Day 1 and 2 - MAJESTIC MOUNTAINS We headed North on I-5 thru Northern California, Oregon and Washington. Northern California provided some “ho-hum” areas, but once we reached Redding CA...things get bigger and better. And best of all, we were blessed with “full sun” days, which is rare in Oregon and Washington and we actually saw most of those really tall peaks in the Cascade Range (south to north) Mt. Lassen 10,457’, Mt Shasta 14,162‘ in California; Mt Jefferson 10,497’, Mt Hood 11,239’ in Oregon; Mt St Helens was 9677‘ before it “shrank 1314’ to a mere 8363’ during it’s eruption in 1980. Mt Adams 12,277‘ and Mt Rainier 14,411’ are also in Washington. We will be checking out two more Washington Peaks on our return trip... Glacier Peak 10,525’ and Mt. Baker 10,778’. Mt Baker holds the record for the largest single US snow season in 1998-99 when it was blanketed with 1140 inches of SNOW!!! However Thompson Pass, on the way to Valdez AK, at an elevation of only 2805’, boasts 974 inches during the winter of 1952-53, so you tell me who’s the winner!!!
It was a pleasure driving my Hyundai Santa Fe SUV some 762 miles.... even thru crowded portions of I-5 while traveling thru Tacoma as we approached Sea Tac Airport. And we averaged about 25.5 mpg (much better than the 12 mpg with the truck, pulling the 5th wheel.) Don found the second oldest geocache in CA about 51 miles from home, and 6 or 7 geocaches along the way, in both Oregon & Washington, including a “travel bug” which he will transfer to a new home in Sitka AK on Thursday. A few of our favorite shots adorn this blog entry...but wait till we get to ALASKA.
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| Near Yuba City CA with Sutter Buttes in background |
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as Don finds the 2nd oldest geocache in CA called
"Yuba City"placed 9/24/2000 |
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| One small arm of Lake Shasta... looking good |
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| Mt Shasta |
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| The Crags (near Dunsmuir CA) |
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| One more look back at Mt Shasta. |
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Canyonville OR is the home of
Seven Feathers Casino & Hotel where we spent the night. |
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This great Bald Eagle greets you upon
your arrival. |
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It takes a talented sculptor to make such a hard material
look like soft feathers!!! |
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The rose garden was in full bloom and just as beautiful.
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The next day while walking along the Santiam River
at the Santiam Rest Area off of I-5 I noticed this... |
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| which looked like this after growing a while. |
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The trail lead us under I-5 and offered
interesting and fun photo opportunities...
and geocaches |
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and birds and nests.
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That's Mt Hood to the East as we cross
the Columbia River. |
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Some "green" rest stops offer
rapidly "flowing" electricity to charge
your vehicle. |
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That's Mt St Helens off in the distance,
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and who knows what that is....
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This is Mt Rainier...the perfect end to a
perfect day...don't you think? |
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Let the geocaching adventure commence! We will have to compare unusual finds/places. I enjoy unique metal sculptures along the highways. Nice view of the mountains. Glad it was a safe fun first stage trip.
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