Finally some trees

We left our campground near Reno on a bright sunny day while a hot air balloon floated overhead. Our next destination is Medford, in southern Oregon. The route we originally planned was I-80 to Sacramento and then north on I-5. But, right before we left PA we learned there is extensive construction on both routes. Several people told us about an alternate route that was easy to drive and very scenic.


Not too into our journey we came across this scenic view of dessert. We were reminded about the story of the Donner party who was given advice about an alternate route! But, since it is May and the freezer is well stocked, we were still hopeful the route would get better.





A short time later we entered the great state of California, escorted by a group of Harley riders. The Agriculture Inspection Station was next. I always knew that California Dept of Agriculture inspected all incoming shipments of produce, plants, and animals. But when we went to Tahoe, we crossed the border and they just asked where we were coming from. Well, traveling in a motorhome is different. They wanted to know our state of origin and hearing it was PA, told us they had to come into the motor home for inspection. I kept thinking "please please don't let him see any of these stink bugs that are still appearing from who knows where." Well, the inspector had asked about animals but we told him we didn't have any with us. Then he walks into the motorhome and sees the crates! But it was fine since they are stuffed full of files, coolers, rugs, etc. (crates make great storage when you travel). We had one apple, 2 banannas and a few potatoes and onions in a basket in the sink. He confiscated the apple! (PA is in the apple maggot quarantine area) Then he looked in refrigerator - esp the crisper drawer - and wanted to see the shower. One apple lighter, we were sent on our way.

The vegetation was like Reno area for many miles. But then we reached the Lassen National Forest and there were real trees!!! Big trees!!! Evergreen trees!!! We didn't quite realize how much we missed seeing forests like this. The trees were fir and what we think was lodgepole pine. There had been a lot of thinning and then we came across an area with acres of small trees. The sign indicated there had been a fire that destroyed a lot of the mature trees. When I googled the Goat Fire, I learned an untended campfire was the cause of a fire that burned just under 1,200 acres in a day in 2000. Amazing that it went that fast.














We started noticing deer crossing signs that were 2 different kinds. Apparently there are both white tail and mule deer in this area. Or maybe some areas just produce bigger, fatter deer. There were also signs with cows on them. That caused us to scratch our heads until we stopped at a rest area and we read the "educational" material. There are grazing lands in the national forest. We think maybe they are summer grazing area since we didn't see any cattle yet.

















After we left Lassen, we could see Mt Shasta in the distance. Now THAT is a mountain. The low clouds were concealing the summit but that just made it more interesting. Lots of snow still on that mountain top. The town of Weed was our fuel stop and Bert Jr was able to get some exercise. The convenience store had lots of local flavor and items for sale with catchy slogans such as "Looking for Weed in California" and "I love California Weed". We decided to pass on souvenirs.









From Weed we continued north on I-5 through the Siskiyou National Forest. It was comparable to Lassen with lots of big beautiful trees. Then we started to climb and climb. Just before the summit, we went around a curve and suddenly we were in Oregon. The view from the top was spectacular, but the signs indicating how fast you should go based on your GVW were disconcerting. Two runaway truck ramps didn't offer any reassurance. But the motorhome came down the hill like a champ.








There are large patche of purple flowers on the hillsides. I remember reading about lavender farms and wonder if that is what we are seeing. Regardless, they do make the hillsides attractive. It would have been great to have some plant and flower identification manuals on board for this trip. We are seeing a lot of pretty roadside flowers but have no idea what they are.










We are also seeing interesting birds. After several attempts to photograph what we think is a Stellar's jay at our last campground, we finally me a friendly jay at the rest area in Lassen. This jay was perching on the motorhome parked beside us and posed for a long time. It is such a pretty bird and we're glad to finally have a photo. Of course, the bird book would be useful also. Maybe next trip! (Spelling and grammer errors are contained in this post, and probably others - be the first to find them and win our gratitude!)