My watch displayed the time as 8:47pm but it was still light
outside. With wine in hand I managed to
climb the steep ladder to the top deck of our houseboat without spilling a
drop. There before me was an inviting
hot tub. As I lowered myself down into
the bubbling hot water I began listening to the sounds of the night and
watching osprey hover 30-100 feet above the water line, searching endlessly for
fish for their young. As I slowly turned
my body in a 360 degree circle, my senses simply absorbed the beautiful
wilderness that surrounded me. With no
city lights to impede the stars above, one of the best shows was the sporadic
twinkling lights reflecting in the water below.
Truly nature at it’s best. Sitting there in the hot tub, wine in hand,
anchored on a small little island in a secluded cove up the Squaw Creek Arm of
Lake Shasta, I almost felt I had to pinch myself. How did I get here?
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| Our "Odyssey" Houseboat from Jones Valley Marina at Lake Shasta |
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| From top deck |
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| Hanging out at the hot tub |
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| Mooring at our private island |
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| Hot tub |
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| Sunrise on our private island |
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It was early 2015 while listening to the annual KLDR radio
auction that a 7-day “Odyssey” houseboat rental at Lake Shasta was
offered. After the announcer mentioned
that the houseboat had a water slide, hot tub and would sleep 15, I decided to place a bid. At the end of the 1-hour bidding window I
received a phone call advising that I was the winning bidder. My immediate thought was “What have I done?”
Lake Shasta is a reservoir located in Shasta County,
California, about 10 miles from Redding, California. Shasta Dam was constructed between 1935 and
1945 and the lake was formed in 1948.
The dam stands 602 feet high and is the 8th tallest dam in the
United States. The lake has
365 miles of mostly steep mountainous shoreline covered with tall
evergreen trees and manzanita and has a maximum depth of 517 feet.
First came the task of setting menus and a food list. Once that was done I then went about
drafting my packing list. I embellished
the list that was found on the houseboat rental website and ended up taking way
more clothes than needed. Bring plenty
of hats, bathing suits, and towels, and leave the cute little matching outfits
at home. And that makeup you think is a
must - you won’t need that either.
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| Floating with our little yorkies |
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| Water slide off top deck. Inflatable kayaks come in handy. |
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| Our Yorkies in doggie jail on the top deck. |
The weekly cost for the “Odyssey” listed as $5,890 for peak
season (June 17-August 11), however, my rental agreement listed $6,427. This is not your total cost however. We had to put down a $700 deposit that was to
be credited back if everything was returned in good condition. In addition you will pay for your gas
charges. Gas is used to run the engine
and also the generator so depending on how long you leave the generator running
daily, this will affect your fuel consumption considerably. We used 124.59 gallons at a cost of $4.199
per gallon so that amounted to another $523.16. Add another $400 for food/beverages and this
will make your week somewhere between $6,500-$7,500. Certainly an expensive week and I’m not sure
I would do it again but as for a family bonding adventure – PRICELESS!
An online map directed us to the Jones Valley Marina, where
our “Odyssey” houseboat was moored.
Picking up our houseboat was part excitement and part trepidation.
Excitement because our houseboat was decked
out with a water slide, a wet bar and a hot tub that seated six.
Trepidation because it was extremely large
and looked very difficult to drive.
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| Online map to Jones Valley Marina |
When you arrive at the Marina you will be met by Bob who
will give you a temporary parking pass and then shuttle you down to the office
and check-in area. Once you have
completed that process you will be greeted by the QUAD SQUAD. Large green buckets pulled by a quad bike take
you back up the hill and help load all your equipment. The entire staff at the Marina were cheerful
and accommodating and more than willing to assist with both the loading and
unloading process. In addition, they
assured us that piloting the houseboat would not be difficult. Be sure you have at least two or three adults
listen to the pre-launch orientation.
It’s a lot of information to absorb so the more brains the better. The orientation included the basics of
starting, navigating and anchoring the boat but there were also instructions
for operating the radio, generator, barbecue, toilets, hot tub, water slide,
etc.
The week seemed to fly by quickly. With sun and water being your entire focus be
sure you take plenty of sunscreen.
Getting a severe sunburn early on will make the rest of your trip very
unpleasant. We didn’t have a power boat
at our disposal so our days were spent playing in the water with our floating
devices. For myself I limited my water
time to no more than an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon.
Other than floating or kayaking in the water, our time was
spent watching for wildlife, videos, playing games, craft projects with the
young ones, soaking in the hot tub, rock skipping contests and roasting hot
dogs over our bonfire at night. We did
spot osprey, eagles, lots of fish, deer, turtles and even a couple of
snakes. The rest of the time was used to
relax, read, sleep or just ‘chill’ and take in the surrounding beauty.
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| Rock Skipping Contest |
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| Evning around the campfire |
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| Roasting of hot dogs over the campfire |
For more information about houseboat rentals on Lake Shasta
check out houseboats.com website.
http://houseboats.com/
