Hike & Swim

 

We haven’t gone on a hike in a while, mostly because it’s been so hot lately.  This time, we decided to start early, go on a hike and then because it’s hot, go for a swim at the same time. 

Where can you do this?  On the Lake Clementine Hike, in the canyon near Auburn.  And a plus is that the hike is only 2 miles!

 

Another plus, we found 4 geo-caches on this short hike.

 

The hike goes right under the Foresthill Bridge, (the tallest bridge in California), where if the Auburn Dam had been built, the water would be just 10 – 15 feet below the bridge!

Hopefully, nobody will be tossing pumpkins over the bridge onto the trail!  Who would do that?  Not sure!  (Take a look HERE)

 

 

 

We passed footings from an old covered wooden toll bridge used back in the 1900’s…..

 

 

We arrived at Lake Clementine Dam in a short while… This lake and dam are hidden up here and a lot of people don’t even know it’s here!  Even though water levels were low, it was still quite a sight.

 

 

 

Can you see the rainbow?

 

 

Then it was time to head back, and stop at Clark’s Pool that we passed hiking in.  This natural pool was used by the city of Auburn back in the day as a recreational pool, managed by the city.  They had beach parties and people rode their wagons in the hot summer down here.

 

The kids loved jumping off the rocks into the water.  It was quite busy, as it was a Saturday afternoon, but it was a great little trip! And if you want to go just to go for a swim, Clark’s Pool is only 3/4 mile from the trailhead.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clark’s Pool

Six Flags

 

It was “Bring A Friend Free” week at Six Flags so we brought Grandma and Grandpa.  We had a great time!

We saw the new show Cirque Dreams and it was really good!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They “invented” the trick of tigers diving for food and it’s the only place you can see it.  It’s pretty cool to watch.

 

 

 

Shasta Dam

 

We’ve always wanted to take a tour of the Shasta Dam because 1) It’s free, and 2) you get to go inside the dam.  Well, that day finally arrived when we went to visit Cherie’s family in Redding.

 

Shasta Dam when it was built, (1938-1945), was built using a continuous pour of concrete which never stopped.  It was ranked as one of the great civil engineering projects in the world.

 

Shasta Dam currently is the 2nd largest dam in the country, and holds back the largest reservoir in California.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is one of the long hallways inside the dam.

 

 

These are the huge pipes that take water in and generate electricity.

 

 

 

These are the huge generators that run 24/7 generating massive amounts of electricity.

 

 

 

This is the old train tunnel that was used when the dam was made when the dam construction diverted the railroad.  Half way through construction, this tunnel was used to divert the river while the dam was completed.  Now it’s just storage.

 

We loved the tour and had a great time!