Catch-Up :)

Wow! What has happened to the last two weeks! They've seemed to have sprinted by and left me in the dust, blinking. I apologize to all my readers; I've been in L.A. and in Northern CA, camping. The two weeks I was away are full of things I did and saw, some for the first time, others for the millionth. :) Be warned, this blog post is going to be longer than usual, as catch-up on the days I've missed! :)
I spent the first week with my best friend down in L.A, doing fun and crazy things such as going to Disneyland, running a 5K, playing volleyball on the beach, surfing, frequently visiting Starbucks, hanging out at the mall, eating at Panera Bread, and staying up to watch random movies until 2 A.M. The week was full of fun and great fellowship!
The next week, we went back up to my family and headed up to Northern CA to go camping. The ride there was uneventful - almost. Two hours from the campsite, our car's radiator exploded, leaving us stranded on the side of the road for almost 5 hours. Our awesome friends drove up to the campsite with their trailor, dropped it off with half of the party, and then drove the two hours back down to pick up our trailor. Meanwhile, we had called a tow truck and gotten our car towed while we stayed with our trailor on the side of the mountain road. My brother, his friend, and I went exploring for a bit down either side of the road and found a creek and deer tracks to pass the time. We also met the nicest people, who pulled over to see if we needed any help. I won't give up hope on the human race until there is no one left who pulls over for another person in need.
The camping trip, after that, went smoothly and wonderfully. We hiked down to Burney Falls and around it, enjoying the cold mist and the beautiful waterfalls and scenery. Then, we kayaked across Lake Britton and to an obscure hiking trail, where we found a waterfall and little pool. Before we left, we drove up to Lassen National Park, and saw the sulfur springs and the gorgeous mountains and lakes. Up at 8,000 feet, there was still snow in the lakes and on the hillsides, and the water must have been just over 32 degrees. But it was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. The water in the lakes was the deepest blue I had ever seen, and the snow and the creeks were something out of a fairytale. I felt as if I was walking through a little patch of Heaven.
We also visited the lava tunnels, and they were amazing! The huge caverns the lava had carved into solid stone were spectacular. We hiked through them twice, amazed at their size and beauty.
On the way back from the trip, only 17 miles away from home, actually, a huge semi truck swerved, flipped, and crashed directly in front of us. It tore down one of those huge, green freeway signs and crushed it, ripping it right down the center. My godfather, who was driving, pulled over and ran to help, along with 10 other cars which stopped. The driver was stuck in the crushed cab, but he was alive and not seriously hurt. Every kind of person was there, a buisness man in a suit, two teenage guys in jeans and tanktops, a nurse, a motorcyclist - you name it, he was there. The man in the suit was pulling the huge crushed sign off of the road, to clear the way for other cars, and the teenagers pulled up in a van and helped him. It was a very encouraging sight, to see people of every different race, age, and background working together for the good of another. There is still hope for humanity.