We went into a Raley's in Red Bluff on our recent RV trip and, at checkout, told the lady we were from Dixon when she asked where we were from. Then she asked, "What brings you to Red Bluff"? We said, "we just came to see Red Bluff and poke around a bit". She started laughing...."you came here just to see Red Bluff!!??"
Well, I guess that about sums up how nice it is for us to find a town and spend days just exploring. This trip we: walked around the downtown and talked to the store owners for about an hour; played 9 holes of golf at a small, local place (Kim drove the cart, I golfed); took three drives into the surrounding country (one north, one into the foothills to the east and one to the west); ate a couple of local eateries...great sandwich place called Mr. Pickles; went down to the Sacramento River where we took a hike on the paths; drove up to a small town called Bend where we had a picnic next to the fast flowing river; cleaned and organized our "coach" one rainy day; and a number of smaller drives around the outskirts to view houses, property and their values on Zillow (on my Droid phone).
That's how we've always wanted to travel. It's not necessary for us to see all the big tourist places. We're content to soak in the local flavor. The photos following show off a tiny glimpse into Red Bluff.
Our site on a perfect day (see Kim in the foreground on the right)
We found the field of flowers by accident...just driving down a levee road.
Sacramento River looking north.
A 250 year old oak tree at the oldest settlement in Red Bluff (from the 1840s)
These clouds came in one night and dropped rain all the next day. There were three tornadoes spotted 40 miles south in Chico. Yikes.
*whispering*... he lines up his shot...
What form and follow through!
Wonderful local 9-hole golf course....70 degrees.
...found the rough on this tee shot.
If you look closely, you'll see the golf club just above and to the right of my right arm.... this was after a gawd-awful duffed shot.
Can't have a golf course without water.
Kim took a sequence shot of me blasting (perfectly, of course) out of a sand trap...wait, what was I doing in there in the first place??!
Kim got this bird....just as it got a tasty worm.
Fore!
Terrific photo with the scoreboard in the foreground and some great golfer in the background.
This tower downtown reminded us of the clock tower in Back To The Future. Nice, nice people in all the stores we went in downtown. Very friendly and happy we came to visit.
As you travel into the foothills to the east, the ground is loaded with lava rocks.
Iron Creek Canyon path east of Red Bluff. We spent an hour looking at rock, flowers, bugs, shrubs and what we thought were BigFoot tracks...turned out to be only cows.....what a letdown.
We can never take enough cow photos...especially white faced ones.
Wonderfully framed photo with the wheat in the foreground.
Very friendly horse we visited with.
Fowl at the riverside. They expected food and were not very happy when Kim walked away without giving them any.
The Sacramento River was flowing easily above 5 knots....really moving.
ahhhhh....how cute...baby sheep.
We were driving through this nice neighborhood when we came across what must be the world's largest guard dog!
This deer seemed to adopt this abandoned home as his own.
For once I did not get in the water....water temperature was too cold and, at that fast speed, too dangerous.
One lane bridge crossing over the Sacramento River on a side road 15 miles NE of Red Bluff.
Hope you all enjoyed the photos.... we sure had a good time. More photos are posted here...
Hello Blog Fans! Before the narrative, let me remind you that you can click on the photos to enlarge them. Also, there's a couple of movies that are inserted below that should be nice to view.
We headed out last Wednesday for a 4 day trip to Chico in northern California which is about 80 miles north of Sacramento. We went up there to tour the Sierra Nevada Brewery, sample the beer(s) and buy useless magnets, beer mugs, etc.
"Wait, we're driving right by the place Dad"
But we never did tour the place. When we finally got around to it on Friday, all tours were booked. We got so distracted by other things to do that it never happened. However, we did go to the restaurant to sample their 16 beers....yes, SIXTEEN!
BEFORE sampling the choices.
AFTER sampling the choices....hiccup, hiccup. We found only three that were not to our liking. What fun!
Kim and I ordered some appetizers then decided to go exploring. We took off north of Chico and turned on a street that headed out into the country. Here's what we found.
Wonderful views of wide open spaces...just the way we like 'em. The wildflowers were in abundance in every field. We went about 8 miles north until the road ran out then we stopped the truck, got outside and just listened.....so quiet and peaceful. All you can hear is the wind.
We also toured the Bidwell House which was an amazing place! When constructed, Bidwell Mansion featured the most modern plumbing, gas lighting and water systems. The overall style of the three-story brick structure is that of an Italian Villa, an informal, warmly romantic style. The building's exterior is finished with a pink tinted plaster. We had the tour director all to ourselves so we peppered him with questions to which he was only too eager to answer. Great tour and visitor center.
This fellow, John Bidwell founded Chico in the late 1800s from part of his 30,000-acre ranch called Rio Chico. His biography is pretty impressive stuff.
The last night were were there, Friday, they had a Monster Truck event going on at the local fairgrounds. I found out about it a week earlier and bought a couple of VIP tickets which got us in to see the trucks close up as well as primo seating for the event. They had the trucks, of course, then dirt bikes doing long acrobatic ramp jumps, some kids driving quads and a rocket car called The Beast, which shot out flames 30 feet from the tail end! Check out the movies below.
Lots of kids got autographs from the drives...including my wife!
The California Kid hitting on Kim.
Titan was one of the best this night.
Look for the real monster in this movie....very scary.
Of course, our cats came along with us....they seemed to always be wondering why there are so many dogs in the RV park..."where are all the cats??"
On a final, sad note. My sister, Shelley, passed away April 6th. My Dad was with her when she closed her eyes and just went to sleep. She just turned 63.
With the three weeks of steady rain here in Northern California and some personal stuff going on, we've not been able to travel like we had planned so.... here's some fun stuff to look at until we head off to Chico next week to hang out at the Sierra Nevada Brewery for some tours and tasting.
Weather, goats, birthdays, zydeco, a movie, breadmaking, a new tool pegboard and a 60 year old guy running.... Lots to look at...enjoy all the photos.
Looking our our front window, south, with the rain clouds coming.
We've got some Groucho Marx disguises so we can go to the brewery multiple times during the day...hiccup.
Now...for the REALLY fun stuff...
Kim offered to help out with a local goat farm. She spent the day feeding over 50 baby goats (called kids).
Sarah, the owner, milking some momma goats. She makes goat milk soap which Kim LOVES.
So tiny. Kim picked them under her arms to feed them. She called them "her footballs".
It was also Kim's birthday in February and my Dad's in March. I got Kim a handmade rubboard from Louisiana and we took Dad out to breakfast for his 89th birthday.
Unwrapping the box.
She was so not expecting it. You can see how much fun she had playing it in the video below. Oh, and notice we still have our artificial tree up.
We bought a Breadman breadmaking machine at a garage sale for $2 !! ...and watched in amazement as the bread got mixed.
KIm is praying for it to Rise, Rise, Rise!
the Before photo of our tools to put on the new pegboard
Clever way to hold it in place while I secure it to the wall.
Wall BEFORE.
Wall AFTER.
For the first time in 5 years, I stayed in shape during the winter...zooooooom.
