Hat Creek VFD Barbecue really cool

Saturday, July 16. The weather was pleasant. There was a cool breeze blowing off the pond making it comfortable for the crafters. But what made the Hat Creek Volunteer Fire Department barbecue really cool was the way that so many volunteers from the Hat Creek area come together every year to make such a delicious, enjoyable, and informative event.

Linda and I drove out just after 1 p.m. Approaching the Hereford Rancheria, we were greeted by Hat Creek Volunteer Fireman Steve and his grandson Cody. Cody was assisting him directing traffic.

And a lot of traffic there was. Steve didn’t know exactly how many cars had come through, but the overflow lot was filling up.

As we got closer to the barbecues there were a lot of cool fire trucks parked by the pond.

One of the other things that makes the annual barbecue so cool is the craft show.

As I was admiring the work of Keith and Kevin McKay, a lady came up to their booth. She was a biology teacher, so she had various kinds of wild animal scat in her classroom. Keith showed a group of pens that they had made from bear “trail mix” and explained some of the berries and seeds embedded in the composition. That’s pretty cool!

One newcomer to this year’s craft show was Elizabeth Gorman.

She had come to sell wares from Captain Munkeis Pirate Garden in Weed. She also had a little fishing pool where children could catch a plastic fish. Very cool.

Linda stopped to talk for awhile with Navaho artist Pauline Ludwick who was selling her beautiful Navaho jewelry.

There were numerous other booths. A lot of these artists and craft people will be at Shingletown and Chester for their craft fairs. Linda will be at the Old Station Volunteer Fire Department chicken barbecue selling her cards and photo art on July 30.

As I exited the craft fair, I was drawn to the Fire Chiefs Association of Shasta County booth. Dunsmuir volunteer fireman Stan Spulock was there to encourage people to become a volunteer fireman.

Spurlock explained to us that Shasta County needs more volunteer firemen. He told us about the Fire Chiefs association, some of the advantages for young people who volunteer, and the requirements for becoming a volunteer firefighter.

I also spent some time talking with Devin Magee from the US Forest Service,

while Linda had her picture taken with Smokey the Bear.

Finally, we made it to the barbecue where many more volunteers were working very hard to make sure that everyone was well  fed.

Everything was very cool, but the weather was getting warm, so Linda and I decided to mosey on home.

Packway had provided a flatbed trailer with benches to shuttle people back to the parking area.

Richie from Pacway encouraged us to hop on board and so we snuggled our way in and tootled back to our Jeep.

The Hat Creek Barbecue was a really cool experience.