We finally took our first real vacation after coming to San Fran, just short of a year later. We planned last minute and decided to head to Burney, CA, in the Cascade foothills to brush up on (a.k.a. experience for the first time) our fly fishing skills, among other things.
The first fabulous part of this trip started on a Horizon Airlines flight two weeks prior when the attendants offered a "special" in collaboration with Red Lion Hotels (never heard of them) where you could donate $5 to the SPCA animal shelters and receive a stuffed lion. And if you so chose, you could also donate the stuffed lion itself to the Shriners to give to sick kids in hospitals. All in return for a $100 gift certificate to any Red Lion Hotel. I thought it sounded nice and asked for a brochure, where I proceeded to donate not one but
two lions for a grand total of $10, with no intention of using said gift certificate.
We decided to vacate on Wed night rather than Thurs morning to maximize our stay until Sunday. We had reservations at Burney Mountain Guest Ranch Thurs-Sun, but it's almost a 5 hour drive NW from SF, so we looked into a cheap motel for Wed night. That's when I remembered the gift certificate. Would you believe that Redding, CA, 30 minutes west of Burney, has a Red Lion Hotel? Would you believe that Red Lion Hotels are a specifically pet friendly chain? This planted a small seed in my brain. I immediately called the Ranch to see if they also allowed dogs (we were planning on boarding Low
), and they were like, "This is a
ranch. Do you hear my dog barking in the background? Yes, dogs are welcome." So Low came with us.
The Red Lion Hotel rocked. It was actually pretty nice. And it cost us $36: $3 for our hotel stay, $13 for taxes, and $20 for the pet fee. Excellent.
We couldn't check into the Ranch until 3pm the following afternoon, so we stopped for fishing licenses and beer in Redding, then headed to Burney Falls State Park on the way. Now, I knew this state park had a waterfall (duh), and I had read somewhere that maybe Thomas Jefferson or some old dude in American history had credenced this natural gem as "the most beautiful waterfall in California" or something like that. Whatever. We needed to blow a few hours. It was 6 miles out of the way.
Uhhhhhh... There is no justice in the pictures posted here. The waterfall was absolutely gorgeous. And there were hundreds of spouts of water coming out of the surrounding rock walls fed by a natural spring and falling into a clear glass pool. I don't know if I have ever seen anything that pretty in my entire life. I seriously fought back tears for a second.
I might have been satisfied if I turned around and went home right then. Clearly that was not the case.
We checked into the Ranch that afternoon. We had a little cabin on a fly casting pond. It was all-inclusive, so we ate dinner with the owners, their 2-year-old twin boys, and 4 other guests (a family of 3 from Santa Barbara and a recently divorced/laid-off friend of the innkeepers). Thoroughly enjoyable. Note: Lowrider is scared of anything smaller than what he perceives as normal (i.e. us and himself), so he barked at the twins and chased a pomeranian named Faser/Taser/Saber/No One Really Knows the entire time.
We had an appointment with a professional fly fishing guide the following morning. His name was Art, and he was fabulous. (As it turned out, he was coincidentally friends with the dude who we took fly lessons from just over the Golden Gate.) I am so sad we don't have pictures of this, but if you have seen 'A River Runs Through It', you know what kind of river we fished on. No joke or exaggeration. But since I nearly got swept down a river, I am glad I didn't have a non-waterproof camera in my pocket.
Art tied our lines and took us down to the Pitt River, showed us how to maneuver in our waders across a rushing current, stabilize in the middle of a river, and try to catch some fish. He told me over and over "not bad for a girl". I don't think that's a compliment, but I'm okay with that. I caught 2 fish! Derek also caught 2, so no bragging rights. Derek looked a lot more professional, though, and I clearly needed more help. Which included Art grabbing my arm when I lost my footing and attempted to wash myself down the river. (Picture: girl in waders and fishing vest with terrified look on face with both feet facing down river in very strong current clinging to not-amused man trying not to fall over himself.) I caught a fish from that very spot. :) I spent more time catching trees and rocks, but it's a learning experience, right??? I loved it!
Since it was cool in the morning and evening, but nearly 100 degrees during the day, we went back to the Ranch and hung out by the pool. I jumped in and played with the 9-year-old daughter of the other guests who is not only a better swimmer than me but might also be smarter than me. (She used words like "anticipate" conversationally. Seriously? From a 9-year-old?) Then Derek beat me very badly at horseshoes. You would think I would have developed an inferiority complex by this point, but I was too happy and relaxed to even care.
Saturday we decided to wing it since we had no real plans and headed down to Lassen Volcanic National Park in the morning. Before arriving at the park, we stopped to hike a subterranean lava tube that was carved through the rock during Mount Lassen's eruption approximately 100 years ago. Turns out natural subterranean structures are very dark so we left and returned with a flashlight.
Little beknownst to us, it was Free Fare Weekend at the park so we got a map and drove right in. We decided to fly fish on the lake right at the entrance, which was a terrible idea because our lines were tied for river fishing, not lake fishing, and the wind was blowing into our faces. I give us a "D-" for our efforts, but I took a picture of Derek where he at least looks like a real fisherman.
We decided we should just enjoy the park without our rods, so we grabbed some sandwiches at a little shop and drove up to another lake 8000 feet up to picnic. Not all the snow had melted at this elevation, so Derek was happy too. We sat down on some rocks by the water. The lake was so clear you could see to the bottom. So I tasted it. And it tasted good! I would have preferred it over my hot Diet Pepsi, but I drank that anyway.
We drove back to the Ranch in the middle of the afternoon and napped until dinner to avoid the heat. After dinner, we drove to Hat Creek, which is pretty famous for its fly fishing and is just down the road from the Ranch, to attempt fishing one last time. My line wasn't casting properly, so I called it a day, but Derek was a little more successful. According to him, the fish kept "taking my fly but then spitting it out before I could hook them". Rrrrrrrright.
We had intended to go white water rafting during this trip, but the rafting company nearby went out of business because they couldn't afford their insurance. If that means they had a lot of casualties on their clock, maybe it's a good thing we couldn't go. But I wanted to take part in some other activity before the trip was over. So Sunday morning I decided to go horseback riding. Derek is allergic to horses so I left him behind. The 9-year-old, the laid-off guest, and I followed the leader along the Pacific Coast Trail, which is fairly insignificant to witness but for the fact that it spans all the way from Mexico to Canada, and we actually came across some kid who had started hiking 6-9 weeks earlier (I don't remember what he actually said) at the Mexican border. He was supposed to be in Canada by this Friday. I don't think he's gonna make it... But I bet my ass will continue to hurt until Friday after riding that horse.
Then we drove home.
