Redding, CA

We originally planned to leave Napa, drive north up U. S. Highway 101, then head west to visit several areas along the northern California coast. We checked the ten-day weather forecast for the coast, and it was calling for temperatures in the 50s, clouds, and a chance of rain several of the days. Well, we were tired of the cool, gray weather and playing peek-a-boo with the sun, so we changed our plans to travel farther inland instead.

We learned the locals call the coastal weather "Gray May" and "June Gloom." Apparently, the land warms up faster than the Pacific Ocean in spring, and this temperature difference creates a lot of fog as the cool air blows in off the water. So, if we ever make it back to the northern California coast, we'll have to try to schedule the trip for some other time of the year.

Our new route took us inland to I-5 and north to Redding, CA where we stayed at Mountain Gate RV Park. Mountain Gate is north of Redding near Shasta Lake. The office staff at Mountain Gate RV was very friendly and helpful, especially when we asked if they would accept mail for us and then wanted to change sites because we couldn't get satellite reception in the first site they assigned us. The photo below shows our site at Mountain Gate RV.

Mountain Gate RV has paved roads and pads with grass between the sites, and site width isn't bad for a private campground. There are full hookups with 50 amp electric and cable, and they have free Wi-Fi. The campground is very attractive and the grass and landscaping are well-groomed. As with the other campgrounds we saw in the Redding area, Mountain Gate RV is a little close to the interstate, which means there is some traffic noise. Fortunately, our change in travel plans worked, and it was hot most of the time we were there. Running the air helped cover the sound of the traffic.

The morning following our arrival, we drove a few miles over to Shasta Dam. Shasta Dam was built from 1938 to 1945 across Sacramento River for water retention and for the generation of electricity. It is the second largest dam in the United States based on volume of concrete. The largest is Grand Coulee Dam across the Columbia River in Washington State. The photo below shows Shasta Dam.

The building of Shasta Dam created Shasta Lake, which is shown in the next photo. Shasta Lake is the largest man-made lake in California and is popular for boating, especially house boating. Somewhere lost in the clouds on the horizon is Mount Shasta way off in the distance.

 

There are free tours that take visitors down into the dam to see some of the many passageways and to see the generator room. Unfortunately, we just missed a tour, and we decided it was too long to wait for the next one, so instead we watched the movie about the building of the dam and looked at some of the photos and displays before taking off.

A well known feature of Redding is the Sundial Bridge. The bridge, which is part of the Sacramento River Trail system, is a pedestrian bridge that spans the Sacramento River in the heart of Redding. It was designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava and is constructed from steel and granite. It has a translucent glass deck with lights below the glass which makes it seem to glow at night. The bridge is suspended from cables attached to a large pylon on the northern end. The photo below shows the bridge as we walked across.

 

The white pylon was striking against the cloudless sky.

The pylon also acts as the gnomon of a sundial to indicate the time on a scale on the ground. It was about 12:20 PM. The sundial was indicating 11:20 because it doesn't account for Daylight Savings Time.

 

In addition to being part of the Sacramento River Trail, the Sundial Bridge also connects the northern part of Turtle Bay Exploration Park with the southern part. Turtle Bay has a museum, a maze, a butterfly house, and various historical and cultural exhibits. It also has the McConnell Arboretum and Botanical Gardens at the north end of the bridge. We didn't realize it was that close until we got there; but since it was close, we decided to check out the gardens. The photo below shows Margery enjoying some of the flowers near the entrance to the botanical gardens.

The next several photos show views from different areas of the garden. As with any successful garden, there was an excellent variety of color and texture.

 

 

We haven't visited that many gardens in California, but a common thread seems to be the presence of art and sculpture along with the plants. There was a sculpture called Lookout Tree created by sculptor Patrick Dougherty. He does natural sculptures from willow. It took about three weeks for Dougherty, park staff, and volunteers to complete the work. The photo below shows Lookout Tree.

 

It was fun walking in and out of the openings and looking up at the patterns of light through the openings in the top.

There was also a very interesting mosaic sculpture at the far end of the garden called Mosaic Oasis. There was a drinking fountain, a decorative fountain, and benches covered in ceramic tiles, mirrors, and stones.

 

The next photo is a closeup of the turtle covered with bits of colored glass, ceramic tiles, and pebbles.

 

We walked back a different path and passed a sculpture made from three large stones surrounded by water gardens filled with pickerel rush, giant horsetail rush, papyrus, and water lilies.

 

We enjoyed our visit to the Sundial Bridge and to the botanical garden. We'll finish our post off with a composite of some closeups of a few of the flowers we saw at the garden.

There are a lot more things to see in and around Redding. Look for our next post to see what else we found.