After spending the night at the Happy Time RV Park at Road 8 and former Highway 99W[est], where I only paid $10 for parking my 3/4-ton truck and camper in a tent site, I drove north on I-5 to Orland to use the Orland Free Library.
While the library has free WiFi they change their passcode from time to time on their secured network; because of that I had to delete the entry made by my laptop's operating system (Vista) last December in order to enter a new passcode. [Incidentally, while I do sometimes park in front of McDonalds or Starbucks outlets to use their WiFi's from the cab of my pickup, I prefer libraries since most of them allow one to plug the laptop's power cord into an AC outlet.]
As I was catching up on e-mail after a day off-line [except to check driving directions at a Suisun City McDonalds] I learned that the current Orland Community Center was originally a Carnegie Grant Library opened in 1920 and designed by William H. Weeks, a longtime resident of Watsonville in Santa Cruz County.
After taking 3 photos of Orland's earlier Carnegie Library I drove west to Black Butte Revervoir, a Corps of Engineers project constructed from 1959 to 1963.
Here's a view from the overlook area to the left of the dam looking east toward Orland. To the southeast about 30 minutes prior to the time this photo was taken a tornado touched down north of Yuba City.
A shot of the measuring station at the reservoir.
A small butte near one of the many arms of the reservoir.
In addition to camping areas for RVs, truck campers like mine, and tents, there are also day-use areas for which the fee is $4. [Incidentally, becuase I have a Golden Age Pass, the $14 fee was cut in half to $7, the 2nd-lowest price I've paid to dry-camp; the posted price is $18 before such discounts. I stayed at the Buckhorn Campground.]
The back or western side of the bigger (southernmost) of the two buttes; also called Orland Buttes. [Click 1 or 2 times to zoom in on the antenna.] The northernmost butte near the dam is the basis for the name of the reservoir.
--
Links:
- William H. Weeks, Architect Extraordinaire
- Black Butte Reservoir website
- Wikipedia article on Orland, CA
T 31 May Actual Route: Lathrop - Manteca - Stockton - Rio Vista -Suisun City - Vacaville - Dunnigan
W 1 Jun Actual Route: Dunnigan - Orland - Black Butte Reservoir
Th 2 Jun Actual Route: Black Butte Reservoir - Orland - Sacto Riv RV Pk
F 3 Jun Route: Sacto Riv RV Pk - Redding - Shingletown
