54th Stop - Willows, CA: Chico's Rice Farm

Blog Post #65 - Written April 24, 2026

Stay: September 26, 2025

Because our time in Weaverville was extended, and because our mountain experiences have proven just shy of fatal, we made our first massive change of plans.  We decided to go through central California instead of the coast or mountains. So we nixed San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon.  Decided we would enjoy them much more without a giant trailer (and when our kids were older).

We stayed the night in the small town of Willows at a rice farm.  We pulled in late into the small farm, set up, and took a moment to enjoy all the stars you can see without the big cities around. 

The next day, we toured around the little farm.  There was a pile of what looked like sand that the kids started running for.  We soon figured out it was a pile of rice hulls (husks).  We came during the harvest season, so the rice fields were dry.  During the growing season, they flood the fields and they stay flooded until harvesting.  Apparently rice stalks are extremely fragile and need the water to help support the plant as it grows.  We enjoyed chatting with the workers and learning about the growth/harvest cycle of rice, a unique opportunity.

We walked around the farm and found a large goose egg.  We tested it and it wasn't rotten, so we kept it.  The farm also had a small animal area, mostly with geese and goats. With not much else to do, we packed up, bought a couple of bags of local rice and eggs, saw a pomegranate tree, and headed out.

We stopped at a "lookout point" marked on Google Maps on our long drive south to take a break and stretch our legs. Not only was it a super steep hill (which we hate while towing), but about the only interesting thing to see was this graffitied left-over of a monument from yesteryear.