Another day of great change. We left Volcano Country RV by Lassen Volcanic NP on Rt 36 at about 5000 feet in pine forest, and within an hour we were driving through lava boulder-strewn grasslands at 300 feet. The trip down the mountain was fine, , but on some of the longer downhills there were signs advising “YIELD TO UPHILL TRAFFIC”. I don’t understand – they have two lanes up, I have only one down. Seems like everyone should stay on their own side. Right now we’re on I 5 in the Sacremento River valley heading to Redding and Rt. 299 west to Eureka . Well, the flat road ended pretty quickly as we got on 299. We spent the next three hours on a road that followed the Trinity River through several National Forests. Not really high in altitude, but up and down and following every bend in the river. Very scenic with many 30 and 35 MPH corners at the bottom of 7% grades – love that exhaust brake. There were lots of valleys and steep wooded hillsides with evidence of fire within the last year or two. I’ll be looking for a Chevy dealer to get a new armrest for Mom’s side of the truck. Mom got to drive the section that was under construction, so we waited for and followed a guide car for a couple of miles. The twists and turns last almost to the coast, where we turned south on 101. We saw the Pacific! At least Arcata bay, the ocean tomorrow. We went into Eureka for dinner. Found a brew pub! A fitting end for today’s drive. By the way, this area has been experiencing a drought, but we brought rain. It's supposed to rain for at least the next two days due to a very unseasonable and unusual weather event called an "Atmospheric River". Yaaaaay.
Field strewn with volcanic boulders near Sacramento River
volcano Country RV, store, motel, laundry, post office, and everything else in Mineral, CA
Mom finds a way to go off-roading while hauling a camper
Burn area
lunch stop on Rt 299 along the Trinity River
Flowers along the roadside
The road follows the river, the Garmin follows the road, we follow the garmin
Arcata Bay. The coast at last. 4599.5 miles from home.
Dinner in Eureka
nice! well, i'll be leaving here around 2:30 to fly into Sacramento and on to Placerville. Yup, I'll be out in that rain all day today and Tuesday - looking nicer for Wednesday. I think JB and I ate breakfast at the Denny's right across the street from the Lost Coast brewery a few years back. We'll be about 300 miles away from each other for the next few days! weird!
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