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Barbecued hot dogs and hamburgers; swimming and boating at the lake; red, white and blue flags flying at half-staff; and heads bowed in prayer will all be the order of the day this three-day Memorial Day weekend.
The holiday weekend, which unofficially launches the start of summer, won't be blazing summerlike hot, either, with the National Weather Service forecasting temperatures in the high 70s.
Although AAA of Northern California is predicting that fewer travelers will be on the road this Memorial Day weekend for a second year in a row due to the economy, there still should be plenty of traffic. The California Highway Patrol will be out in force looking for drunken drivers and motorists who don't wear their seat belts.
North state parks, campgrounds and marinas also should be busy.
Memorial Day, which commemorates the American men and women who died while in the military service, will see a number of observances throughout the north state to honor fallen veterans.
The Northern California Veterans Cemetery in Igo will hold a Memorial Day ceremony on Monday that includes a military flyover featuring two T-38A Talon jets, patriotic music, a rifle salute and a wreath laying, among other features.
Brig. Gen. Mary Kight of the California National Guard is the keynote speaker and will be joined by state Assemblyman Jim Nielsen, R-Gerber, as a guest speaker, as well as Laveda Vaughn, an Enterprise High School student who is joining the U.S. Army under a delayed entry program.
Memorial Day services also will be held Monday at Lawncrest Memorial Park in Redding and the Redding Memorial Park on Continental Street.
The two ceremonies, which are nearly identical, will feature Medal of Honor recipient James Taylor of Trinity Center and retired U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Carl Bott as guest speakers.
But the Redding Memorial Park observance, unlike the Lawncrest ceremony, will also include a flyover and a sky diver.
Elsewhere, a Memorial Day service is planned Monday at the Weaverville Cemetery, as well as observances at the Anderson Cemetery and Oak Hill Cemetery in Red Bluff.
In addition, Memorial Day observances will be held Monday at Mountain View Cemetery in Burney, Hayfork Cemetery and Hyampom Cemetery.
A Memorial Day service is also scheduled at 2 p.m Sunday at the Living Memorial Sculpture Garden, 13 miles north of Weed on Highway 97 in Siskiyou County.
The Enterprise Lions Club will be lowering its giant American flag along Interstate 5 in Redding to half-staff from sunrise until noon on Memorial Day.
The Memorial Day observances wrap up next week with a May 30 ceremony at the Veterans Memorial Grove, which is being rededicated after an extensive renovation, next to the Redding Convention Center. That traditional Memorial Day observance begins at 11 a.m., and organizations and individuals wishing to lay wreaths are invited to participate.
For those who enjoy the great outdoors, officials with Lassen Volcanic National Park are expecting a busy weekend, but they are also urging those who plan to visit the park to be prepared because mountain weather can change quickly.
Even though the main road through the park is not completely open, visitors can drive 10 miles in from Manzanita Lake to the Devastated Area, and eight miles in from the southwest entrance station to the Bumpass Hell parking area above Emerald Lake.
Hiking trails in the Manzanita Lake and Butte Lake areas are open to hikers, but most other park trails, including the Bumpass Hell trail are still snow-covered, inaccessible and difficult to find. The Lassen Peak trail parking area has been cleared of snow, but the trail remains covered by snow and many of the switchbacks have snowy ice drifts. Ice crampons and ice axes are required to access the trail.
Visitors who walk or bike along the plowed portions of the main park road beyond the closure gates should also be cautious of snow-removal equipment.
During the three-day Memorial Day weekend and beyond, Whiskeytown National Recreation Area west of Redding will offer ranger-guided activities, including kayak tours and the park's junior ranger and junior firefighter programs for children.
The park's visitors center, which began its extended summer hours on Friday, is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.
For more information, contact the visitors center at 246-1225 or go to the park's Web site at www.nps.gov/whis.
Most of the 43 campgrounds in the Lassen National Forest will be open for the Memorial Day weekend.
The only exceptions are the Rocky Knoll, Silver Bowel and Crater campgrounds, which are still closed due to snow.