Our Drive Around Indian Valley, Part 1

One morning when we were in Indian Valley visiting Greenville last week, we took a drive around the valley up to what is called the North Arm. It had started raining, and we couldn't very well do our work of transcribing cemetery markers in the rain. So it was a great opportunity for a drive.

Along the way, we watched the tranquil scenery of a drizzling June morning pass by. The cold of winter had finally stepped aside for the green of summer to make its appearance. The valley floor was lush with grasses against the backdrop of the evergreen studded hills.

About halfway through our drive as we rounded a bend in the road, we were pleasantly surprised to see a herd of deer close to the roadside in an open corral area probably intended for the cattle that are grazed throughout the valley during summer.

We turned the car around and went back so I could photograph them. It was just us and the deer for a few minutes. For those brief few minutes, the buck and his does were serene and peaceful--undisturbed by the presence of me with the cyclops eye of my camera. Even the presence of a big fluffy cat trotting past them with a big dead mouse in its mouth didn't bother the deer. The cat trotted past the deer and ducked under the door of the barn next to the corral before I could get a photograph of him. The deer didn't care.

As I inched closer to the fence to get better shots of the buck, the deer walked slowly away to keep a good buffer between me and them. They weren't afraid of me but still weren't going to let me get really close. At any given time, one of them always had their eye on me while the others continued to graze. Sometimes it was the buck watching me and sometimes it was one of the does. I moved slowly with my head down and to the side the way any flight animal prefers to be approached. It worked.

But the tranquil mood didn't last long. A logging truck rumbled by on the two lane road behind me and startled the deer into an attentive and frightened state, which then inspired little Chica to go bonkers back in the car. The deer trotted off into the valley away from the road. Some turned to stop and look back at me in curiosity.

I got back in the car, and we continued on our way.

Not too far up the road we encountered another group of deer alongside the road. This time the grouping was significantly different. They were all bachelor males without any females among them. Were they hanging out biding their time until one of them would be strong and brave enough to challenge the buck we had met earlier? Or were they a rough-and-tumble bunch that was newly out of fawnhood more like a group of 16 year old boys than mature bucks willing and able to watch over females of their own? They seemed less concerned about me than the first group. Ah, boys! So sure of themselves and so full of bravado. You gotta love 'em!

Road Trip to Plumas County, Part 3

As promised, this next installment of the road trip I took last week with Mom and Chica features the photos I took as we drove the loop of road around Lake Almanor.

Lake Almanor is a man-made reservoir sitting under the watchful "gaze" of Mt. Lassen (see photo above). The lake was created in 1914 by flooding a valley that had originally been a forest. The reservoir was created by a power company that later became Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E). The lake's unique name is a conglomeration of the names of the three daughters of then vice president, Guy C. Earl. His daughters' names were Alice, Martha, and Elinore. Combined, the new name that was created was "Almanor".

This intriguing photograph is of the stumps that are still left from the days when the reservoir was made. Before flooding the valley, the trees were cut and the stumps left in the ground. Almost 100 years later, the stumps are still there looking like creatures wading in the low waters of the lake. Mom spent just about every summer weekend at Lake Almanor swimming with friends when she was a teenager. She shared with me her memory of how difficult it was to manuever around the troublesome stumps in the shallower waters.

The old pumping tower at the mouth of the dam still stands. I have always been in love with the beautiful architectural details of a very utilitarian structure. I often wish that more attention was paid to architectural details nowadays. In order to get the shot at right, I laid down on the rocky shoreline. I was the only person on shore as far as I could see in all directions except for a fishing boat that was motoring by out in the water. I could hear the eerie and lonely call of the loons as the sun was setting in the west. I felt like I was living in a scene from the movie "On Golden Pond". It was so serene and peaceful. I would have like to lay on the shore until the sun went down. But I had Mom and Chica waiting for me back by the truck in the parking area. Although she was wearing her turtleneck doggy sweater, Chica was still cold in the chill of the late afternoon. So it was best that I not lay around on the beach for too long. But before I left, I captured a few of my favorite shots from the whole trip.


Tune in tomorrow when Mom, Chica and me drive up to Mount Lassen Volcanic National Park so Mom and I can hike to Bumpass Hell!!!

All photographs featured here can be made available as unframed or framed prints, high-quality posters,
bound journals, tile coasters, keepsake boxes, greeting cards or a variety of other products.

Please email Cindy at rosehaven_cottage@yahoo.com for customization information.

Don't hesitate to ask about a special request.

Check out our online store to see the variety of products available and pricing.

Road Trip to Plumas County, Part 2

As promised in yesterday's post, today's post is a continuation of the road trip adventures of Mom, Chica, and me. When we left off yesterday, we were headed up Northern California's Highway 32 from Chico to Chester through the beautiful fall foliage of Plumas County.

We pulled in to the small town of Chester after about 4-5 hours on the road (I took a number of photographic opportunities heading up the scenic route so the trip took longer than it normally would have).

Chester is situated near Lake Almanor, a vacation spot for many city-dwellers as well as a place for some lucky folks to escape the hustle and bustle all together and relocate to the tranquil waterfront landscape. Chester isn't a very big town, but it does have more amenities than many of the other tiny towns in Plumas County. The rustic barn pictured at left sits on the edge of town along the highway that leads to Lake Almanor. We could see the water of the lake off in the distance past this lovely field. I couldn't have imagined such gorgeous autumnal scenery as this.

One point of interest is the historic Bidwell House that is now a lovely bed and breakfast. Although we didn't stay here for the night, the rates were reasonable enough that we could have if we hadn't had Chica in tow. As it was, we were able to stay in a nice room at the very new Best Western Rose Quartz Inn just down the road that allowed pets for an extra fee. I think Hubby and I will come back for a weekend getaway to the Bidwell House because it looks so inviting, tranquil and very romantic.


There was a tree at the front of the Bidwell House property that was simply ablaze in red autumnal color. I couldn't get over how bright it was. The branches spilled over the front fence against the red brick pillars of the gatelights. The red brick paled in comparison to the leaves. It was the most stunning red I've ever seen occur in nature other than what I've seen as colors for flowers. When I got closer to snap the photo at left I noticed that one leaf was a different than all the rest. It made the scene even more intriguing to me. This is one of my favorite photos from the whole trip.

Across the highway from the Bidwell House are a few quaint and charming gift shops. One such shop, Elements, looked so perfect and inviting in the fall setting. Then I noticed the old shop dog sniffing around the front of the shop. Every once in a while the dog would look up at me and then his nose would go back down to the ground snooping and sniffing his way along. It just seemed to be the quintessential small town scene and brought back feelings from my childhood of visiting my Grammy in her town not far from Chester. Memories of walking to the five and dime not far from her home so I could look at all the "treasures" that were for sale. When I encounter scenes like the dog sniffing around, it seems like time hasn't passed at all.


Much of the signage in Chester hasn't changed over the years so it adds to that sense that time hasn't passed. I am always charmed by vintage/retro signage and this particular sign really intrigued me against the blue sky with the autumnal foliage in the background. I don't know that I would ever stay at the Sierra Motel, but I love the sign.




Tune in next time when Mom, Chica and I drive up to Lake Almanor and walk the pebbled shores late on an October day. For now we sign off with a photo of Chica looking off into the distance at the adventures that await her.

All photographs featured here can be made available as unframed or framed prints, high-quality posters,
bound journals, tile coasters, keepsake boxes, greeting cards or a variety of other products.

Please email Cindy at rosehaven_cottage@yahoo.com for customization information.

Don't hesitate to ask about a special request.

Check out our online store to see the variety of products available and pricing.

Ready to go on a Road Trip?!?!

At the end of last week, I did a very spontaneous thing. It turned out that I had two unexpected days off from teaching seminary on Thursday and Friday. The weather forecast promised sunny and wonderful autumnal weather. I needed more photographs for my portfolio with my online agencies. Hubby had to work, but my mom was free to be a traveling companion (so was her new little dog, Chica). So Mom and I loaded up my truck early Thursday morning. With Chica settled in Mom's lap we took off up the highway north to our favorite place in the world--Plumas County.

Over the next few days, I want to share our wonderful autumnal mountain adventure with you through the photographs that I took.

Plumas County is nestled in the forests of northeastern California. The drive is always breathtaking, but at this time of year it proved to be unbelievably so. We took the scenic route to get to our destination of the town of Chester where we had reservations for lodging for the night.

Plumas County is "home" for my mother. It's where she grew up; her parents moved there when she was a toddler. Plumas County is "home" for me too; it's where Grammy lived until her passing when I was 10 years old. The song lyrics, "Over the river and through woods to grandmother's house we go..." had very literal meaning for me when I was a child. On this trip we took one of the roads that often runs next to a serpetine river--Highway 32 from Chico to Chester.

Both Mom and I had a new plant-lovers discovery on this trip. The large-leafed plants that were growing out in the center of the running river are Indian Rhubarb. We never knew that before. I love finding out something new.

Luckily, there were a lot of turnouts along Highway 32 so I could safely pull over and shoot photographs of the gorgeous scenery in all its autumnal splendor.

The frequent stops also gave Mom opportunities to walk little Chica. This was Chica's first roadtrip since my mom adopted her from the animal shelter in August. Chica is a "senior" doggy who has a mysterious past, as she was found wandering the streets. She is now quite pampered, and her diminutive barely-5-pound body was hilarious to watch and she walked along the roadside sniffing all the new smells. Such a different outlook than I'm used to with cats. My cats would have freaked out having to be subjected to all those new sights and smells. But little Chica just loved it.

And in case anyone is wondering... my mom has decided that Chica's breed is a "wired haired terry-huahua". She's definitely a chihuahua but has hair much like a wired haired terrier. Hence, the hybridized breed name.

Anyway.... tune in tomorrow for more mountain travel adventures with Mom, Chica, and me!

All photographs featured here can be made available as unframed or framed prints, high-quality posters,
bound journals, tile coasters, keepsake boxes, greeting cards or a variety of other products.

Please email Cindy at rosehaven_cottage@yahoo.com for customization information.

Don't hesitate to ask about a special request.

Check out our online store to see the variety of products available and pricing.