From Mountain Gate, CA

Mark and I set the alarm and got up at 6:15 this morning.  By 7:00 we had said our goodbyes to my sister and her husband and we went two different directions.  Mark went to dump the tanks on the RV and I did a little bit of grocery shopping.  We met at Reedwood Friends Church where we’d left our tow dolly and got the car loaded onto it.  We left at 9:00.

Then we settled in for what I had thought would be a six hour drive.  We were concerned about crossing the Siskiyous, but it wasn’t all that bad.  There was only one spot where we were driving in a slow lane so a truck could pass us and we were driving on ice, but Mark says it was at the warmest part of the day, so the ice was no problem.  The worst weather we ran into was a downpour of rain, but by the time we got to California the sun was shining.  We could see snow on the green forested mountains, and there was an area where there was snow on the side of the highway, but the roads were clear.  The top of Mount Shasta was swathed in clouds.  Lake Shasta was beautiful with the sun shining on the water.

I read some more of The Lord God Made Them All by James Herriot.  It’s fun to hear Mark laugh at the funny parts.  We snacked all day, and a couple times I got up to mix Crystal Lite for Mark to keep him hydrated.  The cats hid under the bed the whole time we were moving.

As the day wore on, we started longing for our campsite.  We finally arrived at 5:30 just north of Redding.  It took us eight and a half hours!  I hope it was only because of slowing down as we climbed the mountains.  When we checked in at the Mountain Gate RV Park, which is a Good Sam park, we were thrilled beyond belief when we were told they have a hot tub!  We had a hasty dinner and then went over to the hot tub.  The air was cold and it was hard to take off our outer layers, but the water felt so good!  We sat in bubbles for thirty minutes, got out to cool off for a few minutes, and then went in for another twenty minutes.  By the time we got out, the air didn’t feel so cold.  I suppose it’s something like sitting in a sweat lodge and then jumping into an icy river.  The cold air was refreshing.

The cats are making up for a day spent under the bed by chasing each other back and forth through the RV now.  We all have our own ways of unwinding!

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