August 30, 2011

August 30, 2011

Whiskeytown National Recreation Area is a lake formed by a dam across the Sacramento River. It is a picturesque lake nestled in a hilly valley. We sat and had our cocktail by the lake last night.

Whiskeytown is also gold country. Prospectors discovered gold here igniting the gold rush of 1849. I give panning a try in the very stream that ignited the rush. I came up dry. I need to come back on the weekend when Park rangers demonstrate proper technique and the prime locations. Till then I’ll have to break the news to Aimee that she is not getting that gold anniversary ring.

On the way out of the area, we stop for a short visit to Shasta State Historic Site. Shasta is a ghost town from the gold rush era. This place is confirmation that the only people who got rich panning for gold were the suppliers of pans.

From Whiskeytown we drove north past the snow-capped volcano Mt. Shasta. In the northeast corner of California we arrive at Lava Beds National Monument. The park is one small section of Medicine Lake volcano, the largest in the West. It is as tall as Mt. St. Helens but many times wider (about the size of Chicago) because the lava was thin and runny. This kind of lava flows down the side of a volcano inside tubes. This area is so full of tubes that the land looks infested with giant moles.

From the Visitor Center we take a hike through a short tube in which the park has installed lighting. But before we can, we get grilled on other caves we have visited. Since we toured Mammoth in Kentucky last year, our shoes get a thorough scrubbing and disinfection. They think we might be a carrier of an eastern bat disease. The ranger did such a good job cleaning our shoes, Aimee and I bring him all our other shoes too.

We spend the night in the park campground. It is nice and meets the high expectations we have of National Parks.