2016 Motorcycle Adventure (DAY Twenty)

Last night got off to a shaky start. Daniel helped me get the camper set up in the dark, the night had cooled down considerably, I got in bed, grabbed my book and then it started. For the next hour Dick's two black labs, that apparently are outside dogs, barked on and off for what seemed like an eternity. I was starting to wonder how long this was going to last and could I actually sleep if it went on all night. Then, about the time I put my book down it stopped and I never heard a sound until I woke this morning.
I found myself immersed in that marine layer again and so everything outside the camper was soaking wet. I had agreed to meet Daniel at Starbucks (Peggy, your Starbucks gift card has come in very handy) at 9:30 and got there a little early. I got set up with my Macbook and a coffee at one of the tables with a power outlet and waited for Daniel.
A few minutes later he stormed in obviously shaken about something. He had lost his cell phone last night after dropping me at Dick's place. He had already retraced all his steps from the night before with no results. He was in a real panic as this tool is his lifeline as it is for many people today. The one place he had not gone back to was Dick's place so off he went. I was pretty sure that this would be a waste of time but a half hour later he was back and he had found his phone in the grass near where he's parked last night to help me setup. Naturally his blood pressure had dropped and we were both relieved and life had finally returned to normal.
I had a little breakfast. We talked more about his future plans and his upcoming economic conference and around 11:30 I decided to hit the road again. Now there are two different ways of getting over to Interstate 5 (I-5). The shortest way and the fastest way. The shortest way was my final choice because it was all winding mountain roads with amazing scenery and boy oh boy was it it ever fun. You may have heard of other famous winding roads such as The Snake or The Tail of the Dragon but I'm here to tell you that this route was a definite contender.
The scenery changed dramatically all day long from vineyards to grasslands to lakes and mountains.
 

Once I got to I-5 it was hitting the 100'F mark so it was another long hot ride until I got to Redding, CA and then the scenery became very interesting. Here is a shot of Lake Shasta which is a popular destination for house boating and other water sports. It's a made made lake created by the Shasta Dam. Because this area has been under a severe drought for the past several years the water level is very low. If you look around the shoreline you can see how the water has receded.

Before leaving Sebastopol this morning I went online and reserved a KOA campground at Mount Shasta. This turned out to be a good idea because California campgrounds are often full on weekends and this one was no exception. Here is a photo of Castle Crags (6500 ft.) which were part of the scenery as I neared Mount Shasta.

And here is my best pic of the star of the show..... Mount Shasta is a potentially active volcano located at the southern end of the Cascade Range in Siskiyou County, California. At an elevation of 14,179 feet, it is the second highest peak in the Cascades and the fifth highest in California.

I checked in, setup my camper and rode back into town for some dinner and groceries. Tomorrow I may go up to Crater Lake, Oregon or just straight on to Eugene. I will decide int he morning.