Last Day in Redding getting in the Holiday Spirit!

We didn't have anything left on the list to check out today so we stopped by a park.  There wasn't much that the kids were interested in so we didn't stay long but it was nice to get out a bit.  

In the evening we headed back to the sundial bridge to check out the Christmas lights display.  We signed up for the early time hoping to avoid the crowds.  For the most part that worked, and when we were leaving we saw a lot of people arriving which made us glad we were out!

The sun had just set when we started our first loop.

They had cool turtles made of lights.  

And lizards!

And flowers with butterflies.

There was a circular area where they had the lights synchronized with the music.  

And some of the trees had these flower blossom lights that were very cool!

And they had three light tunnels that we enjoyed!  

We wrapped up our first loop around and since it was now dark out we decided to go through again to see everything in the dark.  I didn't take many pictures the second time around but I did get this one at the circular area.  

Along with this video of the lights with the music.

And this was the exit out of the lights.  Loved the moon in the fog with the lights from the trees and sundial.  

It was a nice way to end our trip!  Heading home tomorrow.  
 

Thanksgiving!

Today we enjoyed a quiet Thanksgiving!  In the morning I went on a walk to support our local food bank but other than that we didn't go anywhere.  We watched the Macey's Thanksgiving Day parade, the football game, a couple of movie and ATE!  We had turkey, stuffing, potatoes, gravy, veggies, biscuits, and fries for the kids...all of us getting very full bellies!  It was a nice quiet relaxing day which we greatly enjoyed!

Lassen Day Two!

Today we went back to Lassen but since it didn't look like it snowed overnight we headed to the Kohm Yah-mah-nee visitors center because they get more snow on that side.  And sure enough, there was a lot more snow!  It was a chilly 31 degrees when we arrived and we were happy to have plenty of warm clothes and got them sleds because it was a great sledding area.  

After a break for some lunch the kids went sledding some more!  

And at this point, Anna actually said she was getting too warm (sledding is a lot of work hiking up the hill after going down).  The sun felt good!

And then the clouds started coming in more and we got to see a bit of snow fall!  

And here is a view of our spot from today.  

Tomorrow we are looking forward to spending the day at the house and enjoying some turkey!

 

Lassen Day One!

Today we went to Lassen National Park (the Manzanita Lake area) and enjoyed a bit of snow!  The kids were super excited to see the little bit of snow and we have our fingers crossed that tonight it might snow so tomorrow they can make snow balls with some fresh snow!  But for today the little bit will have to do!

The view was beautiful!  And it wasn't too cold which was nice!

We "skated" on Reflection Pond.  

After lunch we went over to see if we could "skate" on Manzanita Lake and we could but it didn't seem quite as hard (at least in the area we were standing).  

We are all hoping that tonight brings a little bit of fresh snow! 

Six waterfalls in one day?!!!

Today we did something called a water fall loop!  We took a short drive to the first one, which included nine miles on an unpaved road!  It is called Potem Falls.  It was a nice secluded spot that wasn't marked so we were happy to find it!

The next stop was Burney Falls, which was a short drive from our first stop.  It is a state park and thankfully had restrooms that were open!  Whew!  The struggles of traveling during a pandemic makes things like bathrooms really important!  I think this was my favorite spot!

Along the way to our next stop we got a few glimpses of Mount Shasta.  It was hiding a bit though.  

Our next stop, the McCloud River Falls, had three waterfalls.  Well, two that we would count.  One wasn't a waterfall based on what we expected but I don't know how they define those types of things!  We went to the upper falls first.  

Some sticks were thrown in and we tried to track them down the falls but didn't seem to have the right angle.  Then we went to the middle falls (sorry for the sun rays).  We didn't go down to the bottom knowing we had another one to see at this location and another location to go.  

And now the lower falls.  It looked very small (in drop) but it is hard to say for sure.

And the kids hung in there and we made our final stop.  

It is beautiful with a cave behind the waterfall.

It was cool to be able to walk behind the falls and see the amazing rock face!

Of course the kids enjoyed climbing all the rocks.  

And the cool view from behind the falls.

We then made the rest of the drive back to the rental house.  It was a great day trip and we got a view of the very low Lake Shasta on our way back.  It is low to allow for water for ag usage but it was sure sad to see the very low lake levels.