Breath-taking

Boy, the day trip to Shasta county was an over-due break in the routine. It was a fun-filled semi-relaxing trip. We had a large group this time around, 15 of us split into 4 cars (3 Corollas/Altis and 1 Elantra)

As usual, the start of the journey was delayed. The lead car drove like a maniac to compensate and the rest of us basically had to step on the pedal just to keep up with him. On a 70mph highway, we averaged 80-90mph. The poor Elantra that I was in struggled just to keep up with the other Corollas initially, though once we hit cruising speeds, it held up pretty well. The 3 hour drive to the 1st vista point was sure fun when you're speeding along.

The first stop was the Sundial Bridge in Redding. It's name describes it well and it spans across a bend in the river known as Turtle Bay. The bridge actually reminded a few of us of the bridge and lamp posts design back in Putrajaya :) Based on some fast googling for this blog entry, the footbridge is actually designed by one of the world's best bridge designers, Santiago Calatrava.

There's only one supporting pylon for the bridge, at one of the bridge ends

Close-up of the pylon

We then made a quick stop by Lake Shasta. A few of us previously passed by the Lake (it's actually a few lakes inter-connected) on our way to the Crater Lake National Park in Oregon last year and the lake view was actually quite enchanting. This time round, the lead car (by virtue of accompanying GPS) bought us to a spot that frankly pales in comparsion to the view by the highway. Though the more-mundane view caused a colleague to comment that Lake Shasta is the "most real" view yet seen in California (she opined that Lake Tahoe's sapphire hued waters bordered by snow covered peaks of the Sierras is soo beautiful, that it's almost fake.... Cynicism at such a young age..). Naturally, we didn't spend too much time and continued Northwards to Mount Shasta.

Lake Shasta: Too real?

Though summer's officially just around the corner, Mount Shasta's peak is still snow-covered and will stay that way until early Fall. We drove uphill till we reached the marker called Bunny Flat and literally the end of the road.

Road side view of Mt. Shasta

End of the road at Bunny Flat

The sight of snow in Summer means only one thing.....

SNOW FIGHT!

The fun was cut short when it started to drizzle. As we hit the road, the downpour worsened and made the descent a mini obstacle course as a few rocks littered the road sporadically. The rain eventually petered off as we reached lower elevations.

The next stop on our list was the Fowler Falls in the nearby district of McCloud. The waterfall consists of 3 stages and we arrived at the Lower Falls. To reach the middle and upper falls and back to the starting point takes 3 miles of trekking.

Lower Fowler Falls @McCloud

Personally, I found the trek to the Upper falls extremely pleasant. The trees along the natural but well-maintained path provided great shade and the viccinity of the falls made the ambient temperature agreeably cool during a hot Summer's afternoon.

The mist at mid Fowler Falls is a great refreshener

Upper Fowler Falls...wish I can come here more often

This is the kind of trip that really perks you up... Great sights, a fun drive in a comfortable car and good, non-work related conversations. Smiles. As beautiful as Fowler Falls is, the final destination of the journey is reputed to be awe-inspiring. This fact easily drove most of us on even though it was touching 6pm and the trek nicely built up an appetite.

The last leg is the McArthur-Burney Falls, around 40miles from Fowler Falls. As we reached the entrance of the State Park, we were surprised we had to pay an day free of $6 per car...when the other stops along the way were without any charge..... As we made our way to the nearby vista point, the sight of the falls took away any thoughts and left me speechless.

Breath-taking

Closer view

The mists from the falls felt like you're in a shower even from a distance. Even the foilage around the falls seemed to benefit; they appear to be more vibrant and greener than usual......