Redding

I’ve had this post ready to go since March but never posted it. So I’m finally getting around to it. I’m glad we had time to visit Milt and Pat in Redding before I needed to be in Reno for ASC. They love the outdoors, both had careers in the Parks service. They’ve certainly retired in a beautiful spot to enjoy the various parks and wildlife preserves in the area. They can enjoy day trips to Mt. Shasta or Lassen. Pat is an avid birder and photographer. I get lots of practice with the camera when we visit them, and I really enjoy that.

There is a nature preserve within walking distance to their house, so we took a few walks there at sunrise and sunset.

They took us to see some beautiful spots. Our first stop was Burney Falls State Park. It was icy but sunny. We walked around the falls, crossing the river below and then above the waterfalls. I didn’t have luck getting a good shot of the falls with my camera – the shadows made it tricky. I’m using the photo Ben took of us instead.

Ben likes taking photos of me taking photos. =)

The bridge above the falls has a nice view, but you can’t see the falls.

The next day we spent checking out places around Redding. Milt showed us the theater he volunteers for. He makes the sets, takes care of the building, and does pretty much whatever needs to be done. We also walked the Sundial Bridge. We’d been here the last time we visited Milt and Pat. It’s still a nice walk and a great place to see the sunset.

We also got to check out Whiskeytown Lake. It was late in the day, so we only had time for a quick stop.

The Carr fire in July 2018 started in Whiskeytown National Rec area, near the lake, and burned over 200,000 acres. It was the most destructive fire in the National Park Service’s history. We saw some of the damage while driving to and from the lake.

Lassen Volcanic National Park is about an hour from Redding. They’d recently had good snowfalls, so we decided to go snowshoeing. I’ve done it once before; Pat, Milt, and Ben had never been. We had a great time walking around the lake.