Redding, CA

July 14, 2009

Moving on toward San Francisco, again faced with the dilemma of which road to take. We had continued reservations about the scenic coastal route and opted for I-5 through the center of the state. The terrain changed from rolling to plains and high desert until Mt. Shasta. This snow laden volcano dominates an otherwise bland landscape. It appears to be lost, an outcast o f the Pacific-Rim Volcano family. But she stands quite confident in her isolation. Shasta Lake is the next landmark on the way to Redding. The blueness of the quiet lake stands out against orange shores. The high tree line shows water levels to be quite low.

Redding is a nice surprise after all the people who asked, “Redding? Why?” It is the largest city of northern California and sits on the Sacramento River. Our campground, Mountain Gate RV, is nicely situated between the lake and town. The grounds are spacious and nicely landscaped. We did experience our first hot weather of the summer. Cool mornings give way to temps of 100°+. The temperature variance within the day is about 40° - so not Dallas where August temps very from 85-105°. This provides no relief, but it does get swimming pools warm. I just can’t bring myself to stay in these cold pools.

The Chamber of Commerce star is the architecturally unique pedestrian Sun Bridge that spans the Sacramento River and connects the science museum to a bike/hike path and numerous city parks. The well-traveled paths run along both side of the river. Ultimately the true adventurer will be able to pedal from town to the dam, about 20 miles. We took 2 trips, the first, a short run from Caldwell Park east to the Sun Bridge and marshes. The longer loop we began at the park, through neighborhoods, and west of town to the Ribbon Bridge, also for pedestrians. This system is by far the longest most user-friendly we have encountered. We could have had a different bike ride every morning of our stay. There is very little interaction with car traffic and the path is well maintained paving. One really cool pedestrian bridge is an old one that stands proudly next to its larger replacement road for cars. How wonderful that this small graceful path is as useful and traveled at the end of its life as in the beginning.

Two below ground trips to Lake Shasta seemed perfect for hot afternoons. The dam tour displays a marvel of civil engineering and the tallest in the USA. We traveled by elevator to an observation level, deep inside near-solid concrete. The tour hallway leads to a room on river level where the info continues with a video showing construction and a tribute to its builders. The primary function of the dam is water control and supply, it is a secondary source on California’s electric grid. As low as the water level was, locals were excited at the amount it had raised over the previous year. Conservation is their primary focus and they were not worried about the ability to provide the amount of water needed for summer. We learned that is 25% of California receives 75% of the state’s precipitation.

Our second Shasta Lake adventure took us on a very curvy descent to the shores north of the dam. The Shasta Caverns offers a package tour. The first part is the roller coaster trip to the visitor center-the curvy road trip. Second is a nice warm hike to the pontoon boat for the third segment, crossing the lake. Fourth is a bus trip back up a different mountain to the cavern rooms with chambers stacked atop each other which are quite nice, but not so different from others we’ve seen. Coming into the light we saw how much climbing we did inside. We descended stair steps back to the bus. This was a cordial group of folks - with celebrities! The young twins from “Cheaper by the Dozen” are now about 12 and created quite a stir. I was more fascinated by our tour guide. She was a ringer for a girl I grew up with who currently has many kids and grands in Idaho. I hinted at a relationship, but she didn’t bite. Oh Well.

NEXT TIME: a cooler time of year to take advantage of the bike rides