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.

Sacramento - Northern California or Central?

Since I've moved to Sacramento, well, even before I moved here, there was one thing that always bothered me. People down here forget that there is anything farther north. Most know of Redding, but think that the next thing past Redding is Oregon. But between Redding and the boarder is one of the most beautiful areas in the entire state of California. True, I may be bias, being raised there and all, but to me, even the Seirras are nothing compared to the Trinity Alps, or the Siskiyous.