Family Fun at Ahjumawi

by Sherri on October 29, 2008

Family canoeing at Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park, California.

This family was spending part of their summer vacation canoe camping at Ahjumawi. They and 2 fishermen in a boat were the only people we saw that day. It was just enough people to make it interesting and they made great models for my stock photography! Visit our Website for links to photo galleries.

Solitude at Ahjumawi

by Sherri on October 27, 2008

Horr Pond Camp, Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park, California.

If you are looking for solitude, look no further. This park gets less than 2,000 visitors annually. Just be sure to BYOB! No, I'm not talking about booze. BYOB stands for "bring your own boat." That is the only way you will get to experience Ahjumawi. I'd like to see this photo used on the cover of a Northern California kayaking or camping guidebook. Note: Be sure to read my other posts on Ahjumawi. I've still got a couple more coming too!

Paddle Pals

by Sherri on October 25, 2008

Jeff & Cocoa (Dirt Road Dawg) heading out for an afternoon paddle, at Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park.

Poor Jeff. He usually has the dog in his kayak, because I usually have the camera in mine. The 2 don't mix, as you have probably figured out. We paddled out to the first campsite to check it out. We got a late start and we had a dog with us, which slows us down. So, the first campsite was as far as we were gonna get that day. That was okay. It was a scouting trip after all! We hung out there for 3-4 hours waiting for the light to get better for photography, before paddling back to the truck. I will post a couple more photos from our adventure next week.

Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park

by Sherri on October 23, 2008

Jeff and Cocoa preparing for our kayak adventure, at Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park, California. Notice Mount Shasta on the left.

Most people have never heard of California's Northeastern most State Park, Ahjumawi Lava Springs. I  hadn't heard of it either, until the name jumped out at me while reading over the California State Parks brochure. [click to continue…]

Mount Shasta, California

by Sherri on October 20, 2008

This photo of Mount Shasta was taken from the boat launch at Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park.

Jeff and I were loading up the kayaks for our paddle at Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park. I looked up and there was Mount Shasta staring at me. I thought it would be good to capture a closer up view of this beauty, in addition to the wide angle shot in my last post.

Unique View of Mount Shasta

by Sherri on October 17, 2008

Mount Shasta, California, as viewed from the dirt road to Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park.

Jeff and I were really jazzed about finally getting to experience Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park, in Northeastern Californa. It had been high on our priority list for a couple of years. The journey getting there was just as enjoyable for us, as getting to the destination itself. That's usually the case, whenever we travel off-the-beaten path via dirt roads, back roads, or by four wheel drive. In fact, when we are traveling on a dirt road, our dog Cocoa even gets the nickname "Dirt Road Dog," because she prefers them too. I'm not kidding! She gets very excited as soon as the road turns to dirt, just like we do. The scenery on the way into Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park was breathtaking. The photo above was one of our favorite scenes along the way. Come back soon for photos of Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park!

Leaf Peeping in Plumas County

by Sherri on October 14, 2008

Fall color on the Little Truckee River, Truckee, California.

                    Sometimes the best laid plans don't pan out. That was the experience Jeff & I just had, during our fall colors trip to Plumas County last week. If you've been following this Photo Blog for awhile, you have been reading about our recent Northeastern California Road Trip we took back in August. In fact, I'm still writing about it. We fell in love with Plumas County and decided to return in October for an "Awesome Autumn" tour, which this area is known for. Unfortunately, we arrived a little too early. I did my homework. I followed the Awesome Autumn Leaf Peeper Blog for Plumas County. It was recommended to wait a week or so for "peak color," but that wasn't something we could do. We went anyway, but it was a huge disappointment. I really expected to see more intense color like we witnessed in Mono County on previous trips. But, that just wasn't going to happen on this trip. As it turns out, the best color we saw during our nearly 400-mile trip was on the Little Truckee River in Sierra County (see photo above). For anyone looking for a great "dog friendly" place to stay in Plumas County while you check out the fall colors, we highly recommend the Sierra Sky Lodge. That was the highlight of our trip! Since the highlight of our trip was our stay at Sierra Sky Lodge, I decided to include several photos I took during our 1 night stay there.

The Sierra Sky Lodge as seen if you are coming from Quincy.

                    The research I did to locate this place really paid off. The owners and staff of the Sierra Sky Lodge are really friendly and helpful and the rates are very reasonable.

Cabin #1, our "dog friendly" cabin for the night.

                    The cabin we stayed in was cozy and rustic, just like we like them. It had a fireplace and the most comfortable bed we've slept in for a long time. This place actually reminded us of home. That is something we look for, when we're not camping.

Jeff looking over a Plumas County travel guide.

                             

Looking toward our cabin at the far end.

                     

Sierra Sky Lodge at night. Our cabin is on the far end.

                        The next time we visit Plumas County and we are not camping, we will definitely return to Sierra Sky Lodge! By the way, our dog Cocoa rates this place four out of four paws on the Paws Scale. If you don't know about the Paws Scale, check out the California Dog Lover's Companion Guidebook by Maria Goodavage. Happy Leaf Peeping!  

Kayaking Lake Clementine

by Sherri on October 12, 2008

Our own private beach at Lake Clementine, Auburn, California Jeff, Jeff and I paddled for about an hour, then we stopped off at this beautiful spot for lunch. The shoreline at the upper end of the lake is dotted with beaches like this. The next time we paddle here will hopefully be this winter. We have wanted to do a winter paddle here to view wildlife for years, but when winter comes we are usually cross country skiing, snowshoeing or hiking. Maybe it's time to quit talking about it and "just do it!" I don't think we will be hanging out at the beach, however! Visit our Website for links to photo galleries.

Fall Paddle on Lake Clementine

by Sherri on October 8, 2008

Jeff and Jeff kayaking on Lake Clementine, Auburn, California.

As I mentioned in my previous post, the next stop on our August Road Trip was Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park. But, before I write about that mind blowing place, I wanted to share a little bit about what we have been shooting since that trip. This photo was taken about 3 weeks ago at Lake Clementine, one of our favorite places to kayak and canoe. Soon, the upper end of the lake where we put in will be closing for the season and we wanted to do a fall paddle before that time comes. The weather that day was perfect. It was in the mid to upper 80's and we had the lake to ourselves as Jeff (in the yellow kayak) was describing in this photo. By the way, I just learned that kayaking is the new activity of choice for "Baby Boomers." That explains why we like it so much! Note: The lower end of the lake is open year-round. Visit our Website for links to photo galleries.

Burney Falls Finale

by Sherri on October 6, 2008

McArthur-Burney Falls taken from the observation deck at the top. This is the view you get when you don't take the hike down to the base of the falls. In some ways, I think this view is more impressive. You get to see the falls in their entirety. That said, I also highly recommend taking the hike, so you can see it from many different perspectives. This is especially important if you are a photographer. [click to continue…]

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