Mount Shasta

Before heading North, we stopped off for supplies at Trader Joe's, which was very close to our campground. Visiting Trader Joe's may not sound like a vacation highlight, but the closest TJ's to Williamstown is over an hour's drive away, so this is a real treat. I'm still kicking myself for not buying one of their cool T-shirts with a giant hibiscus flower.

California-Style Provisions

Our original plan was to drive up the coast to Mendocino, where I had proposed marriage to Rachelle on that fateful day in April of 1995. We had hoped to show Keiko and Amaya the cliff where I proposed. After a late-night review of the the map and on-line comments from other RVers, however, it was clear that Route 1 just North of San Francisco was unsafe for our rig, and that the other roads cutting West across from Highway 101 were not recommended. Having barely recovered from the white-knuckle experience of Route 17 and the Golden Gate Bridge, I wasn't in any rush to get myself into another uncomfortable situation. Rachelle was really keen to visit Mount Shasta one way or another, so we decided just to scream North on Interstate 5. 

Truck Buddies at a Rest Stop in the Central Valley

It was pleasant and cool in the North Bay when we left, but when we pulled over at a rest stop in the Central Valley, it was 104 °F.  With the exception of the extreme heat and the number of trucks on the highway, the drive on I5 in North-Central California was pretty unremarkable. Once we got past Redding, though, it became apparent that we had been slowly climbing all day long; the descent into the Mount Shasta area was a long, long, long, sometimes steep, decline of several thousand feet. Fortunately, once I flipped the "brake buddy" switch, the engine did a lot of the speed control work and I hardly needed to touch the brakes. The scenery was pretty spectacular and when Mount Shasta came into sight, we were treated to some incredible views.

Mount Shasta from the Road

Our stop for the night was the Lake Siskiyou Resort and Camp, which was managed by the same company as the beautiful Costanoa Resort. After 275 miles of driving—our longest single-day distance of the trip—we were ready to chill out. The campground had a neat lodge restaurant where we grabbed a quick dinner and I enjoyed a pint of local beer. Amaya and I took a walk around the campground to scout the place out and she took a quick dip in the lake, but the splash zone attractions were "closed." It was getting dark and the bugs were coming out so we packed it in for the evening, but we promised the girls that they'd have plenty of time to play in the lake tomorrow.