Touring the Little Shasta Valley and Montague

We went for a long afternoon drive yesterday through the Little Shasta Valley, which lies well to the east of I-5. It’s secluded and full of cattle pastures and rolling hills. We headed out because my husband was in the mood for a drive and he wanted to photograph the Little Shasta Church. The Church is very well maintained and picturesque, and quite popular for wedding. We’ve got a very striking photo of it at home, and wanted to see what we could with our own cameras. We took Harry Cash Road up from A-12, because it’s so pretty (that’s where the Mt. Shasta Lavender Farms is located). We went through the old gate and walked the lawn at the church, shooting photos and admiring the curtains of spring rain (they weren’t falling on us at the time). Then we took a little side trip into Montague for snacks and drinks at the mini mart (you can gas up here too). Then we headed back out into the Little Shasta Valley. We did a loop past the Shasta Valley Wildlife Refuge, and we surprised at the amount of water in that area and the geese floating on the shallow pools. The loop out to Hart Road brought us back to Harry Cash Road, and so back to the Church. We stopped again.

Once we stopped at the Church we decided to head off onto some side roads, and what a wonderful afternoon that made for. We drove past the old Soule Ranch, with it’s glorious 120-year old Queen Ann Victorian that, while in need of refurbishment, just pulses with life. We stopped at the Historical Marker on the corner of Soule Lane to read about Tailholt, a town started in the 1880s that survived up into the 1930s. According to the marker, Tailholt had a post office, grist mill, saloon, blacksmith shop, race track, ball field and a few houses, until it disappeared. All you see know is an open pasture where the Soule’s cattle used to graze.

Then we wandered out Willow Creek Road, passing Table Rock, Solomons Temple and Temple Rock. The road took us up and down many hills, through a narrow drainage in these hills touched with the subtle green and pick of lower growing spring grasses and flowers. We simply enjoyed being out in the spring weather, seeing the new growth of spring and exploring roads we’d never been on. There weren’t any attractions to stop for, no tourist shops or interpretive signs, just wide open country that felt remote and protected. On our way out to Airport Road we stopped to take photos of a small heard of bison, and then later we saw antelope.

We headed north, thinking about going up to Hornbrook, but turned aside at Ager-Beswick Road, which goes out to Copco Lake. We saw the marker for the old stage stop that reads “All Roads Lead to Ager” and the old Ager Hotel. Again a very hilly, remote setting; although certainly more houses out here. We turned back after awhile, not wanting to drive all the way back to the lake. We passed Shasta View Vineyards, then stopped in Montague, thinking of dinner. The Corner Club was advertising fettucino alfredo as its dinner special, and that place is always good for a steak. We thought about visiting our friends at Shepherds Dream, where we got our super comfy wool comforter, but it was late in the evening, so we headed south back to Mt. Shasta.

For any of you yearning for a nice Sunday drive (no matter what day of the week it is), I highly recommend this drive. The country is beautiful and kinda lonesome, and there is something new to see over every hilltop. Keep your eyes in the fields and hills where you’ll all kinds of beauty (and maybe some buffalo). Take a map, if you’re not the sort to trust your sense of direction and luck. We found a northern California map that has all of the little side roads on it, although a Klamath National Forest map will help too. You can find suggestions for other scenic drives in the area at VisitSiskiyou.org. If you’re doing this drive in the summer, you can even contemplate taking a road over the hills and into Butte Valley for a longer adventure (be sure you’ve got a full tank of gas for this one). It’s a wonderful thing, driving around with no destination in mind, and something we’re lacking in our fast-paced world. Sunday drives are a thing of our childhood, and it was with child-like delight that we explored the Little Shasta Valley.

Salmon fishing takes off in October

Fall salmon fishing is taking off on the Klamath River and getting attention in the press. Folks expect it to be a good fall and winter for fishing on the Klamath – take a look at what Crescent City’s The Daily Triplicate had to report about the fall Chinook run below Iron Gate Dam. So far fishing has been best from the dam down to around the Fish Hook Restaurant in Hornbrook. This is an area that’s fairly easy for beginners to fish from a drift boat, and has seen a number of boats on the water mid-month, when the fishing really started to pick up.

The fall Chinook fishing has a short window, and is usually best until the end of October. Guides and fishermen have been watching and waiting for the fish to come up river, and now that they’re moving, fisherman are coming to the Klamath. “It should be pretty dang good this year,” said guide Guy Ives, who you’ll sometimes find at The Tackle Shop in Yreka. “It’s going to be good, and it’s going to be crowded.”

If you’re intersted in fall salmon fishing on the Klamath River, check in with one of these fishing guides -
Seiad Valley Guide Service: (530)-496-3291 or  www.steelheadguides.com
SC Guide Service: (530) 905-0758 or  www.caldwellfishing.com
Yreka Tackle: (530) 841.1901 or  www.yrekatackle.com
Three Rivers Guide Service: (530) 925-7990 or  www.threeriversguideservice.com
Jack Trout Guide Service: (530) 926-4540  or www.jacktrout.com
Klamath River Outfitters: (530) 469-3349  or www.klamathriveroutfitters.com