Northern California and Southern Oregon are home to seven national park sites that form a circle of parks protecting everything from America's oldest and tallest trees to dramatic coastline, the country's deepest lake, hydrothermal areas, ice caves, and breathtaking waterfalls. I ended up visiting Crater Lake National Park, the Oregon Caves National Monument, which features a cave system in the Siskiyou Mountains, and the Redwood forests along the northern California coast, which protect some of the tallest trees on Earth.
The last leg of my long road trip led me to the deep blue water of Crater Lake. I watched the sun rise above the rim of a crater that holds the deepest lake in the United States, formed in a collapsed volcanic caldera. I would peer into the deep for a chance to see the underwater volcanoes that littered the lake floor. I ended up hiking up one of the many surrounding peaks along the rim before making my way past Oregon’s above and below surface rivers and into the monument of caves.
Below the Siskiyou Mountains sits a beautiful marble cave system with underground passages and formations, sometimes called the "Marble Halls of Oregon." On the surface, an old-growth forest grows with Douglas fir and cedar trees. I took one of the last guided tours in the caves and ran into another bear roaming around on top of the caves while climbing in the mountains. It wasn’t surprising after seeing the fossilized remains of a large bear deep within the cave system that had been lost to time.
I would wake up the next day in front of a group of large elk circled in the middle of a field before hiking through the tall redwood trees along California’s coast. I ventured through Lady Bird Grove past vibrantly green fern and along the path through the tall old redwood trees. I looked on as the soft beams of sunlight filtered through the forest leaves.
The drive through Whiskeytown would reveal views of beautiful, crystal-clear waters, surrounded by mountain peaks, waterfalls, and pristine mountain creeks. There, you could hear the tales and explore the history of the California Gold Rush. However, my favorite stop would be Lassen Volcanic National Park, where you can climb all four types of volcanoes found on Earth and hike past hissing fumaroles and boiling mud pots that still shape and change the land today.
I ended the trip climbing to the top of Lassen Peak before making my way back to Southern California. On the drive back, I reflected on my journey along the Circle of Discovery and the rest of the Pacific Northwest.
I just so happened to take my great American road trip at the last best possible moment, beating the oncoming winter weather. But I would have no idea I visited as many National Parks as I could right before the government shutdown when park rangers asked visitors to reschedule visits to the parks when staff are brought back to help preserve and protect the land.
My journey to all these National Parks and monuments would bring me to places I have never seen before, allow me to witness the interconnected systems and ecosystems that govern our local landscapes, and help bring me out of a long period of detachment and back into the world. The trip has only inspired me to explore more of our treasured natural wonders in the future, and have adventures in some of Earth’s most amazing places.