Tags
Family, Flowers, Fun, Hiking, Just Because, Outings, Relaxing, Road Trip, Shasta, Vacation, Volcanoes
On our last full day in the Shasta area we decided to jaunt down to Castle Crags to see if the view in the park was any better than the brief view from the road. We’ve made a few trips up to Castle Lake that sits behind the Crags, but have never made the time to visit the Crags. The view is a little better than that brief look driving up the hill, but it’s somehow not quite as impressive. Maybe it was just the time of day.
Once you’re in the park, there is a tiny one lane road (at least it was paved) that leads up to a parking lot with a few trailheads. The viewpoint for the Crags is about a quarter mile hike. The Crags are solid granite that has been thrust up from the geologic activity, then worn by ice and wind to give them their shape.
From the north side of the viewing area there is a great view of Mt Shasta (about 20 miles away).
After we got back to the parking area hubby decided to relieve himself and I played around a little bit with my camera. The light and shadow playing in the trees was interesting and I wanted to see if I could capture any of it.
At the other end of the parking area was another trail leading off to Root Creek, the Crags, and a section of the Pacific Crest Trail. We hit the trail an hour or so before sunset and I was lucky enough to catch a shot of the sun shining through some of the trees ahead of us.
About 2/3 of a mile or so we crossed a small creek (not sure if it was Root Creek or not) and noticed some gorgeous red Columbine flowers growing near the water.
Since it was getting late and the light was fading, faster on the trail because it is heavily wooded, we decided to just head back to the truck. I didn’t even want to try and take that narrow road back down in the dark! It wasn’t obvious on our way out, but coming back there is a clear area between heavily forested sections of the trail. We couldn’t not take a shot of the forest entrance.
Just before we got back to the parking area I noticed this small plant with its tiny purple flower. I haven’t been able to find it in our books yet so I’m not sure what it is.
Our Crag excursion was relatively short compared to the Trinity Alps drive and Medicine Lake area exploration (about 6 hours each) but in some ways it was nicer. It’s been a while since we’ve done any hiking in the woods and even though we were fighting off the mosquitoes in places near water it was a gorgeous walk.
All in all it was a nice trip … just not long enough. Are vacations ever long enough? Maybe. But this past year has been so stressful I think it will probably take several vacations to recuperate fully. Even Cindy seemed to be reluctant to leave this year. When we were loading the truck we left her on the deck so she could watch. But when we were done and ready to leave, she’d moved herself back inside the house and really looked like she wanted to stay. I’m already planning a trip to Sedona in a few months and I think we will probably hit Big Bear this winter. Maybe by next summer we’ll be better rested and I’m definitely adding a few days to the vacation next year.
© Copyright dragonfae 2011
afrankangle said:
Loved the pics … great views. No matter the length, vacations are welcome and never long enough. Hope you were able to lug back Mt Shasta water for your waterbed.
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dragonfae said:
You know, we never made it to any of the river/lake spots that I’ve gotten water from. Ran out of time. 😦
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afrankangle said:
wow … just looked at the other pics. Beautiful! You obviously get a lot of peace of mind there. Love the Rufus hummingbird b/c in Ohio, we only have one species. Thanks for sharing all the great images.
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dragonfae said:
Yes, this is my favorite place to destress and restore my self. The whole area is filled with a feeling of peace and well being. I’m glad some of that comes through in the pictures. 🙂
Hummingbirds are one of my favorite critters. There were at least two types there but one of the little Rufus hummers kept chasing all the others away from the feeder so we didn’t get any shots of the others.
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John Erickson said:
More great photos! And I’ll second (third?) the vote, vacations are NEVER long enough.
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dragonfae said:
No kidding! I could have easily used another week. sigh
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Thypolar said:
Love the pictures of the trees. They are beautiful. Thankfully, Mt Charleston isn’t too far from where we live. We often rive up there to get away from the busy city.
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dragonfae said:
Getting away from the city is a good thing … I think we all should probably do that more than we do. 😉
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