Why Yreka
Yreka (pronounced why-REEka) is an awesome, quiet, small town. So how did I end up here and what the heck is Yreka?
I was living in Salinas, my hometown, with my mom in the late 80s wondering what the hell to do with myself. My girlfriend at the time mentioned the California Conservation Corps might be up my tree-hugging tree. I checked them out and joined, wanting a location way out there. I was assigned to the CCC in Siskiyou. After my training I hopped into a CCC van and headed north. After Redding, CA, suddenly there were no more signs of people as we headed into thick forests and beautiful mountains. Finally I ended up out at an ole Air Force Base which the CCC had made their home. It sat out in the middle of a beautiful valley all by itself, with Mt Shasta towering over the entire valley. I was in heaven. I worked 2 years with them, climbing into the surrounding forests doing work on trails. We would go on what was known as a 'spike' for 7-10 days at a time into the forest. We had a base camp where we all helped, our supplies and food were packed in by mule, and we basically lived out there, working on trails, planting trees, stream restoration, fun stuff. All this good living made a lasting impression on me.
Shortly before leaving the CCC, I met my wife, a transplant from Redondo Beach. We married, bought a house, left the area, military, etc. We even lived in Monterey for a year while I learned Russian at DLI. Loved it around there but there were just too many people. We ended coming back to Yreka where we've settled in for years now. Both finding decent jobs in a hard place to find working roots. So what is Yreka?
Yreka is a local Indian name meaning "north mountain" or "white mountain" reflecting Mt Shasta which can be seen from anywhere in Siskiyou County. It all started in 1851 when Abraham Thompson stopped here with his mule and discovered gold. It remained a gold town for quite some time. Lumber was also a huge industry until relatively recent times. Now, Yreka relies on being the county seat and tourism. County and city jobs as well as Forest Service jobs are the big employers in this area. Yreka is the county seat and largest city in our county with about 7,500 people. Geographic size, Siskiyou County is the 5th largest county in California, yet only about 45,000 in the entire county. In our beautiful county we have the high desert, huge mountains, neverending forest, lakes, rivers, waterfalls, caves, lava tubes, and a great history. We have a Native American population from tribes that have been in the area for hundreds of years. There are 5 National Forests which are in our county as well as a couple Wildlife Refuges.
People who usually say "Northern California" in relation to San Fransisco or Sacramento don't really know what they're talking about. WE are in Northern California. Sacramento is about 4-5 hours south of us. We sit on the California/Oregon border. Shopping in tax-free Oregon is a favorite. My family loves the outdoors and having 4 seasons here gives us plenty of choices of things to do outdoors. We have rafted the rivers, camped out everywhere, climbed 14,000+' Mt Shasta, snowboarded, gold-panned the rivers, lots of hiking, been in hot air balloons, fished, swam in the lakes, sat under waterfalls, and many other things. Life is much simpler and slower up here. There isn't any big-city attitude or hussle and bussle. Crime is low, air is clean, water tastes awesome. A downside for many is jobs. There just aren't that many unless you work for the county or a city or the USFS. Besides those there are your usual service-related jobs and such. Schools are great, kids are great, overall neat place to raise a family.
My wife and I still have dreams of moving or retiring on the coast. When we say coast we mean far northern Calif or southern Oregon coast. But for now our home is Yreka and we live a very happy and simple life here.
I was living in Salinas, my hometown, with my mom in the late 80s wondering what the hell to do with myself. My girlfriend at the time mentioned the California Conservation Corps might be up my tree-hugging tree. I checked them out and joined, wanting a location way out there. I was assigned to the CCC in Siskiyou. After my training I hopped into a CCC van and headed north. After Redding, CA, suddenly there were no more signs of people as we headed into thick forests and beautiful mountains. Finally I ended up out at an ole Air Force Base which the CCC had made their home. It sat out in the middle of a beautiful valley all by itself, with Mt Shasta towering over the entire valley. I was in heaven. I worked 2 years with them, climbing into the surrounding forests doing work on trails. We would go on what was known as a 'spike' for 7-10 days at a time into the forest. We had a base camp where we all helped, our supplies and food were packed in by mule, and we basically lived out there, working on trails, planting trees, stream restoration, fun stuff. All this good living made a lasting impression on me.
Shortly before leaving the CCC, I met my wife, a transplant from Redondo Beach. We married, bought a house, left the area, military, etc. We even lived in Monterey for a year while I learned Russian at DLI. Loved it around there but there were just too many people. We ended coming back to Yreka where we've settled in for years now. Both finding decent jobs in a hard place to find working roots. So what is Yreka?
Yreka is a local Indian name meaning "north mountain" or "white mountain" reflecting Mt Shasta which can be seen from anywhere in Siskiyou County. It all started in 1851 when Abraham Thompson stopped here with his mule and discovered gold. It remained a gold town for quite some time. Lumber was also a huge industry until relatively recent times. Now, Yreka relies on being the county seat and tourism. County and city jobs as well as Forest Service jobs are the big employers in this area. Yreka is the county seat and largest city in our county with about 7,500 people. Geographic size, Siskiyou County is the 5th largest county in California, yet only about 45,000 in the entire county. In our beautiful county we have the high desert, huge mountains, neverending forest, lakes, rivers, waterfalls, caves, lava tubes, and a great history. We have a Native American population from tribes that have been in the area for hundreds of years. There are 5 National Forests which are in our county as well as a couple Wildlife Refuges.
People who usually say "Northern California" in relation to San Fransisco or Sacramento don't really know what they're talking about. WE are in Northern California. Sacramento is about 4-5 hours south of us. We sit on the California/Oregon border. Shopping in tax-free Oregon is a favorite. My family loves the outdoors and having 4 seasons here gives us plenty of choices of things to do outdoors. We have rafted the rivers, camped out everywhere, climbed 14,000+' Mt Shasta, snowboarded, gold-panned the rivers, lots of hiking, been in hot air balloons, fished, swam in the lakes, sat under waterfalls, and many other things. Life is much simpler and slower up here. There isn't any big-city attitude or hussle and bussle. Crime is low, air is clean, water tastes awesome. A downside for many is jobs. There just aren't that many unless you work for the county or a city or the USFS. Besides those there are your usual service-related jobs and such. Schools are great, kids are great, overall neat place to raise a family.
My wife and I still have dreams of moving or retiring on the coast. When we say coast we mean far northern Calif or southern Oregon coast. But for now our home is Yreka and we live a very happy and simple life here.
Nice post. I never knew anything about Yreka. I know you've been out there forever but that was it.
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