I’ve never tried snowshoes, though there was that hilarious incident where I tied tennis rackets to my feet and walked around on the lawn and fell down and hurt my spleen.
But let’s not dwell on last weekend. Let’s look to the future, which could include a first attempt at exploring a winter wonderland on snowshoes.
The rangers at Lassen Volcanic National Park lead snowshoe walks through red fir forest blanketed in deep snow. The program, which begins Dec. 26, includes safety tips and instructions, and a short hike. They even provide the snowshoes! Loaners are available for a suggested donation of $1.
The snowshoe sessions start at 1:30 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 26 through April 4, at the Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center near the park’s southwest entrance.
Lots of outdoor fun is available at Lassen Volcanic National Park during winter. The roads to both Manzanita Lake and to the Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center are kept open, and there are areas for cross-country skiing, sledding, snow play and snowboarding.
For more information, click here.
- Beautiful weekend weather ahead. Highs will be in the upper 60s in Redding. A storm system should move in late Sunday, and rain is expected Monday and Tuesday, so enjoy the outdoors while you can. Break out the tennis rackets.
- Speaking of sunshine, a new study has found that people in Sun Belt states tend to be happiest. The survey of 1.3 million Americans found the happiness quotient to be highest in Louisiana (!), Hawaii, Florida, Tennessee and Arizona. Sunny California ranked 46th, and researchers blamed the low rating on congestion and population growth. For the full story, click here. For the complete list of states in order of happiness, click here.
- One thing that torques me about the local newspaper is they don’t list which NFL games will be televised here until it’s too late to plan my Sunday viewing. NFL.com has lots of great info, but it doesn’t have the regional TV variations. I end up prowling the Internet to find which games the Chico stations will air. This Sunday, it’ll be the 49ers vs. the Eagles in the 10 a.m. game and, in the afternoon, the Raiders vs. the Broncos and the stumbling Steelers vs. the Packers. Vikings vs. the Panthers on Sunday night. I think the Green Bay Packers are a team to watch. Their defense is a bunch of mad dogs.
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