On a Green Volcano!

We just returned home from a trip to Lassen National Park.

In case you did not know, Mt. Lassen is a dormant volcano. It last erupted in 1915 and the area became a National Park the following year. While sleeping it still has many active bits and pieces with hydrothermal areas of all types: steam vents and boiling mudpots and hot springs. Relatively close to where we live (about a 4 1/2 hour drive), it is one of our all time favorites for a long weekend vacation.

Nonetheless, we had not made it over there in about 5 years and we were interested and excited to see the changes. One change is that the fumaroles at the Sulphur Works near the south entrance are growing. I am not sure what I think of this... The last couple of times we have been there it has been different each time. New vents open, old ones stop, and activity levels switch from one to another. Looking at it, you cannot forget this is an active planet beneath our feet. These pictures were taken a few seconds apart:

fumarole: noun, A hole in a volcanic area from which hot smoke and gases escape.

It is incredibly lovely driving over the mountain. High meadows and wooded peaks along with alpine views and impossibly blue volcanic lakes. The drives goes from about 5,900ft (1798m) to the highest point, a crisp and clear 8512ft (2594m). Awesome views. Fabulous hiking trails, short and long, for everyone to enjoy.

This is Lake Helen, right below Lassen Peak. It is so deep it really is that blue.

But the highlight of this particular visit was the new Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center. Recently opened in September of 2008, this beautiful building is not only a comfortable and informative information center and food & rest stop, it is an awesome example of green building and sustainable, energy efficient operation. When done it should qualify for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum certification. What a joy it is to see such a great public example of the benefits of energy conservation and good design. Yes! And the Park guides and displays speak to the benefits and need to go Green to help modify the human impact on this ever-changing planet.

We highly recommend checking it out. Still one of the best bargains on the planet and could become one of your favorites, too.

Beauty all around us...

I walk the puppy most mornings. Morning outdoors is a beautiful time, and I am always reminded of this. It is a side benefit of the walk. But I do not incorporate it into my life, perhaps, as much as I could.

Then I see something like this:


Wow!

"The Buddha was once invited to give a talk to a crowd of people and so he stood before them, and held a flower up, and did not say a single word. Scholars call this “the Buddha’s flower sermon.” And it is said that only one person in the audience understood what he was trying to say. To be honest, I am not entirely sure that I know what he was trying to say. But there are times when I think I do. There are times when the words must stop so that our eyes can be open to the beauty all around us." Rev. Chris Buice

See the world. Try to do it every day. There is nothing between us and beauty but our minds, really. It is everywhere.

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes." - Marcel Proust

Phenomena

Thunder and lightning last night, fortunately accompanied by rain. We don't want any fires, and rain is welcome.

While I am rather nervous about lightning, I am still fascinated by it and marvel at its power. Early this summer we had an unusual Thunderstorm. Unusual in being so early in the year and in the abundance of lightning making strikes in our vicinity. The photo is of a tree which was hit about 1/4 mile from our house. A strip of bark was blasted off in a spiral down the tree. Awesome. Last year there was a silent lightning storm of cloud to cloud lightning. The sky was full, constantly full, of electric lace for more than 2 hours. Wow!

I love phenomena. When the spectacular comet, Hale-Bopp, was visible I went out every clear night to gaze in awe at it. I was actually offended when it had the nerve to no longer be visible. It was MY comet! How could it abandon me?

Phenomenon: (from Webster's online)
1 plural phenomena : an observable fact or event
2 plural phenomena a : an object or aspect known through the senses rather than by thought or intuition b : a temporal or spatiotemporal object of sensory experience as distinguished from a noumenon c : a fact or event of scientific interest susceptible to scientific description and explanation
3 a : a rare or significant fact or event b: plural phenomenons : an exceptional, unusual, or abnormal person, thing, or occurrence

A simple phenomenon can make my day. On what was otherwise a difficult day I saw a "V" of swans flying when I was driving through Eureka, California. The day changed from that moment. A bald eagle in an unexpected place - flying up a creek along Highway 101 in Leggett, Ca. An aurora, the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station flying over last week. The Milky Way on a clear dark night. These things bring me to the here and now. They take my breath away. They remind me I love life.

Life is fleeting. I am well aware I have less time left than has already gone by and I want to cherish every moment. But these special moments make life exceptional. Make the mundane sublime. Be there. Be here. Now.