We rolled into the Rolling Hills Casino RV Park at 2pm yesterday after a beautiful drive down from Canyonville in Oregon. We started out with an overcast sky as we drove towards the Siskiyou Pass where we entered a winter wonderland in the mountains before descending into Redding and sunshine with clear blue skies.
Mt. Shasta – beautiful and majestic as always
Before leaving Canyonville at 8:30am yesterday, I had a look at the Hi-Way webcams on the Siskiyou Summit and saw the roads were basically clear and dry. That meant with no precipitation we’d be o.k. to get over the top and down into Mt. Shasta City without having to worry about snow or ice.
Heading up to the Siskiyou Summit
Heading up the mountain the change in scenery was simply amazing as we went from the evergreens of southern Oregon to deep snow all around us. It sure was a beautiful drive and the road was in perfect shape so there was absolutely no slipping or sliding. Our Chevy diesel just purred up that mountain with ease.
What goes up, must come down!
Heading down was no problem either even though there were lots of long, steep grades. The steepest hill we encountered, up or down, was 6%. The Malahat hi-way at home has a 2km 8% grade stretch so this one was not the worst we’ve ever been on.
Time for a break in Northern California
Rounding a corner at the bottom of the mountain range we caught sight of the beautiful, majestic Mt. Shasta. This is a view that never ceases to amaze. It’s our welcome to California moment no matter how many times we’ve seen it before. It was especially awesome yesterday with its deep covering of snow.
We took advantage of the many rest stops along I-5 to stop, stretch our legs, give Molly and Rylie a walk and just take in the beauty of the scenery all around us.
It was sunny and warm in Corning so we took Molly and Rylie for a long walk around the RV Park. It was filling up fast and the registration desk said it was going to be a full-house for New Year’s Eve. The Casino floor here holds over 3,000 people so it was going to be hopping.
A nice, level site with no need to un-hitch
Not for us though as Paulette and I went for an early dinner at the Casino and were back at our rig by 7:30pm and we didn’t drop 1 nickel in the slots. Every time I’ve gambled and lost I always walked away thinking of a new gizmo I could have bought so I stopped throwing money into those one-armed bandits years ago.
Looking up the road from our site at Rolling Hills
New Year’s Day will be the longest leg of our drive south but we’ll be rewarded with fresh oranges at the Orange Grove RV Park in Bakersfield. We’re looking forward to another great day on the road heading down I-5 to our last overnight stop before Palm Springs.
Happy New Year everyone, and thanks for visiting!
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