Nothing screams wild west more in California than the foothills and the sierra mountains. From the high up mountain passes which the earlier settlers had to go through to build a railroad, to the numerous rivers and streams which the goldminers explored looking for gold. Or the horses and mules that they had to domesticate so that heavy labor could be accomplished. And one can not forget the many creeks that someone found at one point or the other full of crawdads and fish to feed their families and communities.
I wanted to share something interesting I have read recently from The Myths of Happiness by Sonja Lyubomirsky, ” The teacher begins the lesson by taking out a big empty clear vase, with a wide neck, and filling it with big rocks. “Is it full?” He asks the kids. They say yes, it is. So he leaves the classroom for a moment and returns with a handful of smaller rocks, which he dumps into the vase. The smaller rocks fill in the gaps between the larger ones. He again asks the kids again, “Is the vase full?” Now they get it and they say no, it’s not completely full. “How do you fill it up even more?” They suggest using even smaller rocks. So the science teacher leaves the room again to fetch some sand, and he packs the vase with sand, such that all remaining visible holes and gaps are filled. He now asks, “What is the lesson of this demonstration?” That we shouldn’t jump to conclusions, some say. There are many ways of solving the puzzle, others offer. “No,” he says. “The lesson is to put in the big rocks first.” The science teacher’s lesson is, commit first to the “big” meaningful projects and goals in your life – contributing to your community or working on your marriage or raising your kids- even if it takes time away from the “small” immediately gratifying plans. Starting today, decide what the big rocks are in your life, what are the small rocks, and what are the handfuls of sand, and precommit yourself to the big ones.”
Raft California
As I was rafting down the Middle Fork of American River, I could not help but think that someone floated down this river in one way or the other, way before the waterways were mapped out and before anyone even thought of categorizing rapids. And long before anyone at the state thought it would be a good idea to put up a sign that half a mile downstream you will run into murderer’s bar rapids with a very thoughtful suggestion that you should not cross beyond here. This made me really appreciate the courage and the bravery of the first explorers. My husband and I are clueless about rafting and about the best ways to get through certain types of rapids. But we were lucky because there was a team of experienced professionals who helped us have a safe and present experience and seeing this part of the state by raft.
Thank you Raft California for hosting our experience.
Wild Horse Sanctuary
Unfortunately California is way too crowded to let wild horses roam free and if they were on public lands they would be killed. Luckily for the horses there was Dianne Nelson who stepped in to help and make this 5,000 acres sanctuary on the west side of the sierra mountains. We were so fortunate to have a chance to get to know these wild majestic creatures a little better. This Sanctuary made me think of the movie Spirit. Our daughter Esther has been fascinated with horses for some time now and we wanted her 13th birthday to be a memorable experience and it sure was. She will never forget her 13th birthday. She started at 7am. Esther learned how to catch a horse named Cloud, learned how to tie the horse to the pole, cleaned the horses hooves, saddled him up, put repellent on him, walked him to the arena, learned how to command and ride a horse. After all of this she took the saddle off and bathed him. Once she was comfortable with being around horses we got to go out into the pastures and feed the wild mustangs. These horses have never been saddled, rode on, and they have no horse shoes. It was a beautiful sight to behold.
Here you can adopt a horse, sponsor a horse if you have no room to keep one of your own, live and work at the ranch as part of your internship, and experience a two or three day trail ride experience.
Thank you Wild Horse Sanctuary for the amazing experience and for hosting our stay.
Located at 5796 Wilson Hill Rd, Shingletown.
Donner Summit Tunnel Hike
This is a perfect hike for a hot day. You spend most of the time in the shade completely shielded from the sun. Few of the tunnels are so long that once you get to the middle you will be in complete darkness, so don’t forget to bring a flashlight with you. However if you do forget a flashlight, no need to panic because your eyes will adjust to the darkness. This is one cool hike because you will be walking through a once 1,659 foot working railroad tunnel. A lot of work was put into making these tunnels. It is said that this railroad was build mostly by the Chinese. The first train that went through this tunnel was in 1868 and the last in 1993. We have seen the railroad tunnel as we passed by but we never knew that one could actually hike through it. But even without the history it is a huge street art exhibition. Some of it is not worth paying attention to but every now and then you will come across a really nice piece of art which will make you want to capture it. Also as you make your way through the dark tunnels you will hear bats and see a few bats now and then throughout the hike. In some areas there are lots of them. We came on a Saturday and it was pretty active with other hikers. This is one of those places you might want to bring someone with you. Here you are guaranteed to have a different kind of hiking experience.
Located near Soda Bowl Ski Resort or Just before Donner Summit Bridge. There are a few different ways to enter the tunnels.
Donner Memorial S.P
We had such an amazing time catching crawdads. We came to Donner Memorial State Park in hopes to catch some fish but instead we caught so many crawdads. There is so much satisfaction in catching or forging your own meal. We did not bring with us crawdad cages to catch them. We only had our fishing poles and sandwich meat. At first we placed the sandwich meat on the hook and waited until the crawdads started eating the meat and then we pulled them up. This method worked really well for areas where the water is high. Then we found a location where the water was shallow and our Eve who is 7 years old suggested that we hold the sandwich meat in one hand and pick them up with the other hand and that is what we did. We felt connected with the pioneers who passed by Donner Memorial State Park when they were going to west. We can just imagine them catching crawdads barehanded like we did.
This place is so beautiful. It is a great place to fish, catch crawdads, kayak, and swim.
Located at 12593 Donner Pass Rd, Truckee, CA 96161.
Crystal Lake Hatchery
Since California is a lot more populated than it was in the 1800s, department of fish and game stepped in and raises millions of trout to plant into numerous lakes sand streams in order for you and your family to have a great experience and that the state fishers stay healthy in numbers. Also as you walk up and down and you look at these ponds full of trout you might wonder if this was the way some of the streams looked like in the early days of California. If you come around lunch time you might be as lucky and see the trout being fed. It is a neat sight with all the fish jumping.
Located at 40158 Baum Lake Rd, Cassel, CA 96016.
Thank you for reading our post. We share a new post every Thursday at 8pm.