Monday, June 11, 2012
For breakfast this morning Wilma made buckwheat cakes. Betty made eggs and sausage. There were showers at Manzanita and we all took advantage of them. They were a little pricy, 6 quarters for 3 minutes. Some of us had problems getting finished in the allotted time and had to feed the meter a few more quarters before we got done. We also took advantage of the dump station, which cost an additional $2.50 but we did fill our domestic water tanks there before we left.
At the northwest entrance to Lassen NP is a sign indicating 48 miles to Redding, CA. We headed west on route 44 into Redding. We must have dropped about 4000 feet, and the lower we went, the warmer it got. Our first stop was at the Turtle Cove Park and Convention Center where the Sundial Bridge is located. It is one of those things like the Field of Dreams – if you build it they will come. The bridge is a footbridge which joins the park and convention center located on both sides of the Sacramento River. Sundial is a suspension bridge with a monolithic structure that sets on the east side of the river. The suspension cables are attached at various heights to the monolith and extend only to the west to support the bridge. It is a unique and very beautiful bridge and has a glass deck. There is a warning sign that the deck can get very hot. The glass may have been clear at one time, but you really can’t see through it now. It really would be pretty at night when the deck is lit.
After walking across the bridge and back we made a stop at Costco to pick up some groceries and a little junk food, but they didn’t have head lettuce or salted caramel biscotti. Bummer, but we still have a small supply of the biscotti, and we can pick up lettuce elsewhere. We indulged in lunch there, about the cheapest lunch around. Then it was off to find a supply of diesel. Getting that taken care of, the attendant directed us to highway 299 and we headed for the coast.
Not far out of Redding we stopped at the Whiskeytown Lake VC of the Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area to pick up another stamp for the passport books.
We got into road construction shortly after we left Whiskeytown Lake. I think it was the first time any of us had been in a “road realignment project”. We finally learned that they were straightening the road by taking out 6 curves. Leave it to Caltrans to come up with a new term. The trip along the Trinity River was really pretty and we enjoyed it very much.
We turned north on highway 101 and shortly thereafter stopped and Clam Beach County Park where we are settling in for the night. More tomorrow.
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