Downieville and Sierra City trip...oh what fun we had!

Summer was closing in on us and we had come to the realization that we had not taken our daughter anywhere for vacation. We decided to splurge and take an over night stay in a cabin we found online. 

The company is called Sierra Streamside Cabins, we highly recommend this venture! The couple who owns and operates the cabins are very nice and extremely helpful. There is no cell service anywhere and the nearest pay phone is in Sierra City, just a heads up. This is the place you want to go when you need to get away from technology. The cabins are rustic but have the essentials you need to cook a nice meal with.

Our venture started mid morning on a Saturday. We loaded up the car and set off on Highway 49 through North San Juan on our way to Downieville. It was a wonderful drive but once we passed North San Juan it soon became apparent that Grass Valley really is not that far out in BFE.

Mom gets the back seat because the little one gets car sick.

Our first stop was somewhere along the river past the Pendola Extention Road. We found a frog.

Mr. Frog

It was smokey from the fire in Foresthill but you could see the mountains peering high above us. All three of us were amazed at how big the mountains were compared to what we are used to in the foothills.

We got to Downieville and drove straight on through. The Clampers were in town for their initiations and had shut down every street except the highway. We will have to go back for a day trip to check out the little town.

Entrance to the bridge

Just five miles farther down Highway 49 we easily found the cabins. We piled all of our stuff in the carts provided, crossed the bridge and found the door to our cabin to be open.

Here we are crossing the bridge

The view of the river from the bridge

The Shotgun Cabin (my family was upset that I did not get any pictures of the it) was small but big enouph for the three of us. My husband quickly noticed the fishing pole racks above the side windows. My daughter instantly noticed the beds were jump-able. And as for myself, I instantly noticed the river.

We transferred what we had brought in the ice chest to the refrigerator; then went to the river just out side the door. After about an hour Pat did not catch any fish so we decided to venture up towards Sierra City (12 miles further up Hwy 49). On our way out we met Yvonne and Jim, the owners. They were bringing us an extra blanket for the twin bed. My husband and Jim started to talk about fishing where Jim suggested to check out Lower Sardine Lake.

View from Hubby's fishing spot by the cabin

Sierra City is a cool little town. We past Herrington's; a place I remembered from traveling around with my dad. We found a store that served ice cream and watched the people outside the old (and I am sure haunted) bar across the street. That is about all there was that we found to do in Sierra City, LOL. I asked the very nice store clerk how many people lived in Sierra City and she said "250, with 350 in Downieville who holds the county chair. Sierra County has a total of 2300". Danm, that is my kinda place. When she said that I felt in my heart that I would someday retire there or find a property to own. Snow, yes. Lots of civilization, no. Love it! The only concern is the medical situation. No doctors or hospitals.

We headed back to the cabins but were not there long as my hubby wanted to explore (which meant find a place to fish). We headed back towards Sierra City and found ourselves at Bassett's Station. When we go back we will have to eat at their cafe. By this time the smoke had cleared and the afternoon was beautiful!

On our way to Sardine Lake we stopped at a look out and took some pics.

Here we are, The Herbert's

The Sierra Buttes from the rest area

Lower Sardine Lake

Then it was off to Lower Sardine Lake, this is where I got used to the fact that we had nothing to do, that there was nothing to do and that we could be in total relax mode.

We caught no fish and went back to the cabin. It was shower time for me, but the shower was not working! There was no pressure, no hot water and no cell service or phones in the cabin so I had to truck my (not so happy) butt back to Sierraville to call the owners. They were out so I left a message and headed back with all hopes of a warm shower out of my mind.

Lower Sardine Lake

When I got back my family had dinner ready and we ate a feast! Steak, macaroni salad, fruit salad, zucchini! Yum! Cleaned up and then made Smores in the BBQ. There was a shared fire pit but we were not up to dealing with a fire so we just headed in and I made my daughter wash up in the kitchen sink. She was not so happy about this but it had to be done. We then played one of the board games that was in the cabin: Junior Scrabble. At around 9ish Jim showed up to look at our shower, turns out it was an operator error. We were really amazed and appreciative that he came out so late. We did not expect to see him until the morning.

Coffee + River + Me Time = A Beautiful Thing!

It was time for night-night so we headed to bed and all slept well. The beds were comfortable. I am an early riser so I got up at the first sign of light, made my cup of decaf coffee and went straight to the river. Me time!

What kind of adventure would it be if I did not find a heart?

When I got back my family was starting to get up. Hubby had made his coffee and enjoyed a hot shower. Daughter was still laying in bed (as usual, she is the last one to get going). We started breakfast; fresh eggs, bacon and toast. Perfect! Jim came back to check on  us to "make sure everything was working". And it was. For the first time in my life I felt like one of those "flatlanders", LOL. Which made me want to move to Sierra County even more.

Jim chatted with my hubby for a bit and my daughter enjoyed playing with his two dogs (she loves animals) while I cleaned up and started packing. Check out was 11 am but we wanted to head out a little early and take our time home.

We stopped in Sierra City again; at Herrington's this time to check out their trout pond. My daughter caught a huge fish! Jose cleaned it and wrapped it in ice for us to ensure a fresh fish while traveling.

Daughter and her HUGE catch! Which is still in the freezer :)

Then we headed up to Bassets for ice cream (best darn ice cream I have had in a long time) before getting on the road. Hwy 49 out of Bassetts towards Sierraville is a climb, the snow markers kept getting taller and taller and the topography changed. The rocks and trees were different and things were lush. It was beautiful but I noticed no drive ways or sign of human life which tells me there was none. The highway started on a downward slope which suggested that we were getting close to Sierraville. We stopped at the Sierra Valley rest stop and it was smokey.

Smokey Sierra Valley Look Out

Sierra Valley is flat farm land surrounded by large mountains. Very impressive. While in Sierraville we stopped at the Country Store. What a strange, yet fun little place.

While at the country store we got the directions to Sierra Hot Springs. When we walked in the first thing I saw was a sign that said "Misbehaved children will be asked to leave". OK! We must go now as at this point all three of us were misbehaved ;) I loved it though, a place of serenity and peace. While it is not a place for my family, Mommy will keep it in the memory banks for the future.

The first thing we saw at the Sierraville Country Store...kinda cool, kinda creepy!

At the Sierraville Country Store...cool. Not as creepy as the monkey in a bird cage ;)

In the bathroom at the Sierraville Country Store. The restroom also had the old fashioned towel dispenser on a roll with the blue cloth towel that you would wipe your hands on and then pull it down for the next person. Who remembers those? What are they called? Not even Google could tell me...different kind of living in those parts, LOL

On to Truckee we went. Through Indian country; although the drive had a packed camp ground every mile or so I really felt the Native energy. Once in Truckee, we thought about stopping in Old Town but could not find a parking spot and decided to keep trucking. We tried to find the McDonald's...which we could not find. Then we drove around and found a Panda Express and shopped a little at the hardware store. On to home we go!

While it was a short trip, it was fun and we certainly needed it! It felt great to travel and share with my daughter the areas that my father showed me as a kid. Downieville, Sierra City, Bassetts and Sardine Lakes (and all the lakes up there) are close enouph to be a day trip...and so we shall!