On our way to Montana — Napa to Klamath Falls, OR - Californians go to Big Sky Country

June 10, 2024

On our way to Montana — Napa to Klamath Falls, OR

Departure day has finally arrived!

Yesterday, Jim dropped off his and Gen’s bike gear for us to haul so they don’t have to carry everything on the train. They’re boarding tonight at approximately 11:00 pm and will stop off in Portland to visit friends before meeting us in Whitefish on Thursday.

Today, Rich and I are traveling to Klamath Falls—about a 6-hour drive, so we have a fairly relaxed morning. I give some seedlings a hand watering, we load the truck and pull out of the driveway just before 10:00 am.

The drive up Hwy 5 is straight forward, the first half not memorable—brown fields and hazy skies. I’m knitting, so not doing much sightseeing anyway. We’re wondering if the haze is due to the heat (it’s 90-95 degrees out there) or if there have been fires nearby. But when we begin climbing up toward Shasta, the hillsides turn green with pines and the sky clears to a forever blue.

We stop in Shasta City for a caffeine infusion and get a nice view of the mountain from Starbucks. Then, further on, right after we turn onto Hwy 97, there is a spectacular sight—a huge field of bright yellow flowers with snow-studded Shasta in the background. We fly by it so fast I don’t have time to get my phone out to get a picture. This is one of the reasons I love bicycle travel better than car travel; if I were on a bike, I’d be able to stop and take in the view. I’d experience it more fully. Then again, it would take a few days to get to Klamath Falls, so that’s the trade off.

A little farther on, there are more flowers. It’s not quite as spectacular, but I managed to get a picture this time.

We arrive at our hotel (Holiday Inn) at close to 5 pm. The hotel turns out to be fairly new and nicer than expected. After getting settled, we decide to walk to an Italian restaurant that is 3/4 of a mile from the hotel, but it’s closed, even though their website said they’re open on Mondays. So we backtrack to Maztalan, a Mexican restaurant. The service, ambience, and food are all great, so 👍👍 from both of us.

Time to relax for the night. Tomorrow, we drive to Kennewick, WA.

I forgot to take a picture of us as we were leaving this morning, so this will have to do. At a rest stop in Dunnigan, CA - Rich, making sure the bike rack is good and tight. (Yes, we have matching Salsas.)

Murky, hazy skies as Mt. Shasta comes into view.

Shasta Lake as we sped by…I’ve never seen it this full.

A better view of Mt.. Shasta from the Starbucks in Shasta City.

Trying to capture the yellow daisies blooming with Shasta in the distance. A camera can’t do it justice.

To our left as we’re driving through Weed, CA.

On Hwy 97 north of Weed — evidence of the fires that raged here over the last few years. (Sorry about the smudges on the picture — dirty windshield.)

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