Ready! Set! Drive! and Drive......

About nine and a half hours after leaving the splendor of Lassen NP, after driving through Nevada's whatever it will be (I imagine desert)  We'll be in an Idaho Comfort Inn preparing for our final approach of Yellowstone:  a true destination!

I'm squished so tightly in between backpacks of clothes and books.  Loose shoes, that I've tied together into pairs sprinkle the floorboards, so that I can barely touch the floor.  The Colman lantern box acts as an armrest to my left.  The side door is actually unobscured!  I can only imagine what will tumble out, though, when it's opened!!   We'll police the area whenever we reload.

I'm  45 minutes outside of Lassen and we've crossed the Cascades mountains/volcanoes, for all mountains here have been, or are, volcanoes.  We passed scrubland with scrubby bushes and a wall of mountains standing guard.  It actually looks very dry, which might explain the stands of pines scarred by fire along the way.  Yes pine forest line the two lane highway.  As we progress, intermittent meadows  stretch for several acres or more between them.Streams,  at least at this time of year wander through the boggy meadows.

In Lassen we learned that eventually, meaning thousands of years, the lakes would become bogs, meadows, land, as the eroding mountains fill them.  Watching that happen would be akin to watching paint dry, but its fascinating to see the dynamic nature of nature. Nothing goes to waste.  We just passed and expanse of land with 10 year old pines, or so.  A plaque read, "Goat Fire".  Before we the land was restoring itself.  I guess when I pass this way again, there will be a full fledged pine forest.

We ate a scrappy breakfast of pop tarts, muffins, stale bagels with strawberry cream cheese, but NO coffee!!  So, as we approach Susanville, about 60 miles SE of Lassen, I'm determining how many coffee to order:  five, I think.  All for me!!  Johnny is begging for anything off the dollar menu!!  Sausage biscuit, "PLEASE!"  McD is now 4 miles on the right and everybody is clamoring for a biscuit because, "MOM didn't make us a peanut butter and jelly sandwich!!!!"  Did they ask????? They HATE those things on a good day, but for breakfast?  No way

Oh!  John has his order in for an Egg McMuffin, Brian chirps in that he want one too....I see a $50 McD bill looming across the horizon like the next cliff.

All I know is  that Susanville has a population of around 11,000 souls, and is 4200 feet above sea level, I want coffee, and I have to use the rest room...