Hat Creek California

Despite the fact that we think we have anticipated well, we still occasionally find ourselves driving Colectiva through a snow storm. Northeastern California turned out to be no exception. As we neared Hat Creek we entered a full-fledged blizzard – yipppppppeeeeeeee!

Hat Creek was just a point on the map to turn a marathon drive day into two more leisurely drive days. Given the blizzard I appreciated that. However, we managed to find some gems here as well. A Mother’s Day visit to McArthur Burney Falls Memorial State Park turned out quite nicely. The Woman loves her waterfalls, so a visit on her day seemed really appropriate.

Back at the turn of the century locals

had discovered these amazing falls. The State of California was accelerating the damming of rivers in the area to create reservoirs for its exploding population. Fearing the States actions would eventually destroy the falls, the McArthur family bought up a few hundred acres around the falls, and began the process of trying to transfer ownership to the State, however with the caveat that it would be preserved for future generations.

While we are told that we saw it with more water spilling than has happened in a century or so because of the heavy winter snows melting off, we’re also told that are impressive even in August. In August, the Burney Creek that appears to provide the water for the falls actually dries up a mile above the falls. However, the porous volcanic rock that is permeated by the high water table here continues to provide a constant source of water to the falls, even when Burney Creek runs dry.

We were told by multiple people in the area that the falls were the source of water used originally in the bottling of Hamm’s Beer, a brand originally bottled in St. Paul Minnesota. When I was a kid, my family only drank Hamm’s Beer, and my brothers would roam the house the morning after a family gathering to see if they could find a swig or two remaining in any of the empties. The park ranger didn’t believe that was true, but so many locals seem to carry the tale that I wonder if it might actually have some truth to it.

We also stumbled on the Hat Creek Observatory, a SETI installation. This nonprofit research organization is constantly Searching for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. SETI uses radio telescopes to continuously scan the skies in search for radio signals that could not be of a natural origin, indicating intelligent life elsewhere in the universe.

The Hat Creek facility is state of the art. Rather than using a large telescopic dish, the facility uses small networked dishes – the dishes being not much larger than an In a

nd Out Burger franchise building. Scientists have concluded that smaller networked dishes provide more capacity than an immense dish. Eventually this facility will house 350 networked dishes, always scanning the heavens for any indications of other intelligent life (if you agree that is what we are!)

We also managed to stumble on the Pacific Crest Trail in our ventures in the area.

Unlike Tahoe, the trail here was not snowed in, and we were able to trek a small section, and take in the fun we experience every time we encounter part of it. We learned that Hat Creek is pretty near the center of the trail. It turns out we were somewhere around 1,400 miles from Mexico and about 1,200 miles from Canada.

Talk to you soon!