Rock Creek Travels

With Kyria and Emi the good-pup as our companions, Jeffery and I took ourselves up the Rock Creek Road, across the railroad trestle bridge, and then up a very steep bank until we reached the old road from Pulga to Rock Creek, in a quest to look at Rock Creek, and the area we call Shangri-La, from across the Creek.  We did discover it, and enjoyed our hike around there.

Thus, I had to take Brenda up there today for our girl-hike.  Different sun quotients and time of day made for some new views, and we walked along the road all the way to Swamp Creek, too, before turning around and heading home.

looking east with Highway 70 and the Feather River running below the Union Pacific Railroad tracks - please note the serpentine winding of the tracks, and the tunnel, hardly noticeable in the background

Looking northward, up the Rock Creek gorge/watershed

Emi gets a drink from one of the waterfalls along the way

Kyria and Jeffery

Kyria and Jeffery out ahead as we  curve up farther along the creek

another visible section, with Shangri-La still out of sight

the view up the bank we're walking along under

We've reached the furthest point, but I stayed back some, so Kyria will have to show you photos of Shangri-La, but here she is walking back towards the waterfall

We'll scamper down the bank in the foreground all the way to the railroad tracks, which are above the highway bridge.  Happily, the rains held off.

A train loaded completely with coal cars came through, and it was a long one.

We quickly got across the trestle bridge while the getting was good.  Brave Emi!

I just had to look down and take a photo for Lucy's sake.

another train is seen in the distance, coming from the other direction

ooh, pretty!

Brenda and I saw Rock Creek in the morning of a sunny day

same view as before, zoomed

view of Cresta Dam from way above, along the road to Pulga

zoom-up on Cresta Dam; still awfully far down there.

we come upon Swamp Creek at last!

the upper side of the bridge.  I have seen Swamp Creek from bottom to top; well, not quite top yet!

view of the hole in the bridge where my clipper fell out of my pocket into the turbulence below, and I suddenly came over really vertiginous, and had to seek terra firma, lest I lose my cool.

view of the lower side of the bridge

just after that, the creek drops precipitously to places we could barely glimpse, so we headed home.