Lassen Volcanic N.P.

Wednesday

While at Red Bluff we made the decision to strike East to visit a lesser known National Park - Lassen Volcanic N.P. Essentially it is a large volcano, with other smaller volcanoes and volcanic phenomena thrown in as well. By now we have worked out that the whole of the Sierra Nevada Mountains are the product of igneous activity, as opposed to the Rocky Mountain Range, which is mainly old sedimentary rocks thrown up to make mountains by the meeting of two tectonic plates, although it too has more than its fair share of volcanoes and igneous rocks.
Anyway, on Thursday morning we set out, having called the N.P. to find thestate of the roads and campgrounds, as we are now moving more into winter and there is the possiblility of closures due to snow. We were reassured by the taped messages that campgrounds were open and had water, so we did not fill our on board fresh water tank, to reduce the weight of the trailer. Although the drive is only about 50 miles it took us nearly a couple of hours as was quite a twisty road, climbing up to 8000 ft in the park.
We arrived at the N.P. and admired the beautiful setting of numerous volcanoes and lots of coniferous trees, only to be told at the park entrance that although some campgrounds were open the water had been turned off for frost protection. There was nothing we could do apart from register our displeasure that they could not get their messages right on the phone, for which they apologied, but did nothing else. So we were now 17 miles from the nearest water! Fortnuyately there are a number of lakes in the park, filled with sparkling clear mountain water, so we stopped at Emerald Lake and used gallon water bottles to slowly fill our fresh water tank, inconvenient but workable. We continued to drive through the park trying hard not to see the volcanic wonders there, as we iontended to return the next day to explore further. We eventually pulled up at Summit Lake South Campground, a campground right in the middle of the park, found a site with a view of the lake and set ourselves up. It was very nice and peaceful, as there were only a couple of other campers there.

Moving North

Last Friday, we had to have the windscreen replaced on our truck as it had a huge crack across it which started out as a chip. We got the truck back the same day but when we drove out on Sunday afternoon to go to see a nearby volcanic mountain (which we couldn't get near to as it was all private land round it) we could still hear air whooshing in down the right hand side. This meant that we had to take it back to the garage on Monday morning to get it fixed so we didn't leave Colusa till after noon.
As we had to drive through Williams and it was lunch time we stopped for a steak meal at Granzellas which everyone has been raving about all week. It was a nice meal but the deli attached to it was fascinating. Olives of every size and colour, imports from Italy all over, Proscutio ham and cooked meats of every descripton, pasta and Italian ice cream. Shame it was very expensive. There was also a gift shop and a motel nearby all belonging to Granzellas. I think they had cornered the market in Williams.
We went north and suddenly saw a huge snow capped mountain in the distance - our first view of Mount Shasta which is a huge 14,000 + feet volcano which just rises out of the valley. It was snow covered and looked huge even though we were about 100 miles away from it.
We arrived at a Forestry Campground at Red Bluff. It's a very nice, pretty place with nature trails and paved walks all over. We went round the trail marked Mount Shasta View, but were disappointed that the view was very limited- probably because trees and bushes had grown since the path was laid. We are having a couple of days rest here and Terry is using his new camera to take shots of the wild life. Shame we didn't see the cayotes that are supposed to be around the trail we went on last night.

Driving up the Californian Central Valley has been very interesting as we have never seen agriculture on this scale before. The valley is 430 miles long and up to 200 miles wide and nearly every bit is used to cultivate crops, using irrigation from the rivers that run through it. We have seen pistachios, almonds, olives, walnuts, rice, vines, alfalfa, sweetcorn, peaches, figs, oranges, satsumas, limes, grapefruits, canteloupes melons, watermelons, strawberries and other crops we couldn't identify. They were harvesting rice as we drove up yesterday. Amazing. It all depends on the water so no wonder there have been on going battles about access rights to take water out of the rivers.

Sunday - CBA Fall Jam Camp

So The Jam Camp has just finished to day and the 70 or so rigs have all pulled out leaving just a couple who will take off on Monday.
So what have we done this week?
Well after the rain on Monday the sun has shone all week. Sally and I have more or less got up, eaten breakfast then just sat under our, or other peoples awnings and talked, played guitar, dobro and sung bluegrass, country and gospel music. We have done the minimum of cooking, just eating salad and meat. We have hardly been outside of the Colusa County Fairground all week.
We have met some of the best people, who are generous and warm hearted. We have had the time to take it all in and enjoy it. Because we could jam all day Sally has been able to get some lessons and practice the Dobro, as well as learn some new songs. Because we could jam all night I have been able to sit and play with some amazing musicians. My confidence has improved, if not my playing skills.
A list of the friends we have made would only leave someone out.
We have just had the greatest time.

Colusa

We arrived in Colusa in the rain, it was quite miserable, but we were gretted by some really nice folks who helped us to settle in.
We have come to Colusa to take part inthe California Bluegrass Association Fall Jam Camp In.
We are staying for almost a week and expect to spend a lot of that time playing bluegrass with others.
This morning the sun shone again and we were able to sit out and jam with our neighbours, all the time new folks are arriving and setting up their RV's.
As we were expecting some mail I had driven to the post office yesterday, only to find that it is closed because it it Columbus Day (?). So Sally and I set out this morning to see if we had received any mail. Joy of Joys, Peter and Jan had sent my music book on to Colusa, having forgotten to take it from their house in Winton.

Folsom Lake State Park - Sunday

One of the things to do in Denver is to visit the Pikes Peak Cog railway (actually at Colorado Springs), which we did when we visted our niece Sarah. Quite unusually on that Cog railway trip up the mountain (actually coming down, but never mind), Sally got into converstaion with a very nice Fireman from Sacramento. In the conversation we mentiioned that we were going to visit Folsol Lake SP, by coincidence he lives but 2/3 miles from the park, so we arranged to meet up when we got to Folsom Lake SP. So today Sally and I had a quiet morning, then toured old Folsom Historic Arean, which is very nice, down by the Americas River, across from the prison, before going to the local supermarket (Raleys) to catch up on the weeks shopping. In the evening KC came and visited to our trailer. He also brought his lovely wife Rose and their son Walter. We had a splendid evening and chatted for far too long into the evening. We swopped stories of the road (walter had been on vacation to England) and learned more history of the Central Valley and just chatted, we got on like a house on fire, (which is OK because KC is a fireman). We had a very pleasant evening. When they left their car would not start (flooded we think) so I took them home in the van, whereupon Walter, having been left with the car to await the arrival of AAA, got the car started and drove home as well.
So we now have some good 'people memories' of Folsom Lake as well as the lovely lake and blue skies which always improve a place.
Thanks KC, Rose and Walter

Sacramento - Saturday

Having rested for a day at Folsom Lake S.P. we ventured into Sacramento.
Sacramento is the Capital City for California, so our first call was at the Capitol Building. The weather was now a clear and sunny 75 degrees, very pleasant. The Capitol building is set in lovely gardens with lots of strange trees, many of them labelled. Our overriding impression, on this Saturday afternoon was of Weddings! We saw about half a dozen different wedding parties being photographed in the grounds and on the steps of the Capitol. Great fun.
We enjoyed looking round the Capitol building, but then needed lunch! We were recommened a local Chinese Restaurant, called Ma Jong's. So we went for it. The menu was a list of vegetables and sauces, to which you just add the meat you want to have. So we had Orange sauce with Chicken and honey and sugared walnuts with Shrimp, really nice. Enough to bring home for lunch on Sunday.
The restaurant was very smart, with a huge outside garden area, very pretty.
After this we went down to the Old Sacramento, which is by the river. This is a lovely area which is a mix of museums and shops set amongst the waterfront warehouses and railway, with a nice rear paddle riverboat. We had a gentle wander round the area, with its wooden sidewwalks.

Columbia Historic State Park -Thursday

Columbia Historic State Park is really the town of Columbia, nestled in the fothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. It is right in the heart of Gold Mining Country.
It started around 1850 and the entire town has been preserved as it was in about 1870. It looks just like what it is, a mining/cowboy/western movie town, except it is for real. we strolled down Main Street and looked in at the shop windows of the hardware store, saloons, the blacksmith, leather shop and others. We looked in at the museum and found out about the gold - they had on display real gold nuggets that were panned out of the area, a plaster cast of the biggest ever gold nugget found there - 132 oz! Lots of despcriptions about the role that water played in the development of the town.
Before a constant supply of water was brought to the town via wooden shutes and dikes the town closed down in the summer, now panning could go on, not enough water to drik even. Once water arived then the town grew, at a price. Average earnings from gold panning were $8 per day, cost of water was $6 per day! There were battles over this and so the first water wars in California were fought 160 years ago.
We saw the little picket fence house that featured in High Noon. The whole film was due to be shot ther, but it rained and was too green to be a New Mexico town, so it was shot in the studio back lot.
We stopped for a coffee/tea in a saloon, watching the rain. Then packed up and continued up US49. The road became narrower and more twisty and hilly, se we were both grateful and grumpy when we finally made it to the campground. We dined on Cornbeef Hash and Beans.

The Gold Rush - Wednesday

We awoke at 6.00 on Wednesday morning to a wet bed! The skylite above our bed had a neat little hole punched in it, perhaps an acorn or pine cone dropped on it. It had rained solid from Midnight, so a fair amount of water had dripped in. We had wet duvet, bottom sheets, mattress topper and memory foam topper and it was miserable, so we packed up early. We left Yosemite in pouring rain, heading for Folsom Lake SP near Sacramento, taking a last look at the Yosemite Falls, which was now flowing quite fast. We drove north on very winding roads back up to 7000ft (and snow) then down onto US120. We stopped at a little roadside cafe for a brunch, we really enjoyed the 50's Americana decor and the excellent Pancakes (with warm syrup). Driving on we turned north onto US49. This road meanders up through the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, through the area known as the Gold Rush Country. This was the area that gold was discovered in California in the 1850's and is dotted with lots of small towns which still have the victorian wooden buildings, with their balconies and wooden sidewalks so distinctive of the 'Western' style. In fact many westerns moviesw were filmed here.
Folsom Lake is a 177 mile drive, so we stopped overnight at Jamestown, famous for the Jamestown Railway, which we discovered (after we had left) was the railway used in Back To The Future III. Spielberg also had the town built at the end of the railway, but it burnt down in a wildfire. But first things frist, we needed to do some washing, both to dry the bedclothes and clean our clothes. After the washing we did get time to have a wander down the Jamestown Main Street, before going on to Sonora, which also has a Main Street, but is much busier as it still takes the through traffic. We stopped there for an evening meal in a local grill called Outlaws. We had the Blue Plate Special, which was Steak Masala, corn on the cob and scallop potatoes. It was delicious, the steak was huge, tasty and tender. We really enjoyed that one and I claim it as one of the best meals we have had on this trip.
On Thursday we packed up in the rain, but were determined to see as much as we could of the Gold Rush, so we stopped off at the Columbia Historic State Park.

Yosemite Valley - Tuesday

Today we moved our trailer again, only one site, but it still seemed to dominate our day. In the morning we took a look at the Mi-Wok Indian Village Museum, which was interesting, though a little patronising (towards the Indians). After lunch we toured the lower Yosemite Valley (to the West). We took a walk up to the Yosemite Falls, in total about 1700ft drop!. We could get up close to the Lower Falls, which are a mere 650ft, which was quite impressive. The Middle and Upper Falls are only accessible to hikers, though we could see them. The Upper Falls are very impressive at about 1000 ft drop, but not a lot of water was coming over the falls, in fact the water just about disappeared by the time it got to the bottom of the falls, turning to mist as it sped up with gravity.
Following this we viewed El Capitan, a large rock which 'guards' the entrance to Yosemite Valley. Its about a 3000ft sheer rock wall. We sat for about 10 minutes looking and eventually Sally found two climbers half way up the rock face. Almost invisible to the naked eye Sally had found them using the binoculars.
By now the weather was closing in and many of the cliff tops were disappearing as the cloud base lowered with the impending storm. we returned to our trailer and ate Chicken and Rice for tea.

Yosemite Valley - Monday

Monday we moved our trailer from North Pine to Lower Pine Campground and then took a picnic with us to explore the Upper Yosemite Valley. First we went up to the Morror Lake, where the surrounding cliffs, most notably the enormous Half Dome, are reflected in the the still water of the lake, though it was lacking a little water the effect was quite memorable. After a pleasant walk and lunch we moved on to the Happy Isles, three small islands in the middle of the Merced river, which flows through the valley. This gave us some very pleasant views of the river and also Glacier Point to the South. We also went and had a look at the Visitor Center.

Friends in Winton

When we were at the Kings River Campground we made friends with several people, one couple in particular were great fun and asked us to dtop by thier place if we were passing. Although Sequoia is more or les the next valley down from Yosemite it is actually quicker to come back down to the Central Valley, go north and then back up into Yosemite, so this meant that we would be able to visit with Peter and Jan in Winton, near Merced. Driving down from Sequoia we left the great mountains and travelled through the yellow grassy foothills, then onto the heavily cultivated flat land of the Cnetral Valley. We joined I5, which travels the length of the Central Valley linking the many towns an cities there. After passing Merced we turned off and drove thorugh the fruit and nut orchards to Peter and Jan's house. They have a lovely house and garden on a crossroads in the middle of the orchards. After about an hour of manouvering we managed to get the trailer past the big eucalytus stress and onto their front lawn.
We had a lovely relaxing weekend with Peter and Jan, they have a great sense of humour and welcomed us without reservation. They have a lovely little 'summer house motel room' for visitors which was very well appointed. We got to jam some with them and eat together, on Saturday night we really pushed the boat out and went to Sizzlers in Merced. All too soon we had to move on, so that we could drive up to Yosemite on Sunday. We really had a great time with some lovely people.

Going to Yosemite - Sunday

Oops - missed a week!

This blog will give a short update on the week we have missed. Hopefully we will be able to fill it out later.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday we were at the Bluefgras festival whih was great fun.
On Monday we drove up to Sequoia National Park in the mountains and stayed at Cedar Grove Campground Monday and Tuesday night, visiting Kings Canyon.
On Wednesday we moved back to Azalea Campground at Grants Grove.
We used Wednesday and Thursday to explore the giant Sequoias of General Grant and General Sherman.
Not having power or cell phone access meant that we were unable to write our blog during this visit.
On Friday we travelled back down into The Central Valley to satay with some friends just near Merced, north of Fresno.
The weather has been great and we are having a great time.

Thursday - Travelling to Kings River Bluegrass

On leaving Mojave, which is right on the Eastern side of the Mojave Desert, which is relatively flat, we immediately started to climb into the mountains around Tehachapi (the emphasis is: the 'ha', sound as in 'ha'ppy and the 'api', sound as in h'appy'). The road runs through a fairly narrow mountain pass, accompanied by a narrow gauge, but very busy, railroad (do not confuse narrow gauge with the small private railways in England and Wales, many railways in USA are narrow gauge, yet carry full size wagons, each wagon may be stacked with two freight containers. Their may be more than a hundred wagons in a train, being pulled by four or five big diesel locomotoves). To either side, towering above on the mountain tops are hundreds of wind turbines of all different sizes. In September the grass, which covers the mountains as far as you can see, are golden yellow colour, waiting for the rains to come in November, when they will turn green again.
After passing Tahachapi we started to drop down, as we cleared the mountains the colour of the landscape changed to green. As far as the eye could see there was a flat plain, which was covered with crops. This was the area simply called 'The Central Valley'. It was a desert until the water which flows from the Sierra Nevada was captured and used for irrigation, mkaing The Central Valley one of the most productiver agricultural areas on Earth. The valley is about the size of England,more than four hundred miles long and up to 250 miles wide, which is intensively agriculturalised. Hopefully we will be able to write more about this area of California later.
Driving North past Bakersfield we arrived just south of Fresno,at Sanger, where the Festival is held. We had opted to pay extra for an electric hookup as we thought (quite correctly) that it maybe hot and we would need our A/C.
Immediately on arrival several people came to greet us and help us to choose our site. We were invited to place our trailer right next to Rich, a banjo playing preacher from San Francisco, so we moved in and placed our trailer 'awning to awning' for protection from the sun.