California, part 3A, Lassen National Park

We left Orick, California on the northern coast and began our trek inland. When we left the coast our elevation was 26, now we were on our way to over 5000 feet. The road to Viola, California is winding with many switchbacks. We stopped for lunch outside of Redding California at a place called French Gulch, just a wide spot in the road with a park on a creek.

Kate tried her hand at skipping rocks after lunch.

Our stop in Redding was at the Safeway for groceries & gas. Besides breakfast & lunch items we purchased pork chops to grill & ingredients for Baked Ziti. Of course, we needed slice & bake cookies for dessert. The house we were renting was off the main road, down a gravel road and across a bridge. There were a few other houses that we passed, but this is a remote area. I think Viola has a population of about 100, and we weren't in town! We found this house through an internet search. If you want more details on the house click here.

Looking up from the stream to the house.

The house has open spaces and skylights. The kitchen was well equipped and the owner, Rebecca, had bread baking in the bread machine & watermelon slices in the refrigerator. Rebecca lives up the lane, and soon arrived to go over the particulars of staying in the home. Rule #1 was posted on the door as you entered....no shoes inside the house!

Here is the den/great room. Note the wildlife mounted on the walls. The house also had numerous Buddhas to welcome us!

The upstairs had a pullout sofa, an air matress (seen below), and the master bedroom had a king size bed. There was also a full bath upstairs.

Carrie walking out of the master bedroom.

Stairway to the teen suite (that's what I called the upstairs)! There was wireless, that allowed for the important Facebook updates. The kids also read & played Phase 10 on our trip. Randy is seen in the hall leading to the downstairs bedrooms & bath.

Kitchen...all stainless steel appliances. There were chilled beer mugs in the freezer, though we didn't use them!

We grilled pork chops and then ate outside on the deck. There are two outside heaters to make it more comfortable. The temperature was typically in the 40's at night and upper 60's in the day. Here's the kids table - pork chops, baked potatoes, green beans, watermelon slices & fresh baked bread (though it wasn't ready in time for dinner, we enjoyed it a bit later).

This property has a campfire. Brandon built a fire while dinner was cooking. After dinner, we had smores! Randy & Stephen had taken a quick trip into the park and bought some expensive ingredients for smores, but it was a nice treat! The chairs were all set up by the campfire and stream. There was even wood ready for us.

Yummy & messy!

If you were missing Randy, Stephen or Brandon they could probably be found by the rushing stream!

This house had a washer & dryer that worked really well, so we were able to do some laundry. Perhaps the only complaint we had with this house were the beds. They were too soft, or lumpy...but we managed to sleep.

The house is only 10 minutes from the entrance to Lassen National Park, so if you are ever in the area and need lodging...check it out. It's a bargain, especially if you are travelling with another family. My next post will be about exploring Lassen Volcanic National Park.