  They are an anomoly in that geologists cannot explain why they are there, not being obviously part of the Cascade Mountains to the north, the Coast Range to the west or the Sierra Nevada to the East.  The Sutter Buttes are arguably the world's smallest mountain range.  The buttes can be easily approached from Highway 99 or Yuba City and seen from two lane paved roads that encircle the buttes and that I have marked on the right satellite map.

The Sutter Buttes are private property so we had to be satisfied with views from the roads.   Left to right are views from the N. Butte Road, two from the W. Butte Road, and a private road from the Pass Road.   The last image is plaque on the S. Butte Road commemorating John Fremont's encampment among the buttes in 1846 (though the plaque erroneously says 1848).