Trinity River (August 2017)

Hi Everyone,

I’m still on break at the moment so of course I’m taking as many opportunities to go away before I have to return to work. This past weekend, Josh and I went on a road trip to Trinity River where friends of ours regularly stay. Trinity River is still within California and is a great place to go kayaking. It is also really close to Redding which has an amazing lake to go water skiing or wakeboarding on. Anyway, first Josh and I had to get there. Since we weren’t flying, we took the opportunity to bring everything and the kitchen sink.

Its about a 4 hour drive from Oakland to Trinity River and for the most part the scenery is flat and uninteresting. However as we got closer, the view became really pretty.

This was the lake at Weaverville and the freeway goes through part of the lake.

We were heading to high country so it was really cool to see the roads that had been cut into the mountain.

Finally, after about 4 hours we could see that we were getting close to our destination when all these amazing trees started becoming commonplace.

And then we arrived!

Its so amazing. After I took this photo I pivoted in the same spot to show you how close the river was to the house.

In this picture you can see the water at the trees just there. After parking the car, Josh and I headed down to the river with a couple of beverages (note the esky in Josh’s right hand).

So first of all it was ridiculously hot but the water was so cold because its the melt from the mountains. I ended having a nap by the river in a hammock waiting for it to cool down.

After our respective naps, Josh and I headed back into the house to help prepare dinner (and drinks). Since there was so many of us and it was still so nice and warm, we all ate outside under the night sky.

After dinner, Gail (the host) and I had a mattress blown up so we could lie outside and watch the meteor shower reported to occur while we were on the river. The first night, I saw one shooting star. The second night I think we saw 10. It was amazing. And because we were so far outside the city, I felt like I was at an observatory looking up at the night sky because I could see an unbelievable amount of stars. That ended our first day of the river. The next day, the ladies woke up early and decided to have a paddle down the river before it got too hot. First our boats were prepped.

Since this was my first time, Gail offered to share a kayak with me.

Gail had two people to keep an eye on, me and Bear (her dog).

Yes, Bear has his own doggy life vest and a visor to keep the sun out of his eyes. Really, the whole getup was unfairly cute. The view from the boat was incredible.

We were also paddling with Beth who was totally rocking out her boat.

While I did help with the paddling and steering, I still took as many chances to grab some pretty snaps.

I think the part I enjoyed the most was constantly looking into the water. When the water was really still, it was so clear. You can see what I’m talking about in the picture above. Plus check this out:

The paddle down the river wrecked me for the rest of the day so, you guessed it, I had to have another nap that afternoon. We pretty much lounged for the rest of the time there and then after two days, Josh and I left to return back to reality. But just before I left I took a couple of pictures from the deck of the house.

It really is the most incredible place. I cannot wait to go back there again. Plus, I had no reception so I was completely disconnected from my phone while there. A few days of that and I feel a hundred years younger. It was definitely a good visit to go on just before heading back to work.

That’s all from Josh and I for the moment. I think we may try to schedule one more trip before December which is when we’re planning to head home for Christmas. Keep you all updated.

Talk soon,

Sim (& Josh)