Honey Run

Honey Run Covered Bridge, California

The Honey Run Covered Bridge was a wooden covered bridge in northern California. It crossed Butte Creek and was located on Honey Run Road between Chico and Paradise. The bridge was built in 1886 as a three-span wooden bridge that was initially uncovered.

It was covered in 1901 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. The bridge was destroyed in the Camp Fire on November 8 in 2018. There is a possibility that the bridge could be rebuilt.

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I remember visiting this bridge with my mom on our trip to Chico and Paradise in California; and being truly mesmerized by its age along with the pure historical beauty of it. It was simply breathtaking! I took numerous pictures, as if I couldn't get enough of them. The mountains in the background of the old wooden bridge along with the crystal clear creek water below. The creek was full of multicolored river rocks that were visibly laying on the river bottom far beneath the bridge. A simplistic natural beauty, the river rocks had such vivid colors they seemed to sparkle as the sun glistened on them perfectly through the water.

When we saw this bridge it was so old that people were no longer allowed to drive or even walk on it for fear something would be broken or taken from it's natural beautiful state. What a truly devastating thing to see that it had burned down while reading an article on the internet today.

My mom's friends house was also destroyed in what, this article called, a camp fire. The fire was much bigger, much more intense and could not be contained for quite some time by firefighters. It spread fast and intensely and destroyed neighborhoods in the process. It was such an immense, blazing fire, it burned so many things in it's path for miles it couldn't be contained. Then, to be referred to as simply, "a camp fire" by this unnamed author who composed this article, seems to downplay the true history behind the story.

By the grace of GOD, my mom's friend (who was around the age of 70 at the time of this fire and lived alone) survived the fire. She was able to miraculously rescue all of her dogs from the home; she had five of her own and a few more dogs she had boarding with her on that particular day. There had been previous fire scares in the mountains near her neighborhood and fire drills had been practiced including evacuation of all her dogs. The fact that they all made it out of the house alive was still nothing short of a miracle as quickly as the flames had approached her home and little to no notice was given for the evacuation. That home had been her family home, the home she had grown up in and lived in all of her life. She was left homeless with all five of her dogs, near the age of 70 and her home was paid for at the time of the fire. However, her homeowners insurance would not cover fire damage; very similar to some coastal areas in Florida.

Just a side note, of a memory told to me while I stayed there, mountain lions (as well as deer, cougars, bears, skunks and a multitude of other animals) frequently visited her front yard. The lions could often be seen standing on top of her car and marking their territory while passing threw her neighborhood.

She had had a hard time getting anything green to grow in her yard due to the rocky terrain and seasonal snow left on the ground. The ground was so rocky, a spaded shovel could not penetrate the hard surface. Yet, the trees that grew there were some of the biggest I had ever seen.

On my first trip out to her house, I brought some green and variegated spider plants, they grow similar to that of an air plant. She was so excited because they actually took to growing on top of the ground and gave her yard the appearance of having green grass, in what was otherwise a rocky desert terrain.

As we rode to this Bridge, she explained that these huge boulder rocks that were much too big, heavy and bulky to even pick up, would just suddenly appear all over as if the earth was spitting them out.. there were no traces of where they had literally come from...and there where fields filled with them for miles and miles on the way to this old beautiful vintage bridge.

          My mom had stayed in that same house, when I moved my mom cross-country to live in California. My mom stayed there when I left to return to Florida. She lived in that house for a period of time, but decided, after the first fire season, she wanted to move back to Florida. I returned to California and moved her back to Florida, driving cross-country both times, along with her two cats. She came back to Florida and lived with me.

          Those trips and the memories of them, and us spending time together, are some of the best memories I have of us spending quality alone time together.

          When this fire had happened my mom was living back in Florida again and told me what had happened to her friend. This article and picture reminded me of all these memories that had been pushed into the back of my memory bank. It was as if my mom was showing me what had happened to this bridge I had fallen in love with even though she had passed away.

Ironically, I found this article this year on Father's day and always used to wish my mom a happy Father's day because she raised me as a single mom. Another bizarre fact, was that she died the same month and year this fire took place.

My mom always referred to me as "honey". I'm sure it was just a coincidence that happened to be the name of this bridge we visited together.

People we love can communicate beyond their death to us on earth, but only if you are truly listening and paying close attention to hear what is being said. Or you can blindly and selfishly miss the miraculous little things that are being shown to you.

My hope in sharing this story, is that it may bring some confirmation. Even though your body may die on earth, your spirit continues to live and weave into the lives of those loved in many ways.

Also, I wrote this to help raise awareness when it comes to our homeless population; everyone has a story to tell so please don't be so quick to judge. Always have a heart filled with compassion and love for one another.

There's something to be learned from this old majestic bridge, anyone can become homeless at anytime, always stay humble and kind. Not everyone who becomes homeless is a drug addict or without education, much to the stereotyping of the world.

Continue to stay woke, but more importantly, love one another.

May GOD bless you today and always, in all ways!

💖Melissa Bell💖