A Canyon River/Waterfall Hike at Lake Shasta - CA

Cottonwood, CA
Moochdocking



We left our trailer behind at my parents and drove up to visit my sister, 3 hours north, and stayed at her place.  It's so much easier to drive through the crazy traffic in Sacramento without the trailer.

 

A quick thunderstorm passed through as we drove up I5 and left a pretty rainbow.

We had a nice time at my sisters.  Just hanging out on her back deck fishing and relaxing.

My sister lives on a small man-made lake and has her own dock.

Pasta on the patio.  Salute!

Almost embarrassing when it feels like you got a good one on the line but it's just a dinker!

 

The next day while Steve worked, my sister, Kris, and I took her boat up to Lake Shasta, about an hour north of her place, for some fishing and a special hike if we could find the trailhead.

The fishing was just ok and the Bass weren't very big.  Still great to be on the water on a nice day!

You have to boat in.  We're headed to the back of this inlet.

Our main goal was to hike Little Backbone Creek which is across from Digger Bay.  You have to hike through the colorful canyon in the river, up and over boulders to the natural waterfall/slide.  I still had stitches in my finger that I couldn't get wet so I had to be careful.

My sister said it should be a fairly easy hike.

Right off the bat you have to climb over some large boulders.  Not easy to do when you're trying not to use your index finger one hand.  Who's the Nazi now you guys?!

Funny to see this old tractor tire up here in the creek. It must've washed down the creek a long way to get here.  No roads or properties around.

The colors of the rock in this canyon are amazing! 

 

The water is crystal clear!

I like how the picture looks like a watercolor painting when you zoom in.

It seems the water running over the boulders makes the orange/red color really come out.

There are many waterfalls as the water drops down into several pools along the way.

 

I had to do a lot of butt scooting as the rocks were very slick from the water running over them over the years.  My sister had to help me out in a few spots so I didn't slip and split my finger open.

 Made it to the slide.

 

I couldn't get wet so no slide fun for me.

You have to use the rope to get up to the top.  We had a nice snack break here before heading down.

Look at these colors!

See how smooth the rock surface can be.  Very slick, even dry.

Me & Kris

It was a fun day!

 

Phoebe and Hurley waiting for their turn to take the boat to the dog park just around the lake from my sister.

 

The dogs had a great time playing in the water and us adults had some nice drinks and appetizers at the bar on the lake.

It was a great visit and now we'll be heading towards Nevada to spend some time with friends and visit new parts of the Silver State.

 

 

Wedding Celebration & More Events!

San Jose, CA
San Jose Elks Lodge


Our oldest son, Ryan's, wedding to Diana was beautiful!  It was such a wonderful feeling to see so many people that truly love your kids come together to celebrate them.  I can't convey how happy we were.

Brennan, Kaylee, Steve, Me, Ryan, my Mom & Dad and Shane.

 I just love when our kids are together for pictures.

 Shane, Kaylee, Ryan & Brennan

 Going down the isle.

 Ryan's beautiful bride, Diana.

 Mr. & Mrs. Ryan & Diana McCormack

So happy!!

The wedding was at the top of a hill at a The Boulder Ridge Golf Resort with a view of the valley below.  Perfect sunset!

I love that our kids are such goofballs.  The looks on their faces are a crack up.

Siblings and some of their cousins.

The views at night.

One thing I hadn't mentioned is that for several months I had a strange hard, blister-growth on my finger.  It had started to get bigger in Idaho so I had gone to a dermatologist to have it looked at as I wanted it removed before the wedding. (this was in 7/2019).  I thought it would just need to be cut off but the doctor said it was a problem with fluid leaking out of my finger joint and it was going to require surgery and would be a few weeks of recovery.  Whaaa?  I knew I'd be shaking a lot of hands at the wedding and was bummed that I'd have to wear special tape to cover it until after the wedding was over when I'd have to have a hand specialist perform the surgery.  It didn't hurt unless it was bumped.  I just didn't like how it looked.

  

So a few days after the wedding I had surgery in Placerville.  It was quite a deal for a little bump.  I asked to just have a local anesthetic and the doctor figured I could handle that and it went smoothly. He blasted some Tom Petty for me and I watched the operation.  An hour later I was out.  It was a type of cyst that funnels directly out of your knuckle joint and it had to be cut out and sown up. Gotta love that bandaging!

 

A week later and I could remove the heavy bandaging and just use a regular band aide.  Another week and the stitches came out.  The last picture is 3 weeks later.  It healed amazingly well! 

While we had our dental cleanings and waited to have my hand surgery cleared, we decided to redecorate the trailer and change colors.  We loved our Tuscan Reds & Greens, but wanted something much brighter now.

 

Out with the muted reds and greens and in with the bright blues, espresso and tangerine.

 

We also had to wait for our insurance and warranty companies to agree on who was paying for the new refrigerator (not us!)  We were without it for 6 weeks.  Our very nice RV repair person dropped off a small college fridge he had in his shop for us to use.  Funny how you can make do with such a small space.  Only 3 days worth of fresh meats and veggies.  It really wasn't a problem.  I didn't get a picture of the small fridge in the open space or the repaired one though.  If you ever need RV repair work done in the Placerville area, give Jim at Kamper Kulture Moble Repair a call.  He's done a couple of things for us over the last couple years and he's great!

This guy pulled into the Placerville Elks where we moved after the wedding.  Cute set up.

 

The reception will be at the Forest House Lodge.

Since we had some extra time to kill, we took a drive up to the tiny town of Foresthill, about an hour north of Placerville to check out the venue where our 3rd son, Brennan, and Alex will have their outdoor wedding.  It's out in a secluded area with a great view of the American River down below.  It will be in May of 2020. (Yes, the Corona Virus cancelled out the wedding and it is postponed until Dec of 2020).

Gorgeous view!

What a cool ride!
We had a great lunch at Makers Mountain Eatery & Brew Pub and we're considering having the Rehearsal Dinner here.  Great food and atmosphere.  It is owned and operated by a local Veteran.  He is very proud of his BBQ and it shows!
 

Whew, so much going on!  Time for one of my favorite hikes at Sly Park.  I love this 7 mile hike around one side of the lake to the waterfall.

 There were a few people on the water, including this family and a fisherman, but no one on the trail.

Always cool here at the lake when it's hot in Placerville.  This is only 9 miles "up the hill", but 2000 feet higher in elevation.

I met my parents and Uncle/Godfather for breakfast at the local casino.  It was just after 9/11 and folks in these small mountain towns are very patriotic.  The flags are always flying over Main Street.

Me and my Uncle Danny.  We always have cooked sauce together since I was very small.

 My parents. We were celebrating my Dad's 82nd birthday.

The next night we celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary on 9/15 and had a very nice dinner out at a new to us place called, CKnights.  Great steaks.  We loved the personal touch they gave us by announcing our anniversary on the printed menu.  We were also given some delicious champagne cocktails and a cheesecake made with Luxardo cherries.  WOW.  If you've never had them, check them out.  Great in cocktails or desserts!

 

One more event and then we'll head out for some rest and fun at my sisters.

 

 We met Brennan and Alex for some Frisbee golf and lunch where they live in downtown Walnut Creek.

 The next day they had an Engagement BBQ for Brennan & Alex's sides of the families.  Some of us know each other but not all the extended family. It was a lot of fun!

 

Dad, Mom, Me, Alex, Brennan, Kaylee, Steve, Diana, Ryan, Shane and Lindsay.

 

Crazy, busy 3 weeks time!!  Now we're off to spend a little down time at my sisters place, then on to our favorite boondocking in Hope Valley before heading to new places in Nevada and then our usual October in Arizona.