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REDDING AND SHASTA |
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A sprawling expanse of chain stores with a shopping mall in its
heart and a poured-concrete convention center at its gate, REDDING
sticks out as an anomaly amidst the natural splendor that makes up the
northern interior. The region's largest city, with 70,000 people, it's
acted as a northern nexus since the late-nineteenth century, when the
Central Pacific railroad came through. Today it remains a crossroads,
bulging with cookie-cutter motels and diners. Along Market Street (Hwy-273):
Best Western Hospitality House , 532 N Market St (tel 530/241-6464 or
1-800/700-3019; $50-75/$75-100), is a typical option; the Deluxe Inn ,
1135 Market St (tel 530/243-5141; $35-50/$50-75), is slightly less
luxurious but close to the Greyhound station.
SHASTA , six miles west of Redding and not to be confused with Mount
Shasta, is more appealing, though barely. These half-ruined brick
buildings were once a booming gold-mining town, literally at the end of
the road from San Francisco and on the very edge of the wilderness. The
courthouse has been turned into a museum (Wed-Sun 10am-5pm; $2) full of
historical California artwork and mining paraphernalia; the gallows and
prison cells are a grim reminder of the once daily executions.
Precipitous Hwy-299 climbs from Shasta into the Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity
National Recreation Area , where the artificial beaches, forests and
camping facilities at three lakes - Clair Eagle, Whiskeytown and Shasta
- meet the needs of waterskiers, sailors and wilderness hikers. Sadly,
during summer it's completely congested, as windsurfers, motorboats, jet
skis and recreational vehicles block the narrow routes which serve the
lakes. An extensive system of tunnels, dams and aqueducts directs the
plentiful waters of the Sacramento River in to California's central
valley to irrigate cash crops. The lakes are pretty enough, but
residents complain they're not a patch on the wild waters that used to
flow from the mountains before the Central Valley Project came along in
the 1960s.
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