Santa Rosa, CA to Jacksonville,OR

May 26, 2011

Thursday

Santa Rosa, CA to Jacksonville, OR

We left Santa Rosa about 10 am and drove north through the golden hills one last time as we headed for Oregon. We drove up into the hills over twistng, turning, roads with no shoulders and precipitous drops. We were stuck in road repair traffic for a least a half hour. Coming down from the hills we were puzzled by the large areas of pond-like structures filled with water.  We realised they were rice paddies – acres and acres of them.

Rice is big business in Williams, CA. Once we left the hills, the land flattened out as we entered the Sacramento River Valley. Rice paddies gave way to olive and almond orchards as mountains appeared on the right, the left, and straight ahead.

After miles of driving through agricultural lands the highway (I-5) wound slowly upward toward the mountains. We passed Lake Shasta and a "real" mountain appeared -  the kind with a pointy top. Off to our right we saw Mount Shasta covered with snow and enshrouded in clouds - a magnificent sight to behold. I took  less than a hundred pictures of it.

We gradually reached an elevation of a little over 3,000 feet and entered the high desert. The road was magnificant as it meandered among the mountains clad in evergreen trees of very shade of green  immaginable.

We passed craggy peaks, farms, and snow capped mountains arriving finally at our destination – Jacksonville, OR.

We are staying with friends whose home over looks a valley surrounded with mountains.

The last of the golden hills of California

 Rice paddies in Williams, CA

Big sky land

 Olive trees

 Guess what

 I had to add a barn!

Big mountains appear

At last! A "real" mountain with a pointy top. 

The Sacramento  River

 Craggy mountains

 Cool barn!

Evergreens in every shade of green.

Mount Shasta