Late leaving Mt. Shasta yesterday – we asked for a late checkout at 12:00 since we only had about an hour to go. Well, when we got ready to leave, the motorhome across from us had broken down and they had called a wrecker to come tow it in. The wrecker had us blocked in for about an hour so we just rode around Mt. Shasta. As we drove into California on Monday, I commented to Tony how dry the trees and shrubs all looked – California is burning everywhere. We saw smoke and a helicopter dropping water as we drove along the interstate. On the news tonight, they showed where the fire is located – the Delta Fire – and it is right where we went through Mt. Shasta City all the way down to Redding. They have closed portions of the interstate and have a mandatory evacuation on both sides. We met a minister last night at the Dollar General and he had been with the firefighters at their staging area, helping families that had lost their homes and helping the firefighters deal with the death of one of their own. We have seen Hot Shot trucks all yesterday and today while we have been driving around. After we arrived at our campground yesterday, we rode into Lassen at the northern entrance and looked around, then found out how to get to the lava tubes – they are called Subway Cave. It is actually outside of the park a few miles north. We drove up and decided to walk in/through it. We had not prepared to do that, so the only flashlights we had were our phones. Another couple had just come through and they gave us a flashlight. Good thing – once we got in the cave and away from the entrance, it was pitch black. The ground was rough and bumpy – it had pumice rocks embedded into the dirt/rock. We went about 2/3 of the way and decided to turn back. It was getting close to dusk and there were signs that there had been recent cougar sightings in the area. Today we drove from the north entrance of the park to the south entrance, about 31 miles one way. It was like nothing we’ve ever seen – boulders and volcanic rock everywhere. We leave tomorrow for Olympic Valley, CA to housesit. Pictures from yesterday and today. Oops – no pictures – internet too slow. Hopefully tomorrow.
GA Gypsies - Fulltiming 