Bidwell Park

On Sunday, Andy and I volunteered to spend an afternoon hosting a couple of teachers who are visiting from other countries as part of a Fulbright Scholarship program here at Chico. The teachers visit the US for six weeks, with the majority of time spent in the Chico area. We hosted Catherine, from France, and James from Melbourne, Australia. Of course, Andy loved the opportunity to speak French and we both really enjoyed reliving our Australian experiences with James. Even though temperatures were above 100 degrees (about 40 C), we drove our guests to some of the most beautiful outdoor spots. Two of our stops were at Bidwell Park swimming spots. I took some pictures of the public swimming pool called One Mile, but this Youtube video really does a great job of capturing it as well (even though the video was shot in winter). The creek runs through the "pool."

A bridge crosses over Big Chico Creek and underneath it are a dam and a fish ladder.

I took this picture from the bridge above the dam facing the pool.

I turned around on the bridge and took this picture going down stream.

Five Mile swimming hole is on the edge of town, at the beginning of where Lower Bidwell Park becomes Upper Bidwell Park and continues into the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Five Mile tends to be a little less developed and a little less populated.

We ended the very hot day with a treat at Shubert's, a 75 year old local ice cream and candy shop.