Into the Woods

We considered a rainy weekend to be a romantic camping getaway - at least I did! Falling to sleep to the pitter patter of rain is something we do not experience living in San Francisco. So as the weekend approached, and the marshmallows packed, the chance of rain increased for the days we mapped out. But our bags were packed, and it is our only escape from the city where face masks and COVID shout at you from every corner.

So to Gold County we traveled! Just outside Plumas National Forest we camped, and our first night was under a clear sky. The stars were stunning, peppering the sky in every gap of trees we could find. After the tent was up, we laid in a clearing as Boo brought us the tiny sticks she found. Even after we threw them for her, she stared at us - waiting for us to throw them - because she could absolutely see nothing. Adorable.

During the day we left to walk some trails around Chico, ending up in town for coffee and site-seeing. We went to Bidwell Mansion, which was closed, however we got to walk around the wrap around porch and lay in the grass. The sun was out, and it was warm. We learned about John Bidwell, who found Gold in the region and built the town his home resides in. We also found out his lawn was great for playing frisbee with Boo. Afterwards we drove to Honey Run Covered Bridge, only to find that it had burnt down with the Paradise Fire. We got to our campsite in time to cook, melt marshmallows, sip wine, before the downpour began. By 8pm we were in our tent for coverage - and as it turns out - it was more than just a pitter patter of rain. Thankfully we had a tarp giving us extra protection, but it was not easy to sleep with the sheer volume of rain that whipped against the tent.

The next day we packed up and went into Plumas National Forest for a scenic drive, ending in Oroville, and getting Chinese food. It was a cute small town, and the remnant of the gold mining days were on all the buildings. Old western style facades held businesses named “Mining Alley Brewing” or “Prospecting Adventures”. Here a large Chinese population lived and mined for gold, their temple still in use today.