Home For Thanksgiving

Ahh, Home for Thanksgiving! Nothing like it. Its like being wrapped in a warm blanket, literally, my dad keeps the house a refreshing 106 degrees. Kidding dad.
As always, its nice to get back home an enjoy some great food and even better company. Never get to stay long enough to do all the things I want to, or see all the people I’d like to, but we sure made good use of the short time we had. Above are a sampling of said good times. One thing new to Redding that I had yet to see (its been there for a couple of years, but unless I have seen it personally, its new) is the Sun Dial Bridge, crafted from steel and glass, this bridge is a sight to behold. Designed by Santiago Calatrava, the bridge is the gateway to the Turtle Bay Exploration Park and McConnell Arboretum. What a huge upgrade to the area. One of the best things about it is they finally explain what that old monolith was for. In all the years I lived there, that was nothing to me but an old eyesore. No explanation as to what or why its burned out hulking mass of concrete was doing there all these years. Turns out its was the aggregate plant that supplied the concrete for the Shasta Dam. A massive conveyor belt 10 miles long supplied the workers with nonstop materials for the concrete that went into the dam. Very cool. The turtle shots and the family pictures were taken in and around the park. We thoroughly enjoyed it and could spend many more hours discovering all it has to offer. Later that evening, mom and I made the trip back to the bridge for some night shots, (the bridge lights up). I couldn’t get exactly what I wanted as I waited to long to get down there. However. Turning the camera up river, I got a nice shot looking towards Caldwell park. (Named after the late husband of my sophomore English teacher Mrs. Caldwell or as I like to call her, the crabbiest old battle ax on Earth. (We didn’t always see eye to eye.) My dad and I even got to spend a little time in his shop making some tools. His expertise with metal makes it look easy but its not, and I'm happy to have been able to watch him work. We also did a little shopping at the tool store which is always fun. I wish I could spend more time with him learning what he knows.
It was great trip and good time spent with the whole family. On the way back I snapped a couple shots of Mt. Shasta in the evening light. Its just after a fresh snow fell on the peak.