\tUnlike yesterday, we saddled up and\nheaded out for a cruise through the areas east of Redding, CA. In\naccordance with past practice, the destination was quite nebulous at\nthe beginning but resolved itself as we proceeded. We started out by\ngetting on a rural two-lane road called Old Oregon Trail about a half\nmile from our park near I-5 and were treated to a delightful drive\nthrough both mountainous forested areas and massive pastures, most of\nthem occupied by cattle browsing on the stubble. It was extremely dry\nhere and looked like an errant spark could start a conflagration of\nepic proportions. There were many deer hanging out by the road and\nflying raptors above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tAfter a while we came to the\nintersection with State Highway 299 which is the main, and sometimes\nonly, route from the coast over at Eureka and into the mountains at\nAlturas, over by the Nevada border and US-395. We we turned east on\n299 at an elevation of about 1200 feet and passed through tiny\ncommunities called Bella Vista, Round Mountain, Montgomery Creek and\nHillcrest before getting to 4000 feet and Burney, the first real town\nfor about 60 miles. It is a gorgeous drive, although serpentine,\nthrough mixed conifer and hardwood forests. The hardwoods were\nputting on a gorgeous, colorful display of multi-colored foliage\nbefore going into their ugly, stick-like wintertime dormant phase. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tWe continued through Burney and a\nlittle community called Johnson Park before turning north on CA-89 to\nthe McArthur-Burney Falls State Park where we coughed up the $10\nentry fee to enter the park. We easily found a place to park in the\nalmost empty parking lot before taking a very short walk to a spot on\nthe edge of a deep gorge where we could see the fabulous Burney\nFalls. In the volcanic sedimentary rock in this region, water\nfrequently finds funny ways to run downhill and Burney Falls is a\nsuperb example. The main falls cascade from the top of a cliff but\nabout halfway down the abrupt cliff face, a much wider sheet of water\nhas found a way through the sedimentary layers resulting in a curtain\nof water about 150 feet wide also falling into the 25 foot deep pool\nof crystal-clear water at the bottom. It is gorgeous. Teddy Roosevelt\nvisited years ago and thought Burney Falls should be the Eighth\nWonder of the World. This park was certainly worth the $10 we spent\nto be dazzled. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tWe spent quite a bit of time here\nbecause the waterfall and adjacent Lake Britton are so stunning.\nEventually, however, we had to leave. We were in basically uncharted\nterritory for us so we looked at the map and found a town that shares\nthe name of Dana with our daughter. We headed a bit further north\nbefore turning east again on County Road A19, also known as McArthur\nRoad, and after about 15 minutes pulled through Dana. It is a\nscattered community with houses visible in the flat distance and a\ndefunct Dana Market which looked closed. This area is a massive high\npasture between mountain ridges and is very scenic. We continued on\nA19 for another dozen miles before turning onto A20 which took us due\nsouth and back to CA-299 and another community called Fall River\nMills. Unfortunately, we were running out of daylight by that point,\nespecially since the sun had dropped below massive ridges to the west\nof us, so we turned back toward home on CA-299. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CA-299 is a treacherous, high speed, serpentine road with strenuous climbs and descents and it is also absolutely spectacular for roadside scenery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We took a few pictures along the way and they can be seen by clicking the link. The fifth wheel trailer in one of the pictures is not ours. https:\/\/photos.app.goo.gl\/chLvmHVN1PLV2RQx8<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Unlike yesterday, we saddled up and headed out for a cruise through the areas east of Redding, CA. In accordance with past practice, the destination was quite nebulous at the beginning but resolved itself as we proceeded. We started out … Continue reading