Three Seasons in Two Hours

Don't you just love this time of year? The days are so long. It's light at 5 a.m., so it seems like, OK, it's time to get up, even for an early riser like me. Time for dinner already? You must be kidding... it's still mid-afternoon! My wife and I really enjoy our walks before work and now that it stays light so long, we sneak in a sunset stroll well after dinner. It's good for the digestion, don't ya know! One really neat thing that occurs for only a few short weeks this time of year: you can actually be in three different seasons, all within a two hour drive. Let me explain. Today it's 95 in Redding, probably pretty close to that in Red Bluff and Chico too. The grass is bone dry and it's just plain hot. I'm starting to see the typical roadside burn patches from discarded cigarettes along I-5. Never happens in winter or spring, right? In the North Valley, it's summer. But hop in the car and head up the hill. Could be 44 east out of Redding, 36 east out of Red Bluff, or even 32 east out of Chico. By the time you get to Shingletown on 44, Mineral on 36 or Potato Patch Campground on 32, you're back in Spring! The grass is green and lush, pink wild peas are bustin' out, and the cows are happily grazing in mountain meadows, already having been moooved up from the hot valley. Snow-fed creeks are running fast and cold. Keep on truckin' up the hill and you'll soon find yourself in Lassen Volcanic National Park, one of the least visited but most interesting of them all. Last week you couldn't even drive through the park: too much snow and ice. They say it'll be open this weekend, but I would call ahead to be sure. Who wants to get stuck at Bumpass Hell? I can guarantee you, families with little kids will be sliding on wet butts down snow packs with gleeful shouts. Some of those "kids" look a lot like grownups to me. So there you have it, traverse through three seasons of the year in only a two hour drive. You just have to feel pretty doggone lucky to live here. Like the black lady shouted to her friend outside the grocery store this morning: "Hey Baby, Have a great day and a wonderful life." Couldn't have said it any better myself! Tom Knight, Broker MANTON REALTY May 31, 2012