August 14-21, 2016 - McCloud, CA

Lake Shasta as we pass over the bridge

This adventure to McCloud, CA began on Sunday, August 14.  We traveled with Shorty & Debbie for around 5.5 hours, up Hwy 5 to Hwy 89.  During our traveling, we had just a couple "off road" experiences as we searched for a spot for lunch.  Debbie's phone led us off into a dirt parking lot, which was supposed to be a restaurant.  She thought we would never travel with them again, but little did she remember that we have had quite the adventures ourselves! We arrived and checked in and immediately met some new friends - Ron & Darlene Davis, John & Marlene Barton, Ron & Lynn and Shirley & Jerry Marks.

From left: Jerry, Shirley, Ron, Lynn

Bill with Ron Davis, who was my Uncle Butch's boss at CC Fire! Such a small world.

Carol & Ed Burke arrived a little bit after we arrived.  They had prepared dinner for everyone which was Spaghetti with Clam Sauce.  Very nice of them to do that, and we didn't have to bother doing anything after our long drive.

Debbie Shelton & Carole Burke with John Barton in background

The next day, we explored the campground as Tom & Debbie made their way from Clear Lake.

There was an interesting motorhome in the campground, that was home made.  The owners perform at special events telling stories and blacksmith work.  Here is the motorhome.  Unfortunately, they don't do home tours!

Tom & Debbie arrived about 3:30 on Monday, and we walked over to Siskiyou Brewing Company during Happy Hour to test out the brews.

The next day, we went to Mt. Shasta city to a quilt shop for Debbie, and then over for a visit to the Mt. Shasta Brewing Company in Weed.  Each time we make a visit to a quilt shop, the guys want a visit to a brewery. 

Mt. Shasta Brewing Company in Weed, CA

It was very hot inside this brewery.  It was an open air restaurant area with no air conditioning.

After the brewery, it was time to go back to the campground to relax a bit and then get ready for dinner with everyone.

On Wednesday, 14 of us went up to Glass Mountain, and then to Medicine Lake.  Glass Mountain was up a dirt road and was a huge mountain of pumice-like rock and obsidian.

The 6 of us (Shorty, Debbie, Tom, Debbie, Bill and I) crammed into Shorty's truck decided to leave earlier than the other trucks.  The girls had to go to the bathroom, and so did Shorty, so he bombed out of there and we headed to Medicine Lake, which is a National Forest lake and campground area, to use the "gross outhouses".

In the morning when we started out on our journey, we left very unprepared with no food or drink.  After Medicine Lake, we headed back to the campground to get something to eat and drink. Poor Debbie S. - she almost starved to death!  :)  Of course, we all had breakfast, but Debbie doesn't like  breakfast.

Thursday was here already, and we couldn't just sit around, so off to explore Dunsmuir.  We walked around the town's True Value Hardware store, antique shops, and were thinking about the brewery, but it didn't look open.  So we headed to the Botanical Garden, where this time, Shorty and Debbie packed sandwiches for everyone.  We relaxed by the Sacramento River and had some lunch and cold beverages.

Carole & Ed Burke (as you can see, Ed doesn't like his picture taken)

Water temperature was about 55 degrees, so you couldn't hang your feet in the water too long. 

Off to the Fish Hatchery in Mt. Shasta City.  So many trout - big fish, little fish, brown ones, rainbow ones!  

From here, our group of 2 vehicles split up.  One truck headed back to the RV Park, and we headed to find Bill & Debbie's Uncle Horace's house in Mt. Shasta City.  Debbie didn't remember the address, but just remembered things about the roads where the house was located.  First try, we found it!  They reminisced about holidays spent at this house, and how small it was for so many people.

On our way back to the campground, we got a text from the other group inviting us to the golf course to have an ice cold beer, so we headed there, had a beer, and took a ride further up the road to see Lake McCloud, which is where Mike Lee fishes, and also the guys from our group.  We found it!

The lake looked very pretty from above, but as we got close to the boat ramp, it sure had a lot of scunge floating on the top near the end (or beginning).  Oh well, it was pretty anyway.

Friday we all wanted to see some waterfalls.  After Shorty got back from fishing (and everyone caught their limit), we piled into his truck and off we went to see the McCloud Upper and Middle Falls in the Shasta Trinity National Forest.

Upper Falls

Hikers heading to Lower Falls

Middle Falls

Hikers heading out. So hot and dry!!

And once again, nobody was prepared to hike.  Most of us had flip flops and sandals on, 

so our feet and shoes were so filthy! 

Mike and Parker Lee were on their way up today for a visit and some fishing.  They arrived about 5:30, just in time for Happy Hour.  We all had dinner, and sat around talking.  It didn't take any time for Parker to warm up to the group!

Parker & Max - new friends!

Saturday there was a car and quilt show in the small town of McCloud.  McCloud's population is about 1,000 people.  We all walked over and spent part of the day taking in the sites of the event.  

Catholic Church

The amount of snow on Mt. Shasta when we were there.

Mercantile - a variety of shops are housed in this building


                          After another great trip, it was time to head home.               

Until next time...      

July 24 - 31, 2016 - Winchester Bay, OR

We began our journey on July 23 and spent our first night in Holbrook, California at the Blue Heron RV Park.  Holbrook is about 6 miles off of Highway 5 between xxxx and Yreka.  This family-owned RV Park is right on the Klamath River, so we were able to see moving water go by our site.  The owners are very friendly and let us know that if we left our front door and screen open, her animals would make themselves at home.  She had 2 large dogs, and 2 small ponies.  All pets were very friendly.  The horses did come over for a visit and accepted scratches and allowed us to take pictures with them.

View of the Klamath River

Our next stop - Winchester Bay, Oregon.  We spent one week with Ed & Sandy Davis and Tom & Lonnie Case.  We arrived early afternoon, and the weather was beautiful.

Ed & Sandy and us parked next to each other with a view of the marina.

After we set up, we all walked over to Unger's Seafood for a bowl of clam chowder.  We forgot to wear sunscreen, so Ed and I got our face sunburned since they have an outside patio for dining.

The wind came up the next day, and it blew all week long.

For 3 nights of our stay, we had dinner in a different motorhome.  The first night was at Ed & Sandy's, then our motorhome, then over to Tom & Lonnie's.  Nobody can remember laughing as much as we did those nights.

During our stay, we took a day trip to Coos Bay, Reedsport, and walked around Winchester Bay.  There is a fun windsock store in Winchester Bay.  They have any type of windsock you could wish for.  These were just a few that were cute.  My favorite is the skeleton.

A lot of towns around the Oregon coast hang flowers on light poles.  This is Reedsport. It really looks beautiful.

The week went rather quick, and it was time to head back home.  After a 2 day trip, we made it back to Brentwood safe and sound.

Time to get ready for our next adventure!