An Alpine Thanksgiving

I thought we would be the only ones on the road today.  Everyone else, I imagined, would be with family or friends, snug and cozy at home, seated around the dining table, tucking into the bountiful Thanksgiving feast.
Surprisingly, there were many others traveling the I-5 corridor with us throughout the day.

Today's journey, 270 miles, took us from one casino to the next, from Rolling Hills in California, to Seven Feathers in Oregon.  
This part of the trip is always the most scenic, taking us up into the mountains and through the Siskiyou summit.  We were fortunate to avoid the rain and snow as we crossed the passes today.  And for that, I was very thankful indeed.

Rolling Hills Casino is located near Corning.  This area is known for its olives, and we passed mile upon mile of olive trees.

The area is also a lot greener with pretty scenery, farms and barns  flanked by the mountains in the distance.  It's a pleasant contrast to the desert-like valley, where irrigation forces plants to grow.

Within a few miles of Corning, Mt Shasta popped into view, towering above the surrounding mountain tops.  With its white capped peak, it's difficult to miss.

We began the gradual climb towards Redding.

We approached the Shasta Lake Wilderness area with its spectacular views -

Today, under a gray cover, the water also looked gray instead of the turquoise blue we have seen on previous trips.  It was startling to see how low the lake is, revealing so many layers of the red clay banks.  No wonder California is praying for rain and is concerned about the water shortage they are currently experiencing.  

This photo is not very good because of the glare on the window, but it gives you the idea of how little water there is in what would normally be a completely covered waterway - 

 

On the other side of the lake, the scenery changed dramatically as we made our way along the tops of the mountains.  We were in the thick of evergreen forests, intermingled with a fall display of the deciduous trees.  

This section is always a feast for the eyes, with its mountain peaks surrounding you from every angle - 

We twisted and turned our way through the mountains, rounded yet another corner and Mt Shasta popped into view again.

I had to be quick with my clicking finger.  As we turned another corner, Shasta disappeared, playing hide and seek with us for several more miles.

These craggy tops appeared around Dunsmuir - no wonder this range is named the Rockies.

Around Weed, a truck passed us with its load of Christmas trees.  It's that time of year already, surprising as it is.

We continued along, until we reached the town of Shasta, where we stopped for fuel and a break.

On the approach, Mt Shasta glowed brightly on one side, a fallen volcanic crater on the other.  

And because I like Mt Shasta, here are a few more pics, from the other side with the mountain behind us now. 

This very northernmost section of California right before the Oregon border is right in the thick of the mountains with some high elevations at over 4,000 feet.  It is rather remote but also beautiful, particularly without its usual thick, snowy, winter duvet.  I can only imagine how frigid it must be here for several months, and I wondered about the cattle we passed along the way. 

I know to look out for these whimsical metal sculptures soon afterward. Today they were already dressed for the holidays.

Further along we passed a metal dragon.  These folks must have a lot of time on their hands in the winter months perhaps...

And so we continued along, until we reached the downhill ride, a 6% grade, all the way through into Oregon.  We entered our 11th state.

this roof is freshly painted, I noticed, from a year ago

This part of Oregon, a continuation of the mountain terrain of northern California, is equally scenic.  Eventually we crossed the Siskiyou summit, after which it was downhill all the way for seven miles.  

Prior to that descent, trucks pull over to the side to check their brakes.  And if those fail, there are a couple of runaway truck ramps along the route just in case.  That is one looong, steep descent.

It was interesting to note how suddenly the gray clouds appeared and hung heavy and dark from this point on.  Layers of mist floated over forested hillsides in several spots.  Eventually it began to rain softly and by the time we reached Seven Feathers Casino RV Resort, it was raining pretty steadily.  We were back in the NorthWET, as I like to call it, where everything is green and lush.  And also wet.

 

 
Around dinner time, we caught the shuttle down to the Casino and had a Thanksgiving dinner at one of the casino restaurants.  It seemed fitting that we had our Thanksgiving meal on Indian land.  Seven Feathers is in Cow Creek Indian territory, and we and our Alpine were spending the night there, thankful that our trip today was uneventful and that we did not encounter snow, ice, or wind which was on its way.