2015-08-14 - Northwest Road Trip - Redding
My brother and I chose to spend our last day of the road trip in Redding. Redding is mostly known for its iconic Sundial Bridge, which has single-handedly boosted the tourism to the city. The Sundial Bridge is a "cantilever spar cable-stayed bridge" designed by Santiago Calatrava to span the Sacramento River. Its notable features include allowing natural sunlight through to the wildlife around the bridge as well as not touching the water itself to protect the salmon within. The bridge is also a functional sundial, one of the largest in the world. A bridge was originally budgeted for $3 million but eventually cost $23.5 million and took a decade to design and build due to the state-of-the-art modern design. The huge costs were opposed by many people in the city but it now serves to attract millions of dollars in tourism and commerce every year so perhaps it was it the right decision. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sundial_Bridge_at_Turtle_Bay)
The bridge is by the Turtle Bay Exploration Park which includes several sections. We first entered the Turtle Bay Museum containing exhibits on the surrounding wildlife, the bridge, and Native Americans who lived in the area.
The bridge is by the Turtle Bay Exploration Park which includes several sections. We first entered the Turtle Bay Museum containing exhibits on the surrounding wildlife, the bridge, and Native Americans who lived in the area.
We headed to Paul Bunyan's Forest Camp to catch a show, deciding to come back later. A direct connection was under construction so we walked around the outside of the camp to get in. It was essentially a zoo, especially for kids. The animal show was exciting and some of the animals performing were ones rescued by the camp, including a cougar who was injured when young. We walked around and saw most of the animals and the small grove area filled with Californian trees. The most unexpected and beautiful animals had to be the colorful lorikeets from Australia. For a dollar, you could feed them lunch out of cups. Judging from the reactions of the girls feeding them, it was cute and painful at the same time.
We walked back to our car and drove to get lunch. Afterwards, we returned to the museum and spent most of our time in its temporary exhibit on puzzles called, Mindbender Mansion. There was one particularly fun one with a DDR-like platform where you had to step on letters to spell words to questions. It took a combination of skill and luck to be good. We spent the rest of our time just enjoying the bridge. We walked to the other side and around.
It is a beautiful trail connector for pedestrians and bicyclists alike. It was nice seeing the birds and kayakers in the water below soaked by the water and the afternoon sun. The Turtle Bay Exploration Park also includes the McConnell Arboretum and Botanical Gardens on this other side of the bridge but we did not have time to go.
We took our time at the park but had a long drive to Millbrae ahead of us. Along the way, I felt sleepy at one point and took a nap at a gas station before continuing. By the time we arrived in Millbrae, it was well past 1 am. Our parents were there in my brother's new rental unit, having gotten there the day before. I had not seen my parents since leaving on the bike trip in May so 3 months had passed. It was great to have my immediate family all together again, for a whole week. Among other things, we spent that week eating a lot of Chinese food and being surprised at how Chinese the population of Millbrae is.
