Showing me home….

March  7th , 2014
Totally overcast or Bright sunshine - Hey, it's Spring!
Lat/Lon 41.5N 122.8W

Scott Valley and Mt. Shasta in Northern California

Charley and I have often talked about growing up in small towns.  We were both very lucky in that we had nearly 'textbook' childhoods.  This is our visit to Charley's 'roots'. 

Mt. Shasta

On the way to Scott Valley, where Charley grew up, we passed Mt. Shasta. 

I tried to get a good photo but clouds obscured the peak.

  

Okay - time out.  "SQUIRREL!"

Among my many other geek, nerd, know-it-all tendencies, lies my inner geologist.  I love geology, especially volcanology. (And no, I don't mean a Treky with pointy ears.) I've had a deep obsession with volcanoes, since 5th grade when I had to do a project on a volcano.  I chose Pompeii.  As an adult, my interest lies mainly in the Pacific volcanos where they would most likely effect me.  (Although that volcano in Iceland in 2010 was pretty awesome. And no, I'm not going to attempt to spell it's name.)

So I was absolutely enthralled with seeing Mt. Shasta pop up out of the landscape right there in front of me! 

WOOT!!!   >fist pump!< 

Now I must share a little volcanology trivia with you.  

Shasta is the second highest peak, (at 14,179 ft), in the Cascade chain of volcanos.  Mt. Rainier is the highest at 14, 411 ft.  

There are about 18 volcanoes in the Cascade chain which goes from British Columbia to California. The 13 largest are all in the U.S., in Washington, Oregon, and California.

Another attempt to capture Mt. Shasta, still cloudy at the top.  This is the northwest face, and judging from that big gash, I would bet a fairly large sum that this is the side that 'blew' in 1786, Shasta's last eruption.   As often happens, there is a smaller cone forming in the side that blew out.  That is Shastina. 

Pop quiz!  How many of the 13  major volcanoes in the Cascade chain can you name?  GO!

I'm gonna give it a try here,…

In no particular order:  Rainier, Shasta, Hood, St. Helens,  Adams,  Baker, Jefferson, Mt. Bachelor,…  I think the 3 Sisters are in there somewhere, ...but ok, I didn't do so well. 

So here is the list, from north to south,…  in WA - Mt. Baker, Glacier Peak, Mt. Rainier, Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams,  in OR - Mt. Hood, Mt. Jefferson, Three Sisters, Newberry Volcano, Crater Lake (Mt. Mazama), in CA - Medicine Lake Volcano, Mt. Shasta, Lassen Peak.

Ok, enough about volcanos.  Thank you for humoring me.

~ . ~

OK - continuing on the trip with Charley,... 

This is Scott Valley.  

 It's a lovely patchwork of farms and ranches. 

Scott Valley encases 4 small towns, Callahan, Etna, Greenview, and Ft. Jones.

Below is the1,000 acre Goodale Ranch that the Tozier's owned. 

Charley's grandfather owned it, then it was passed to his father and uncle, and split between the two of them.  

This is the house where Charley lived until he went away to college.

 The corrals to the north of the house.

More corrals and sheds on the northwest side.

These two buildings were on the other side of the house.  

These were their saddle house and chicken coop. 

Look at these beautiful fields!  What a great place to be a kid!

And,… what's that peaking out from behind the tree?  Oh man, it's Mt. Shasta. 

The Tozier property had the best view of Mt. Shasta in all of Scott Valley, and finally I got a clear view too!  

Charley drove me around the valley and showed me a few of his favorite places. 

This was the swimming hole on Scott River where everyone would go in the summer.  

This path was not paved back then.

Run off from the mountains to the Scott River below.

Boulder Creek

A cool suspension bridge over the Scott River.

Emmy and Elby are helping Charley drive, by the hanging out the window and watching for chipmunks and birds.

Chawley on the bridge.

Leaving Scott Valley we got another view of Mt. Shasta. Closer and quite clear.

 This is a really good view from the northeast side of Shasta.  It was the northwest side (center of picture) that blew out, and that is where Shastina has formed, (right side of picture).  You can see that in the past 230 years since Shasta erupted, Shastina has become almost as big as her parent.

I think it fascinating that when volcanoes have these violent (pyroclastic) eruptions that blow away a few thousand feet of the mountain's height, nature simply attempts to re-grow the missing part.  Just like a lizard that has lost it's tail.  Below is the new dome inside Mt. St. Helens, and Wizard island, inside Crater Lake.  

Ok, I swear, I'm done with volcanos.  Until the next time I have a legitimate opportunity to talk about one. 

~ . ~

One more stop before we head toward Boise, Idaho.

The Living Memorial Sculpture Garden

This is a monument to express appreciation for all the veterans, living or deceased, from Siskiyou County in California.



Charley showed me his name on the wall.
The 6th name down - Maj. Charles M. Tozier
VN = Viet Nam  DS = Desert Storm

I have to say, it was a shock to see Charley's name on a marble memorial wall. I didn't like the feeling that I got in my chest.  But I reminded myself that this was a living memorial, it was totally different than the others.  I inhaled deeply, exhaled slowly, and took a picture of his name.
Poor Charley didn't understood my reaction.  I'm sure he hoped I'd be really excited.  I explained to him that my experiences with these walls have not exactly been experiences of celebration.  They have been experiences of loss and sadness.  Touching a name, wishing it were not there.  Wishing that you could just stare at it long enough or hard enough to make it disappear, having never been there to begin with.
Maybe I need to visit a few more Living Memorials.
But at this point, if I never saw another loved ones name etched into a marble wall ever again, it would be ok with me.

But I told Charley then, and I try to tell him frequently, that I am proud of him and his service to our country.
Thank you, Major Tozier.