Bob and I planned a scaled-back day today, as it was to get to 98. Still can’t believe that we’re chasing cooler temps than our family in the Midwest. We’re only to get to 85 tomorrow. The cooler temps are helpful here to help ease the fire risk.
We decided to check out the Shasta Lake Dam and then walk around the downtown area of Redding. The Shasta Lake Dam on Shasta Lake (funny how that works) is about a 20 minute drive or so from where we are staying. They used to give daily tours but now it’s just a self-guided walk across the dam with material to read about the dam. We lucked out, however, and got to see a film on the making of the dam, which was just starting when we entered the visitor’s center. The dam was built from 1938-1945, and one of the things that I found the most interesting is that during the construction they built a 10 mile conveyor belt to transport aggregate from Redding to the building site. The dam was needed to control flooding, store water for agriculture, and create electricity, with the first 2 being the most important. It is the 2nd largest dam in the US after the Grand Coulee Dam in Washington state. The lake is currently at 40% capacity, which is apparently better than what it was in 2021.
Redding, California has a current population of about 92,000. It feels smaller to me, but it is pretty spread out. The downtown is very small and feels like it is being redeveloped. There isn’t a lot there now, but we were struck by its cleanliness and the fun artwork.
Peckish Travels 