Goodbye Oregon, Hello California

It was a cold night.  We had heard that it was supposed to get down to 34 degrees.  It didn't feel that cold but had we been driving the car, we would have had to scrape the windows.  At 8:30 we filled up with gas at the KOA and turned the motorhome south on US 97 toward Redding, California.

US 97 was a nicely paved road and it was flat in the beginning.  We could see the mountains in the distance so we knew the flat wouldn't last.  We could see clouds over the mountains so we also knew we could possibly run into rain.  We had to go through an inspection point before entering California.  This is the third time this trip we have had to be questioned about what kinds of produce and firewood we were carrying.  This time when she saw we were from Illinois, she told us she might have to inspect the undercarriage of the motorhome for gypsy moths and asked us what county we were from.  When we said Macon, she told us no problem, Macon County is not on the list for quarantine because of gypsy moths.

We had seen signs that dust blowing across the road was possible so when we saw this, we didn't know if it were dust or rain.  We did see a short leg of a rainbow so we decided it must be rain.

Normally, a rest area would not warrent mention in my blog but this one had interesting information about the area.  Grass Lake was once a large lake but in the 1930's someone threw some dynamite into the lake causing a large hole in the bottom of the lake.  Beneath the dirt and mud of the lake was volcanic, porous rock which allowed the water in the lake to drain away leaving marshes.

This is the marshy land.  Then in 1969 a driver on US 97 spotted strange creatures crossing the highway to this marsh.  It turns out the strange creatures were Tiger  Salamanders (now named Grass Lake Tiger Salamanders).   These salamanders lives in the hills above the marsh in burrows of other animals.  Once a year they migrate from the hills across the road to the marsh to birth and raise babies.  Evidently, until 1969 no one knew they existed, how long they have lived here, or how they even got here because they are not native to this part of California.  Anyway, I thought that was interesting.

As usual, we saw beautiful and diverse scenery.  We went from the lower flat land covered with golden grasses to the mountains and lakes.

At the town of Weed, California, we got on I-5 south.   We saw tee-shirts for sale in town that said "I love (heart) Weed and in very small print California.  If you didn't see the small print, you may think that person loved weed.

The bright colors of these trucks got my attention.  I do not know if they are for sale or if it is a business but I loved the colors of the trucks.

I don't know why it is but it seems that every high mountain we see, is covered with clouds.  This is Mt. Shasta..  I think this is what Mt. Rainier would have looked like had we been able to see it more.   A friend told us that Mt. Shasta is majestic and I agree.

This bridge went across Lake Shasta.

At Redding, we turned east on Highway 44 toward our KOA and Mt. Lassen Volcanic National Park.  This mountain was in our sign nearly the entire time.  When we got to the KOA, we asked about the mountain and were told it is Mt Lassen.  

This KOA is off the beaten track.  There will be no interstate noise here.  We love all the trees and have a nice spot although we did have to unhook the dolly and car to get into it.  Although it can't be seen in this picture, there is another camper close to the back of ours so we won't be able to hook back up until right before we leave.

It is cool but not cold.  Tomorrow we head into Mt. Lassen National Park.  We have never been there so we don't know what to expect but I am sure it will be beautiful.