Didn't mean to be obtuse, mike. It's just that the maps don't tell which roads are the 2-lanes that wind over the mountains and go through all the small towns. Hard to tell how long it will take to go 50 miles on an unfamiliar road without knowing that sort of thing.

Would you get off I-5 at Red Bluff and take 99 to Chico? Map Quest show another road that seems shorter between I-5 and Chico, halfway between Corning and Willows, near Orland, but it doesn't give the name of that road. It looks like it would be faster to stay on I-5 and cut over to 99 at about Orland. Unless 99 is a four-lane and not too winding.

FWIW, I'm glad you picked the week end of the 8th. The previous weekend is too close to the NW Folklife Festival in Seattle, and the following week would be very close to the San Francisco Folk Festival. But, then, that's just my preference.

Genie