If you like history, railroads, lots of trees, great fishing, not many people, excellent accommodations, and open country, then you should like Siskiyou County. That is, if you don't mind majestic 14,161 foot snow-covered peak looking over your shoulder every minute.  

    As a lot of you know, I have spent a few days in northern California and every time I leave with one overwhelming impression and confidence restorer: there sure is a lot of great and wild country left. I have the opportunity to visit a lot of nice places, and when I see one I think our readers would like, I don't mind telling you about it. I've been there before, but only to Siskiyou Lake, nice place and it is in Siskiyou County, but this time I got to see more of the area and meet a lot of nice people.   

    The Siskiyou County Visitor's Bureau invited OWAC, the Outdoor Writers of America Conference, to hold our annual spring conference in Mt. Shasta City. To give you some idea of the activities you will find if you ever decide to vacation there, here is what they offered to us: horseback riding, ice and rock climbing, hot air ballooning, cave tours, rafting on the Klamath and Upper Sacramento Rivers (white and calm waters), birding (watching - not shooting), Klamath flora and fauna float, mountaineering, championship golf, hiking on Mt. Shasta, flyfishing the Upper Sacramento and McCloud Rivers, and fishing on McCloud Reservoir.   

    Obviously I didn't do all of those things, but I did ride a raft down the Klamath River. What class rapids? I don't know but it was one that said great for the family and kids. I even called ahead to ensure that it would be as docile as the wading pond at West Beach.   

    Not only was it non-adventureous, it was one of the nicest experiences I've had while trying new things - an adventurer I am not. Let me start from the end and work backwards. It was exactly what I expected when I signed up for "Fun Floating on the Klamath - beginners welcome." That's me. Of course I signed up expecting my wife to be with me but she decided to detach herself from anything so simple as a fun float, but I wouldn't have signed up for anything more exciting than that anyway. After we had floated for a couple of hours, we beached the raft under a few trees, tied up the craft, and should have been suspicious when the three-woman crew broke out a great little folding table and unpacked some waterproof bags. We were treated to the most unlikely gourmet lunch we'll ever see.   

    I was really suprised but wouldn't have been had I read the brochure before our trip and before our guide broke out that lunch. Here is what it said: "Chantal is a seasoned world traveler. She is an authentic Gallic 'bon-vivant' with a natural flair for good food and good times." They should have added: "And that is putting it mildly!" Right, she is French, through and through, and flair is a relatively moderate word for describing her. Confident, great sense of humor, competent, pleasant, physically strong, and dedicated to what she is doing. So are her crew members Maria and Marijane, both teachers.   

    I am expounding on this because if you have thought about taking your family on a rafting adventure, you can't do any better. I wouldn't take any small kids, although I think that "River Dancers" can customize your float. Ours was very calm but I know that she guided us into a little more whitewater than she would have if we had little ones with us.    

    I must admit that I wasn't all that certain when we launched. I mean a three-woman crew and no fishing rods? So that's where we started and ended, with me being a little embarrassed about my whimpy outlook. Call River Dancers at 1-800-926-5002 or www.riverdancers.com.