Lake Oroville, CA - Nov 2006

Bidwell Canyon Campground at Lake Oroville was just a short stopover on our way heading south from Grants Pass to Modesto to visit friends. While it definitely wasn't a highlight of the California Parks system, it turned out to be a fun stop. Half the campground was closed, so we only had a few sites to select from, but we still got lucky and got a site that was fairly private and had a glimpse of the lake. The poplar trees in the park were lovely in their bright yellow autumn colors.

We arrived in the rain and had to wait to set up our outdoor stuff until the rain passed. Our patience was rewarded with a lovely rainbow that was made even prettier by the pink light of sunset. Unfortunately, it continued to rain for a couple more days and we had trouble getting our satellite internet dish set up as a result.

The campground had a small herd of 12 deer that wandered through morning and night. Normally, they graze on what little grass grows in the park, but while we were there they were feasting on the downed tree limbs that were being trimmed by the park's maintenance crew. If you look closely, you can see Rudy and Scotty up in the dash window of the RV.

While the rains kept us house-bound for a few days, we really enjoyed the pretty rainbows that seemed to come out in the afternoons. The Rainbow Chasers score another lovely "bow".

Lake Oroville is a huge lake and is very popular with houseboaters. Our site at the campground overlooked a small arm of the lake and there were hundreds of houseboats moored there. Most of them were empty, but we saw a few brave souls going out during the rainstorm.

The houseboats came in all sizes, shapes, colors and conditions. This was by far the largest of the boats -- quite a yacht.