Lassen to the Pacific

We have been in the boondocks for a couple of days.  I haven't been able to post anything on the blog.  I  wrote something each day and have posted them now.  You will have to go back a couple of days to catch up.

We were up early this morning once again.  I put the coffee on and fixed Darlie eggs and sausage for breakfast.  We share all the household chores.  If I cook, she washes and visa versa.  Sometimes we cook and wash together.  We prefer making our own meals verses eating out.  We avoid many belly bombs that way.  Some interesting little cafe can turn out to be a session on the john that requires a seatbelt.

When we left the National Park, we stopped to chat with the park ranger at the gate for a few minutes.  She said we were the only campers in the entire park last night.  Their season hasn't started yet because the road is still closed to much of it.

We told her about our bear encounter.  She said there are several bears hanging around the campground we were in.  One is a big sow with two cubs.  We told her the one we saw was alone.  We figured it was a male.

We traveled Rt 44 over to Redding, CA.  On the way we passed a good view of Mount Shasta about 85 miles north of us.  Mount Shasta is over 14,000 high and can be seen for many miles.

Mount Shasta

In Redding we have planned to visit the local Walmart.  We have been compiling a list for a couple of weeks.  When you are far from cities or in remote areas it can be difficult to find ordinary everyday things you need.  Our list can be quite varied with automotive, RV, camping, hardware and household items along with groceries.  At Walmart you can find all of it under one roof.  Besides that, it is easy to find a good place to park.

The Redding Walmart was the most upscale Walmart I have seen.  It was by far the largest.  We just walked around looking at all the stuff.   You don't realize how much you take for granted until you have been without it for awhile.

We stocked up, gassed up and set out for the Pacific coast via Rt 299.  I asked a local how that road was.  He said after a long winding climb of about ten miles it was a piece of cake.  It turned out to be a 146 mile up and down, round and around trip.  I really love driving these mountain roads.  I haven't had so much fun since I was in the Troopers chasing speeders on the Interstate.

Ever see a sign like this?

Then we got to the drop off part that I enjoy so much.  Darlie was happily snapping photos.  I asked how deep the canyon was.  She just said, "you don't want to know."   Wonderful.

Those rocks at the bottom of the photo is the edge of the road.

By the time we got to the coast, I was pretty tired.  I felt like I had been lifting weights.  My arms and shoulders ached from all the cranking on the wheel.

We had chosen an RV park with an ocean view.  It was the most expensive place we have stopped yet.  We had an ocean view though.... right between the roof of a house and a large clump of trees.  It was a bit disappointing.  We no more than got parked when I heard sea lions barking down by the water.  The park owners gave us a map for some trails that led to some overlook sites so we set off to see what we could see.

Can you see the ocean?

The trail went through a grove of redwoods.  The ground under them is lush with growth.  There were ferns, flowers, vines and moss.  The air was heavy with oxygen and moisture.  We breathed it in deeply. We have been up high in the mountains for weeks.  We had become accustomed to being short of breath.  It felt good to feel like you were getting enough air.

We walked out onto a point.  The scene was awesome.  The wind was blowing hard.  The sea was up.  Large waves were crashing against giant rock outcroppings throwing spray high into the air.  We found a bench near the edge of the cliff.  We sat watching for a long time.  I spotted a large rock below with several sea lions lying on top of it.   Darlie zoomed in with her camera and got a pretty good photo of them.  The wind carried their barking away so we couldn't hear them from our position.  They probably are the same ones we could hear from our campsite though.

The walk was cool and refreshing.  Darlie took pictures of grass, flowers, trees, bushes and a rabbit.  I sure love digital photography.  I don't have to think about paying thirty cents apiece to have them developed.  I have pretty much stopped asking her why she is taking a picture of "that".

Once back at the MH, we fixed a big dinner.  The wind is blowing very hard tonight and it is getting cold.  I think we have gone too far north too soon.  Darlie is loving it though.  Tomorrow, if we aren't frozen, we will go look at Redwood NP.   Until then.

Cinnamon roll anyone?