Fog Lake

I've always loved coming into the valley from Yreka on foggy days. From the top of Forest Mountain the valley looks like a white, fluffy lake. These are some pictures Ben and I took when we were visiting the family at New years.

"Lonely as God, and white as a winters moon."

I saw a valley just today,
Where the rolling hills seemed far away.
Fleecy clouds went drifting by,
above a snowcapped mountain high.

It resembled a castle whit jewels bright,
as the sun shone down and reflected its
light
On the glaciers cold, the crags so steep,
With the timber line reaching to their feet.

Standing aloof, its crest held high,
Above the valley, into the sky. (1)

~Meta Quigley (1902-1988)


The Native Americans who lived in the area of Mount Shasta believed that the spirit chief Skell descended from heaven to the mountain's top and remained on the Mountain. The Mountain has attracted a number of faiths to the area, from Buddhist monks to present day Native American rituals. Some also believe that Mount Shasta is home to the last survivors of the lost continent of Lemuria, and that they live with in the mountain.

Though it sleeps peacefully today, and has for nearly 222 years, the time will come when lahar's will once again mare the landscape. over the last 10, 000 years the Mountain erupted an average of every 800 years, though over the last 4,500 the average was every 600 years. The last eruption occurred in 1786 and was observed by the explorer La Pérouse on board his ship off the Coast.



Some believe that Shasta is an extinct volcano, but the presence of fumaroles (openings in the Earth's crust through which steam and gases escape) indicates that Shasta is "not dead but sleepeth.” Originally, the name "Sasty" or "Sastise" was given to Mt. McLoughlin in 1826 by Peter Ogden of the Hudson's Bay Company, but in 1841, the name was transferred to the present day Mt. Shasta. The summit was attempted my John Muir, Josiah Whitney, Clarence King and John Wesley Powell. The Book "Scenes of Wonder and Curiosity in California" contained an account of a summit trip in 1855. John Muir wrote an article detailing his experiences of surviving a blizzard on the Mountain by lying in the hot sulfur springs that can be found near the summit. In 1976, Mount Shasta was declared a National Natural Landmark.

Mount Shasta has been featured in: "Life Amongst the Modoc's" and "Shadows of Shasta" both by Joaquin Miller. In 1894, Frederick Spencer Oliver wrote "Dweller on Two Planets" about the last of the Lemurian's. Mount Shasta has also been mentioned in "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World", "Lost Legacy", "Replay", "Grey's Anatomy", inspired the song "Shasta" by Vienna Teng, and is the namesake of "Shasta Taiko". Quotes: The poet Joaquin Miller wrote in his book” Life Amongst the Modoc’s" - "Lonely as God, and white as a winter moon, Mount Shasta starts up sudden and solitary from the heart of the great black forests of Northern California.” John Muir, a naturalist and author had this to say about Mt. Shasta: "When I first caught sight of it over the braided folds of the Sacramento Valley, I was fifty miles away and afoot, alone and weary. Yet all my blood turned to wine, and I have not been weary since.” Even Theodore Roosevelt, president of the United States was in awe of the Mountain: "I consider the evening twilight on Mt. Shasta one of the grandest sights I have ever witnessed." (2)

BEHOLD the dread Mt. Shasta, where it stands
Imperial midst the lesser heights, and, like
Some mighty unimpassioned mind, companionless
And cold. The storms of Heaven may beat in wrath
Against it, but it stands in unpolluted
Grandeur still; and from the rolling mists upheaves
Its tower of pride e'en purer than before.
The wintry showers and white-winged tempests leave
Their frozen tributes on its brow, and it
Doth make of them an everlasting crown.
Thus doth it, day by day and age by age,
Defy each stroke of time still rising highest
Into Heaven!

Aspiring to the eagle's cloudless height,
No human foot has stained its snowy side;
No human breath has dimmed the icy mirror which
It holds unto the moon and stars and sov'reign sun.
We may not grow familiar with the secrets
Of its hoary top, whereon the Genius
Of that mountain builds his glorious throne!
Far lifted in the boundless blue, he doth
Encircle, with his gaze supreme, the broad
Dominions of the West, which lie beneath
His feet,. in pictures of sublime repose
No artist ever drew He sees the tall
Gigantic hills arise in silentness
And peace, and in the long review of distance
Range themselves in order grand. He sees the sunlight
Play upon the golden streams which through the valleys
Glide. He hears the music of the great and solemn sea,
And overlooks the huge old western wall
To view the birth-place of undying Melody!

Itself all light, save when some loftiest cloud
Doth for a while embrace its cold forbidding
Form, that monarch mountain casts its mighty
Shadow down upon the crownless peaks below,
That, like inferior minds to some great
Spirit, stand in strong contrasted littleness!
All through the long and Summery months of our
Most tranquil year, it points its icy shaft
On high, to catch the dazzling beams that fall
In showers of splendor round that crystal cone,
And roll in floods of far magnificence
Away from that lone, vast Reflector in
The dome of Heaven
Still watchful of the fertile
Vale and undulating plains below, the grass
Grows greener. In its shade, and sweeter bloom
The flowers. Strong purifier! From its snowy
Side the breezes cool are wafted to the "peaceful
Homes of men," who shelter at its feet, and love
To gaze upon its honored form, aye standing
There the guarantee of health and happiness.
Well might it win communities so blest
To loftier feelings and to nobler thoughts—
The great material symbol of eternal
Things! And well I ween in after years, how
In the middle of his furrowed track the plowman
In some sultry hour will pause, and wiping
From his brow the dusty, with reverence
Gaze upon that hoary peak. The herdsman
Oft will rein his charger in the plain, and drink
Into his inmost soul the calm sublimity;
And little childen, playing on the green, shall
Cease their sport, and, turning to that mountain
Old, shall of their mother ask: "Who made it?"
And she shall answer, — "God!"

And well this Golden State shall thrive, if like
Its own Mt. Shasta, Sovereign Law shall lift
Itself in purer atmosphere—so high
That human feeling, human passion at its base
Shall lie subdued; e'en pity's tears shall on
Its summit freeze; to warm it e'en the sunlight
Of deep sympathy shall fail:
Its pure administration shall be like
The snow immaculate upon that mountain's brow!

~ John Rollin Ridge (3)

1. Quigley, Meta. "Shasta View." Musings and Memories. M.J. Harrison. 1973. 41.

2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Shasta

3. http://anpa.ualr.edu/digital_library/jrr/01.htm

O Christmas Tree!

When I was younger the lighting of the city tree was often something I looked forward too. Many years we would make ornaments at home or at school to put on the city tree. Every year that I can remember, until about 4 or 5 years ago, the tree stood in the middle of "town square"...well, it's really just the intersection of Main Street and Diggles Street. That's right, in the middle of the road, you had to be careful driving around it. I myself have no memories of anyone hitting the tree, but my sisters tell me it happened.

(Photos Courtesy of Beth Lee)

A few years ago they moved the tree to the parking lot of the Drug Store, but it only stayed there for a year. Now the tree gets set up in the parking lot between the Firehouse and The Outback.

It's not the same, but you can see it when you drive into town now.

My California!

Robbers Rock

Just after you start down the Yreka side of Forest Mountain there is a large rock on the left hand side of the road. This rock was once, and still is, known as Robbers Rock. The old stage road runs on the other side, close enough that this was a favorite spot for stage coach robbers to hide out and wait.

(Taken from the old Stage road)

Back when they built the new road the crews blasted through Robbers Rock, now all that is left is the larges portion in the picture above, and a smaller boulder on the opposite side of the road. The smaller portion of the rock hosts a plaque commemoration the history of the Rock.

(Plaque Transcription)

Robbers Rock

On this site at least four known
stage coach robberies occurred. In
the hold-up of September 25, 1897,
the robber William Harrall was
trailed to Delta, Shasta County
where he was killed in a gun battle
during which he killed Undersheriff
William A. Radford. The last hold-
up here and in California occurred
on July 5, 1908 and remains
unsolved to this day.

Dedicated By
Humbug Chapter No. 73
E Clampus Vitus
September 8, 1979

Johnson Creek Falls

If you find the right trail, hike for an hour or so, you'll get to see one of beauties of Scott Valley. Up the mountain behind the high school is Johnson Creek Falls (Johnson Falls). The Lower Falls is said to have been the first source of electricity in Scott Valley. A hydrolic system was built to power on of the first breweries in the Valley. On a trip with my sister and her husband we made the precarious journey to the bottom of the falls. From there you can see what looks like an old pipe, the remnants of the old hydrolics.

Once, I hike up to the Falls with my father and sister. We didn't go all the way to the falls, just to a point on the trail where you can see the lower falls plummeting into the trees below.




In high school I made the hike several times with some of my friends. Though we would always go farther up, to the top of the Lower Falls. We would always go in the summer, when the water volume was less and we'd climb to the opposite side and sit on a ledge looking down the Falls. From this vantage point we could see that the Lower Falls were made up mostly of a series of small falls, at least near the top. I always thought that Johnson Falls consisted only of what I now call, the Lower Falls, but last year I took a group of my friends from the City home and discovered there was more to Johnson Falls than I thought.




Wading up through the Middle Falls was more rewarding than I could have imagined. This portion of Johnson Creek is broken by a series of small waterfalls. Most weren't too difficult to navigate, but one was a bit larger and required shimmying up a slippery log, which was not too easy while carrying a camera.




The Upper Falls is smaller than the Lower Falls, but Just as beautiful. The Falls come down through a narrow chasm in the granite rock that makes the mountains on the west side of the valley. My friends and I contemplated trying to go higher, but the only way up was the sleek, moss coverd surface of the rock, worn smooth my centuries of run-off from the snow capped mountains.





I still haven't made it to the top and discovered the origin of the falls, but my hope is that one day I'll be able to.

Creek -vs- Creek

One thing I never understood growing up was why my friends always teased me about the way I say Creek. They always insisted that the way they say it is right and that my way was wrong. However, according to Merriam-Webster either way is correct whether it be Creek (ˈkrēk), or Creek (ˈkrik). I remember in Jr. High my friends were fond of teasing me by saying "I'm going down to the Creek ('krik) to warsh my cloths"...yes, I do have a tendency to way warsh, but only if I'm not watching how I'm speaking, or if I want to annoy my friends. So far, in college, most of my friends think the way I talk is just me, the Mountain Woman, and not wrong in any way.