THE BEST LITTLE ROADWAY

Rex Burress

Even though there are thousands of “best” little roadways in America, my present pick is the extension of Old Ferry Road that runs along the river for one mile from the Feather River Nature Center to the Diversion Dam in Oroville, CA.

The wayside offers a neat peek at the riverside community, and it starts with the grand view of Table Mountain and the Fish Barrier Dam as seen from the Nature Center. Tucked in around the regal stone “Old Bathhouse” are remnants of the days when the road led down to the 1856 ferry and later to the site of Oroville's first park, a swimming beach, and the bathhouse of 1935.

The one-mile paved road was built in the 1960's for access to the DWR Diversion Dam, and the border has been enhanced by three picnic shelters, iron animal sculptures, and a row of native trees planted by the Nature Center. Although it is a nice drive to the dam, little wayside treasures are best seen by walking.

You will pass by Little Spring Stream adjacent to the Center, that gushes in winter run-off and usually trickles well into summer except the drought decreased the dribble. There is Little Crooked Forest with smooth branches of Ailanthus contorted like some Bonsai twisting.

You pass Little Peeper Puddle where the chorus frogs gather to sing spring songs and birds fleece the willow thickets. Looming over the seepage is Big Boulder Rock, pock-marked with grind holes where tribal women sat long ago with pestles and pounded acorn seeds. Across the road is Shady Cove sheltered by the great spreading branches of a live oak tree, and Grape Vine Slope, with vines crawling on the ground aimlessly, or trying to climb into the oak and Red Berry shrub.

Up the road there is the first of the three public shelters and Table Rock topped by the iron bear and steelhead sculpture. Starting at the shelter, Sewim-Bo river path parallels the road almost to the dam. Following the path, you will pass Eagle Rock, the Fremontia tree, Split Bat Rock, and Chrysalis Rock with casings of pipevine butterfly chrysalis' clinging to the greenstone surface.

You might see some wildlife in Little Peace Meadow, and more definitely, the three Canada Goose sculptures next to the second shelter. The view overlooks Big Rock Island where a pair of geese try to nest each year but are ousted by otter. Beaver dig dens along the shore of Big River Pond between the dams and chew trees along the edge, doing their kinky work at night. Across the road and the rails up in Blue Oak Meadow stands the largest blue oak of the woods, but the sprawling specimen died in the drought of 2015 and the many jagged branches are leafless in April 2016.

A deer sculpture has been placed on Meditation Rock as if keeping watch at a very scenic and spiritual viewpoint on the cliff. Continuing, you will pass Old Broken Pine where golden rosin drips from the wound and squirrels have their pine-nut party. “Peter's Lion Rock,” [Nature Center founder Peter Maki, ] carries an iron-plated vulture on its back! Soon, you are at lookout shelter number three, and out in the grasses is the last iron animal; a coyote, bent and pounded, but certainly not by wildlife!

The Diversion Road ends but the trail goes on, and you can walk along Big Deep Water of the Diversion Pool to Train Tunnel, and go on beyond to Oroville Dam, and on and on all over Earth!

If you went far enough, you could reach Grundy County, MO and the gravel road crossing over Old Iron Bridge on No Creek in my homeland. That gravel road changes to a steep clay-dirt sector that led to a farm on the hill where I lived as a boy. All along the crooked rural road, little dirt lanes lead off to somebodies house. Peter Rabbit and Reddy Fox live there where Old West Wind dances through Little Green Meadow in Mother Nature's backyard...

“Country road, take me home...via John Denver”

“The earth had no roads to begin with, but when many men pass one way, a road is made.” --Lu Xun