This morning was still a bit drippy but we wanted to be at the Donner Memorial State Park Emigrant Trail Museum when it opened because we have a long drive today. This is the monument in front of the museum. The pedestal is 22 ft high - the exact depth of the snow that fateful winter. From here there is a short trail to the door of the museum. The Donner story is explained in a 25 minute video. Eighty-nine westward bound pioneers were trapped in the Sierra Nevada mountains in the winter of 1846 - 47 after making the decision to try what they were told was an easier and quicker route. It wasn't, and as a result of that decision only 49 survived. I think there is a spiritual application in there somewhere.
The museum holds some of their actual personal items...
...which was just a bit haunting.
This very unusual item is an actual horse showshoe...and I was absolutely fascinated by it. It was so heavy...and I just couldn't imagine a horse wearing four of these let alone working in them....but they sure did. With a little help from Goggle I found several types horse showshoes, and even pictures of horses working in them. Crazy!
After the lights came on in the little movie room I saw this most startling wall of butterflies and moths.
Not gonna lie...I don't do moths...but the blue butterfly was really pretty!
This picture shows how they would disassemble their wagons to get them through the mountain. How hard this must have been!
Ok, and then there was this random collection of stuffed animals. These two were my favorites - the lynx and the weasel. Goodness sakes they even had a stuffed mole!
Leaving the museum we continued on Hwy 80 beside Donner Lake, and it is quite beautiful.
We accidental took a wrong turn that ended up being one of the best parts of our day.
This is what remains of the emigrant trail. What a thrill to see this piece of it.
The bbow in another spectacular location!
Signs. Yes, it is my duty, with no children an board the bbow, to read signs with the big guy. Signs are a great source of joy for him. I do not know who wrote this particular series of signs, but they had a wonderful sense of humor and even I couldn't wait to read the next one. Note to sign makers of the world: adding just a touch of pithy humor to your writing gains results in an instant rapport with the non-sign readers. Trust me!
We made it to the summit!
On the other side of the Sierra Nevada's we were soon into incredibly productive farm country. We spotted this little mom & pop farm and stand and just had to stop.
We picked up strawberries, these amazing blackberries, small squash and zucchini for an eventual stir fry. The family growing and selling these had immigrated from Asia. They were hard working, and thankful to deal with you.
Then suddenly we were in acres of orchards - fruits and nuts. Sure wish there were signs posted so we knew what we were driving by.
By 6 pm we had made it to Redding...and starving we busted over to In-N-Out Burger. Oh how we heart In-N-Out!
And we had to see a bit of Lake Shasta before settling in our resort. The lake is so high. Seeing a little houseboat heading down lake, and another tucked in a cove made my heart long to do that again! Tomorrow...we get the girl!
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