Mountains, Mountains & More Mountains!

This 'flat-land' girl is sure getting a bit tired of mountains!

We headed south out of Klamath Falls, Oregon into the Shasta & Trinity Mountains. Mt Shasta is indeed beautiful, still snow-covered and towering above everything in all its majestic glory.

Roger snapped this pic as he was driving. For some reason (known only to Roger) he would not take the time to pull in to one of the many pullover areas and take a really 'good' picture!

Our first stop back in California was Mt. Shasta City - and thankfully the temperatures are a bit warmer. Still in jackets, but at least we don't need snow boots!


This is a view of Mt Shasta from the KOA. The snow on the mountain kind of blends into the clouds a bit. At least one nice thing about our walk-abouts at the parks, is the natural beauty that surrounds us. Although this park is somewhat an 'urban' park, you would never know it, once you get into the park.

Lots of improvement in process here. This has been an 'at risk' park (in danger of losing the franchise for standards), but we were pleased to see that they are making great strides in bringing this property back to where it should be. Located in such a beautiful area, one wonders why it was neglected for so long.

But it is on to Trinity Lake for us. The MapQuest directions indicated it was only 54 miles, but after a bit more 'research' - like talking with the locals - we decided that it would be best for us to go south on I-5 and then turn west at Reddiing. Better roads - and less steep mountain grades, we were told. OK! that sounds good to me! WRONG!!!!! We were told it would take only about 1 1/2 hours to drive from Mt. Shasta City to Trinity Lake. We pulled out at 11:00 a.m. . . . . . and arrived at Trinity Lake at 2:30! And once we left Redding, it was nothing but twists and turns, up - some down - but mostly up! Part of the problem was that we got behind an oversize load - and about an hour of that was spent going 10 miles!

Once we turned north out of Weaverville, still climbing, we, once again, found snow lining the roads. Not as much as in Oregon, but still snow! Arrived to find the campground still very much in their winter mode - between managers - and nothing much done to get ready for the season. Much of this park is on land owned by the National Forest Service - and it is VERY rustic. One thing for sure, you definitely want to be here to drive this far - and these roads - to get here!

With such a large park - and so much ground to cover - we did part of our 'walk-about' as a 'drive-about'. At one point we stopped and got out to walk one of the tenting 'loops' and spotted the lake. A short walk through the forest - lots of pines, but peppered with redwoods, and Roger snapped this shot. The lake is very low right now - but rising fast, they say - but it is ever so blue.

We were joined - or more accurately . . . observed. . . by two mule deer. Guess they had been down to the water to drink, for dusk was approaching. We spotted another grazing alongside one of the roads. Visiting with one of the campground staff, the next morning, she indicated she had to wait on a herd of elk to cross the road on her way home the evening before. Wildlife abounds here, and I'm sure this park is a favorite spot for California urbanites when the weather is warmer.

The next morning, we headed DOWN the mountains, and I guess our slow trek UP had saved me from the motion sickness that I'm becoming much too familiar with this spring! Not so on this leg, as I was scrambling for the Dramamine before we were half way down.

We pulled into a station for fuel once we hit the Redding city limits. As I was waiting in line at the restroom, I heard a man say to the girls at the register, "Hey girls, when this big RV gets through filling up, you can retire!" He's not too far wrong, with diesel going for $4.29 a gallon; our tab for that stop was $130! Once again, we are reminded that there is no way we could travel like this on our own nickel.

From Redding to Shingletown (near Mt Lassen) was yet another steady uphill grade (9%), but MUCH less curvy! However, with the temperature in Redding at 78 degrees, the truck begin to warm up a bit, and we shut off the A/C and opened the windows. A full 10 degrees cooler once we arrived at the campground, but DEFINITELY better than in the 30's! A beautiful park - as near to perfection as we've found - but we're finding our 'tired' is beginning to catch up with us.

Planning to shift to a lower gear and slow down for a few days, to let us catch our breath a bit. Laundry time again this morning and then we head south a bit more to Oroville, CA. After that we will spend two nights in the Sacramento area, where we'll hit the Sam's Club and stock our freezer for the next month - and then two nights in the Stockton/Lodi area.