Road Trip Seattle to San Francisco - Day 11 – Shasta Lake Caverns, Scamming, Williams & Polar Bears

[anji]

Road Trip Seattle to San Francisco - Day 11 – Shasta Lake Caverns, Scamming, Williams and Polar Bears

Awoke to rain and clouds over the Crags. We had another walk around the Resort in the rain and looked at some of the engines. At 10.30 we checked out and complimented the owner on the divine bed. He said that lots of people say this and he must get one himself! It’s called the Englander.

We set off south, confident that the hotter weather was coming. Breakfast was at the Pollard Flat diner, just off the I5 (the Cascade Wonderland Highway). This is a diner, bar, general store and gas station all rolled into one.

The menu was huge and a great price. I plumped for the oatmeal again, which turned out to be bigger and better and cheaper (of course) than Crater Lake’s. Will had eggs, bacon, great hash and toast.

This again was such an interesting place with all sorts of stuff on the walls and shelves. The menu had said to make sure to meet Gertrude. Who was she? I went to the restroom – just in case, you know – and as I walked in I jumped out of my skin. There was a bath in there with Gertrude the mannequin sitting in it! The server laughed and said ‘Got You!’ I encouraged Will to pay a visit and watched him jump even more than me! We love these crazy diners!

Our first destination today was the Shasta Lake Caverns. By this time the rain had stopped, never to be seen again. This is a brilliant side trip and I’d recommend it.

We paid and walked down to the boat dock. You get a boat across the lake (10 minutes) and then a bus up to the Caverns. Nice journey over and the bus was waiting for us, along with signs saying to beware of rattlesnakes! We then drove 800 feet up the mountain and anyone not into heights should sit on the left side of the bus. Great views over the lake.

Shasta Lake is manmade and three towns were flooded to make it. It now serves a vast area of California for water. Someone from one of the towns discovered the Caverns on a hunting trip – he must have wandered very far from home – but didn’t go back again for 5 years!

We waited a bit for people to use the restrooms and looked around the exhibits.

Then into the Caverns with our guide. There are 612 steps inside the Cavern but the most you do at once is 80 so we didn’t really notice them too much. There was an escape option part way through for those who didn’t think they could make it too. The formations and chambers were some of the best we’ve seen and our guide was really good.

She then pointed us up some more steps and suddenly we were out in the open – and a looong way up! So another 600+ winding steps down the side of the mountain. Luckily the steps were in good repair and there was a handrail. We saw some powerboat racing was taking place on the Lake.

Bus back to the dock and boat back to the car. The bus driver was really funny and told us ghost stories on the way down! We stopped in the gift shop and bought some carved owl earrings for our daughter before getting back on the road and taking Highway 99 south. This runs parallel to the I5 but is a far nicer drive – far less traffic and more to see.

We stopped in the town of Corning at Starbucks. We sat on the stools by the window. Outside were a group of 6 kids of about 12. They were asking passers by for $1 and came in to ask us. We said no. An elderly lady left and said they were collecting money to mend a puncture. She gave them $1. We kept watching them and concluded there was no puncture and they were just trying it on. They managed to get another $1, which their ‘leader’ shoved down his jeans. I thought I may just give them $1 for entertainment value in their perseverance.

Suddenly one of the boys appeared with a dead, very big and beautiful bird. When the next car appeared he threw it under the wheels and then told the lady she had killed the bird! She got upset but knew what he’d done. All thoughts of $1 for them disappeared at that point. They came in to use the restrooms. The manager chased them out and told them not to ask people for money. We were leaving then so I went to the restroom too. There was $2 on the floor! It was obviously their ill gotten gains. I put it in my bag and resolved to give it to the next homeless person I saw (which I did). As we were leaving he’d realised and dived in to find the money and shouted after us if we had found it. I just said no, sorry and carried on over the carpark. Will hadn’t a clue what had happened until I told him as I drove off that it was in my bag! Maybe not a nice thing to do but the poor bird did get to me and someone else who needed the money far more would benefit from it.

We carried on down the road and stopped briefly at the Sacramento Wildlife Reserve. Not sure why it was called this as Sacramento was 80 miles away! Sadly it had just closed but we walked round a bit of it and saw some lovely birds and butterflies. You can drive round a trail which is about 6 miles.

Finally we reached out destination for the night – the town of Williams. Highway 99 goes straight there! We were booked into the Travellers Inn Motel – no. 1 on Trip Advisor and a bargain $55 with breakfast. Spotless place and newly decorated. Only 5 minutes walk to the centre of the town.

Williams was a lovely little place and Granzellas seemed to have a hold on it! Granzellas were everywhere – Hotel, Restaurant, Bar, Winery, Deli, Gift Shop etc. – in a big way. The lady at the bar at Railroad Park had said it was the only thing Williams had going for it. We joked they were the local Mafia.

Granzellas is a huge attraction for the area. Very busy in every respect. We had a meal in the restaurant – half a chicken with rice for Will and Ravioli for me – and a bottle of wine. Lots of families and take-out boxes.

The bar was something else and surpassed all others by having 3 adult polar bears as part of their display! Who knows where they got them but it must have been a long time ago.

When we left the Deli was empty but in the morning it was heaving!

We walked back to the hotel and slept well. Although our room faced the road we weren’t disturbed by traffic at all.

Index - http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/edit...ost&p=11770434