We finally got our transfer out of here! (San Diego)
We’re excited about moving and looking forward to it, but I’d like an overwhelming glut of information about Yreka and the area around it. But it isn’t as wired as San Diego is.
So, any area blog links, if any locals hang out on this board… any information or opinions on restaurants, grocery stores/CSAs/biodiesel coöps/spinning&weaving guilds would be much appreciated.
We’ll (fingers crossed) be newly minted private pilots when we move up. So flying stuff is much appreciated and useful too. We’ve got a Klamath Falls sectional and have checked them out on Google Earth, but on the ground knowledge is always valuable.
Basically, anything you can tell me about the area, any links would be great.
Well, if there is a bakery there it would be the Yreka Bakery, which spelled backward would be yrekaB akerY.
Also, there is a constant racial memory in the area about how Northern California and Southern Oregon were going to declare themselves a separate state to be called the state of Jefferson. WWII got in the way, but the locals still obsess with it, so be aware.
Nearby Mount Shasta is believed by those who believe this sort of thing to be a focal point for UFOs and extraterrestrials and other New Age oddities.
Other than that, the area is perfectly normal. The local stores do seem to stock more aluminum foil than the size of the population would seem to warrant, but…
There’s a band called Yreka Bakery 'cuz of that. Yay palindromes!
I’d heard a bit of the State of Jefferson thing when we traveled through before, but I guess I’d better read up on it. Thanks!
And good to know about the UFO thing. I’m very anti-anal probing.
We were in town about a day as part of a whirlwind tour of checking out where we could a) afford a house and land b) had an office we could transfer to c) had confluence of our elements of livability and we liked it and had a good feeling about it. Although the head shop in a prime main street spot and the little pamphlet on lotions made with/in conjunction with crystals that would change the health/color/some sort of thing of your aura made us laugh.
This is a really absolutely gorgeous yet pathetic area where logging has been curtailed and the undereducated populace is, for the most part, contributing to California’s number one cash crop, marijuana. The local folk aren’t doing well - Mendocino Country is the winner in all of this.
I’ll take all the Dope flack and state that it’s an area of meth-heads - weed is what is grown but is passe.
Last year I drove through Yreka en route to Medford. I stopped at a grocery store to buy a few Diet Pepsis. The family ahead of me in the checkout line had a few frozen entrees. Their four-year-old daughter had one bedroom slipper and one tennis shoe on and was wearing an adult sized coat with a pair of mis-matched pj’s underneath. This was typical.
This is what you’ll see over and over. Unless you’re in Social Services, there’s no reason to work there. On the other hand, housing is cheap.
Please, please! Spend a week there before making a commitment!
Jack Smith, long time columnist for the L.A. Times had a long running spiel on the Yreka Bakery. I passed through Yreka last year, and sadly, the Yreka Bakery is no longer.
Well, I wasn’t wondering if it was wired, I was saying it wasn’t as wired as San Diego.
We’re renting before we buy there–the fact that the nearest college in the state is a community college and because of our experience here in San Diego, the meth-head population are concerns.
But, ironically enough, your impressions of trashy uneducated people raising a generation of losers? Exactly what everyone (no kidding, the toll taker at the Coronado Bridge told me moving to Sac was the worst mistake of my life) in San Diego told me about Sacramento. But if we had the money, we’d live in Sac’s Fab 40s, no doubt.
We’ve also heard the “you mean Eureka thing” but since half of the population in this country can’t even name the Vice President, we don’t let it bother us.
My grandparents and my mother grew up there. You might be interested in Grandpa’s book, which has a fair amount of history of the area. Some of the local realtors purchased a big supply to give to their clients. (For the record, I get none of the proceeds from the book. The writing’s no great shakes, and much of the information may be of interest only to our family - but there are some cool parts. You’d also get to see my wedding picture and a picture of my mom doing the splits as a high school cheerleader.)
I’ve only passed through; seems like the kind of place where you need to bring your own money.
I’m a little unclear on that part; have y’all already secured employment there? If not, you might want to explore that aspect a little further.
[/ dad mode]
I’ve been to Yreka. I enjoyed myself. It is beautiful. One night we were on our way back to the cabin we were staying in and had to stop and wait while a big brown bear dawdled in the middle of the road. I am a descendant of the Karok tribe which are local to the area, more around Happy Camp than Yreka though. Clear Creek is the most beautiful and yes, clear stream I have ever seen in my life. You can count pebbles 20 feet below the surface.
Culturally it’s a pit, though. Be prepared for major isolation.
Ooh, a picture of ENugent’s mom doing the splits?! Sign me up!
Thanks for that link–the book looks interesting, and what a cool thing for your family too. When I think of all the stories my grandparents had, and how fuzzy the details are now, I really wish we’d nailed them down in writings or recordings. But you always think you’ll never forget it.
And don’t worry An Arky, this whole thing depended on getting a transfer within the job, which is why it has taken so long. And my small business is mostly mail order but should fit pretty well up there too, as the local spinning guild looks pretty active and the nearest shops are in Oregon (but OR doesn’t have sales tax, so I’m wondering how that will change things).
We have hobbies which lend themselves pretty well to meeting people and making friends, and we also really like our quiet little nation of two, so I’m not too worried.
I can’t wait to see the gaps between expectations and reality…
I know we’ll miss some of the restaurants here, and our glut of choices for services.
But we’re going to learn to river fish and teach the dogs to skijor.
and we liked it and had a good feeling about it. Although the head shop in a prime main street spot and the little pamphlet on lotions made with/in conjunction with crystals that would change the health/color/some sort of thing of your aura made us laugh.
