Oct 24 - Lake Shasta and the Lake Shasta Caverns, California

    We drove up to Lake Shasta, just 20 minutes up the road.  This is a huge lake created by a dam.  It is about 10 - 15 feet lower than it was in the spring, so the banks are all rock/dirt.  We made a 2 pm cruise/cave tour, and arrived in the area a little early.  So we stopped at the Bailey Cove Recreation area on the way.  Just a nice boat ramp/marina into Lake Shasta.
  To get across the lake from the visitor center, you need to take a 15 minute boat cruise.  Once on the other side, they bus you up 800 feet to the entrance to the Caverns, on a narrow, windy steep drop off road.  The tour of the Caverns was around 1 hour, and included climbing or descending 617 stairs.  After the first 80 or so, and the first large room, they gave you the option of returning to the waiting room and watching the rest of the tour on a video screen.  Peter chose that option.  I continued on.
   The formations in the Caverns were REALLY INCREDIBLE!  The area is all limestone, so there were all kinds of cave formations--stalactites, stalagmites, popcorn, curtains, sparkly, smooth, etc.  We went from room to room with our mouths agape.  It was delightful.  I got lots of neat photos. 
  The tour started at the bottom of the caves and went up to the upper rooms.  Then, we walked back down outside, down many stairs, hugging the mountain side, and overlooking the lake.  Great views. 
   Since it was only 4 pm, and too early for dinner, we stopped on the way back in Redding at the Sundial Bridge at the Turtle Bay Exploration Park.  This is a large park, on both sides of the Sacramento River, that had a botanical gardens, lots of hiking trails, and a pedestrian bridge over the river.  The bridge was designed by Santiago Calatrava , and is a suspended, cable bridge, designed as a huge sundial.  It has a glass floor, the same color as the river.  It is impressive, but for 24 Million dollars, they say the glass can heat up to 150 degrees, and the sundial only works accurately once a year.  Worth it?  
  We then decided to go the the View 202 restaurant, overlooking the Sacramento River, and ate outside.  It was so romantic, just like a date!  We watched the sunset, had a good meal, and drank craft beer.  Very nice day, even if we had to stop at the grocery store on the way back to the RV for a few items.

Lake Shasta  and lots of Lake Shasta Caverns photos:

WWII- LCM 4 landing craft, that they use to haul equipment across the lake.

Sundial Bridge photos:

Romantic dinner photos: