First Week of September

Here is September.  The first set is to show how summer water is a lot less than winter.  These shots were taken from the Rock Crest bridge, just down the road from Tobin.

Looking east from the Rock Crest Bridge - 2016

same view (mostly) - March 2016

looking west from the Rock Crest Bridge - September 2016

Same view from March 2016

Now I'm back to just showing you early September in all its dry grass and cool water glory.

lovely summer kayaking water - not for us, we're not that skilled.  (Mom, really, I'm not kayaking on it!)

See the little dudes?  I think they're investigating the huge section of retaining wall that cracked off when the creek drainage pipes got clogged last winter and eroded the hill, requiring major repairs.

See Jeffery on the bluff?  The old road down to the flat by Oppopee Creek will probably be eradicated once the project to make it a recreation access is complete

looking at Ben Lomond and Hwy 70 from the top of the bank

Rock Creek Power Dam

Rolls of batting for erosion control

cool men's stuff

This little contraption was very dear

Tunnel 15 -  west end - our goal was to find where it actually was, since we can't see it easily from the highway (unless you hit it right as the sun lights it up in the morning, and then, only from the eastern end)

The trail alongside the tunnel is wider and more obvious than we'd expected.  It would not stay that nice, but we would get about half-way along the tunnel's 3/5 of a mile length.

I keep forgetting to look up what these vibrant flowers are.

loved the texture of this rock, which is where Brenda and I found our trail bushed over, so we had to turn back.

Green pool at the mouth of Rock Creek, seen from the train bridge

Crossing the Oroville Dam bridge, you can see the smoke from the wildfire down in the West Branch of the Feather River

The turn-off from Hwy 70 to Pentz Road shows the smoke haze gathering along the ridge to Paradise

View of the Buttes with smoke haze (poor quality due to  truck window glass).  By the time we were returning home from Chico, the smoke was much thinner, the air much more breathable, and the fire was getting under control.  We did hear later that a friend of our friends lost his home in Concow to the blaze.

More to come soon, as Jeffery and I couldn't wait to find the east end of Tunnel 15 and how it may connect to the old Storrie Road, which was the trail early canyon residents used.  See you later!