Currently, we are staying in a little town called Gridley, California.  Quaint little place of around 6,000 folks. During our first weekend here we decided to take a drive around the surrounding areas and see what there is to see around our new home. Chico, California is about 20’ish miles to the north of us, a bit of a larger town and since I needed a few craft items we headed in that direction.

While driving around we saw a sign that said “Covered Bridge – 5 miles”.  Curiosity piqued, we followed the signs that lead us right to Honey Run Covered Bridge.

Honey Run Covered Bridge was built in 1894 and was part of the original coach road that connected Chico, California to Paradise, California for the Gold Rush Settlers.  It is one of the few remaining covered bridges in the United States.

The bridge spans 240 feet over the racing waters of Butte Creek.  It is surrounded in 100 year old Oak trees, Sycamore trees and tucked in between the hovering buttes.  There are park benches and BBQ grills for family gatherings that overlook the creek and with a reservation you can hold parties in the covered bridge itself.

We continued our journey until we saw the sign pointing to Paradise, and well..who wouldn’t want to follow that sign?  The road was winding, small and full of potholes!  After a few miles of driving up the butte through the thick forest and newly budding flowers the road started to show signs of human expression.

 

At first one might think, “Wow! What a terrible thing to do!”, but to be honest…I loved it!  In the same way that I love Rainbow Falls in Colorado. There were very few vulgarities in this array of suggestions, instead I found a tremendous amount of positive affirmations.  I will post a few of my favorites in the hopes that you too will see the beauty in the graffiti.

Keep in mind, that most of this has been done by kids, probably college students.  These kids are bringing positive reinforcement to each other and other folks that find this road.

These young adults could express themselves in many ways, instead they choose to drive down this crazy, winding road with their friends and create positive “art” for the world to see, together.

The one below is my personal favorite!

So yes, the road to Paradise is paved with graffiti, but also with good intentions!