We're off to spend the Labor Day weekend with Peter's brother Philip and family in the Pacific Northwest. We start up the East Bay then over to I-5 heading north.
 |
| Late summer in East Bay hills |
|
 |
| Actually it's much drier than normal |
|
|
The effects of California's extreme drought are especially dramatic at
Lake Shasta... that is, what little lake there is left of it.
 |
| What was once Shasta Lake |
|
 |
| New bridge being built over what will hopefully be a lake |
|
|
Past the lake, the scenery appears normal, that is until we see
Mount Shasta with NO snow - a first for me.
|
 |
| Snow free Mount Shasta |
|
 |
| Cinder cone by Mount Shasta |
|
We set up camp that night in
McCloud CA at
Dance Country RV Park. It's a nice park for a reasonable rate, but the traffic on nearby Hwy 89 was kept us awake.
The next morning we fuel up in McCloud before getting back on I-5. A local at the station asks where we're headed. I tell him north to Eugene OR. He warns us of a possible bad traffic snarl due to a FedEx truck catching on fire from its brakes overheating coming down the
Siskyou Summit into
Ashland OR. Since our handy Droid's not showing a back-up, we decide to stay the course on I-5. Fortunately, by the time we pass it, the burned out FedEx truck has been safely moved to a turn out.
 |
| Smokey air due to forest fires |
|
|
 |
| Steep decent is hard on brakes |
|
Once past the Siskyous, the air quality improves. As we come into
Canyonville OR, we turn off at
Seven Feathers Casino to stop at an especially luxurious rest area. You gotta love Oregon's wonderful rest areas and state campgrounds.
 |
| Ahh... clean air again |
|
 |
| Entrance to Seven Feathers |
|
 |
| Rest area above Seven Feathers |
|
Before long we've entered Oregon's
Willamette (pronounced "will-am-it" like "dammit") Valley.
 |
| Opps - hope the pilot walked away |
|
 |
| Farm in Willamette Valley |
|
|
We reach Philip and Sue's home about mid afternoon. Their verdant backyard seems especially green after all the water restrictions and brown lawns in California.
 |
| Solar driven waterfall |
|
 |
| Sue and Philip |
|
 |
| Welcome to the Hazardous household |
|
That evening we celebrate their daughter Jessica's 24th birthday with a dinner at
McMenamin's High Street Brewery & Cafe.
 |
| Jessica at 24 |
|
 |
| Two brothers |
|
 |
| Sue scans the menu |
|
Since it's a warm summer's day, McMenamin's is in a festive mood. We enjoy our birthday celebration and wish Jessica many more.
 |
| Lighting in restaurant and bar |
|
 |
| Festive lanterns outside along the river front |
|
|
No comments:
Post a Comment