Burney Falls in the Fall of '08

Hello everybody!  I am thrilled to the bone!  How about them Democrats! It was such a sweet victory that blogging seemed lackluster by comparison, so I skipped a couple of weeks (times two).  I even bought a vintage coat on ebay to commemorate the purpling of our nation.  Yes, folks, the coat is very purple–purple mohair to be exact!

The savoring period is over, though, and now I’m back on track (ahem). But I just can’t seem to shake the feeling that some serious celebrating is still due me and my kind.  I mean it’s been 8 years since adults occupied the White House.  I am trying so hard to ignore Bush’s last stand and keeping my fingers crossed that he won’t do anything undoable.

I’ve heard that a little known law sponsored by Congressman Bill Archer will allow our President Obama to repeal any last minute Bush do-dads commonly known as ‘midnight rules’. It is called the “Congressional Review Act of 1996”.

Pushing all that out of our minds for a day, my partner (Chris) and I drove to Burney Falls, which is about 60 miles east of where we live.  What a gorgeous day on the Modoc Plateau–home to the McArthur-Burney Memorial State Park and the eighth wonder of the world, so designated by President Teddy Roosevelt.

Eighth or not (’cause there is a bit of controversy), here are a few pics and links with info on how to get to the magnificent falls, what to wear and some neat walking trails.  I say ‘walking’  because the paths are certainly hospitable. Even Grannie could walk the flat 75 feet from the parking lot to view these spectacular falls. And have I mentioned the fine steps down to the mist filled basin?

love-eagles

This northern California State Park is within the Cascade Range and includes 910 acres of forest, plus five miles of streamside and lakeshore, as well as a portion of the man-made Lake Britton, itself.

While walking along the shore, Chris and I were privileged to spot two mature bald eagles in flight and at rest. Follow the link for a pdf file on the subject.  I didn’t know this, but the Lake Britton/Pit River area is home to one of the largest populations of bald eagles in the contiguous United States.  At least seven pairs nest here, and it is a winter home for a some, as well.

We sat for twenty minutes and watched these creatures on a conifer branch, just hanging out side-by-side like lovebirds. I choose to think they were happily enjoying each other’s company, but maybe they were after a luscious fish or two.

The whole Burney Falls area is a fisherperson’s paradise. With his eagle-eye, Chris spotted some fine fellows swimming close to the shore.  He offered them vanilla Power Bar (for which I scolded him) but they weren’t biting.  A sixteen incher, however, did go for a bit of bagel.

Back to Lake Britton.  Formed by damming the Pit River, it’s fed by four (count ‘em) active creeks full of trout: Cayton, Clark, Hat and Burney.

The park’s centerpiece, however, is the 129-foot Burney Falls–not the highest or largest waterfall in our state, mind you, but often regarded as the most beautiful. Not having seen them all, I am reserving my opinion.  I did delight in the mist filled basin as you can see from the picture below.

About the park’s landscape:  It was created by volcanic activity as well as erosion.  Everywhere you look there is black volcanic rock or basalt. This layered, porous matter holds a ton of rainwater and snow melt, which in turn feeds a large underground reservoir.  The basalt also hosts a ton of green moss, as you can see from this pic Chris took along Burney Creek.

Not enough can be said about Burney Falls–but how about these two:  It flows at 100 million gallons every single day, and it was named after pioneer settler Samuel Burney whose offspring are credited with saving the entire area from dreaded commercial development.  Let’s hear it for the McArthurs! Arriving in the late 1800s, their laudable descendants bought the property and gave it freely to the state in the 1920s.  Now those were some generous, farsighted folks! Speaking of which, here’s Chris.

Me too