How lucky we were to return to California a little later, when the weather is absolutely terrific!
Our trip to the more eastern side of California led us to our first stop in Redding. On the way we had gorgeous views of Mt. Shasta!
Redding:
From our base in Redding we were able to explore Mt. Shasta and Shasta Lake more.
We had several suggestions to visit Lassen Volcanic National Park, and I’m so glad we did!
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| Look at this huge pinecone! |
There was quite a bit of snow!
We took a picnic lunch, and found the perfect spot:
Well not so perfect. But we did find a beautiful waterfall:
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| Burney Falls |
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| Burney Falls |
Yosemite National Park / Mariposa:
Our Airbnb space near Mariposa was a great gateway to Yosemite National Park. We spent 2 days exploring Yosemite Valley.
Welcome to Yosemite!
Because of recent snow melts, the river was high and the falls were full.
Yosemite is truly one of the most beautiful national parks we have!
Here is a picture of one of the most iconic views, “The Tunnel View”. This is a scenic overlook providing views of Yosemite Valley, El Capitan, Bridalveil Falls and Half Dome. It doesn’t look real does it?
Some of the roads were still closed; however, we were able to go further south in the park to Mariposa Grove to see some giant Sequoias:
Mariposa is a cute town. We
visited the Mariposa Museum & History
Center and were lucky to get a personal tour by one of the volunteers.
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| Miss Jennie's general store |
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| "Dear Charlie" Letters |
Horace Snow was a gold miner, writer, carpenter, Civil War Veteran and merchant. He wrote the “Dear Charlie” letters while
prospecting for gold in California.
These letters, written to his friend Charles Fitz in Boston, portray
life in California during the gold rush.
Since paper was scarce, several letters are superimposed upon each other
with the words written horizontally and diagonally.
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| 5-Stamp gold ore mill |
We visited the Butterfly Creek Winery.
As with many wineries, the challenge is getting there. We had a one lane, dirt road and kept our
fingers crossed hoping that we would not meet anyone – especially a big pick-up
truck!
We made it, had a lovely tasting
and terrific visit with the owner. We
got a tip for the trip back -- just drive fast and hope that anyone coming
toward us gives way!
Next stop ... Lake Tahoe!