This’ll be a short one, our needed “break” day to do laundry, do a little shopping, and relax…
Slept in a little bit, ate (in our rooms — the hotel’s breakfast area was super crowded) and got out and on the road by about 10:30. Stopped by McDonalds for sweet teas, etc. and headed south on route 101 briefly, turning east on 36. It was a very refreshing mid-50s with low clouds / fog.
As we climbed into the mountains on the very, very windy road throughout the morning the temperature continued to rise and the fog disappeared. I don’t know if I’ve ever been on a windier road. It was like that road near Bat Cave in the mountains but instead of only 15 minutes of it it was over three hours. There were places where the road was so narrow they didn’t pain a yellow line but rather relied on people to use the whole road unless someone else was coming and then just sort it out, I guess… Blind curves, and many changes in elevation — from sea level to over 3000 feet, back down to a couple hundred feet, back up to 4000 feet, you get the picture. Oh, and construction. A bit of waiting for the pilot car to let your side go, that sort of thing.
Despite all of that, though, the scenery was gorgeous. While still near the coast we passed several redwood groves. The massive tree trunks were literally flush with the road bed in several places, sometimes on both sides of the road. After our first mountain descent the terrain became noticeably sandier looking and the vegetation, while still thick, was composed of the shorter evergreens and a lot more deciduous packed in. Our second mountain descent saw the terrain become even more sandier and the vegetation far more sparse, predominantly bushes and small deciduous trees.
Countryside east of coastal range on the way to Redding and an llama or whatever
Turning on to 3 and then 299 we did hit some flat areas with very small communities in them. We wondered what these people did for a living (looks like some ranch, not sure about the rest), where they shopped, etc. It was just so remote. In almost four hours of driving we passed one gas station, two restaurants (all of those in one town), and practically nothing else.
View of mountains on the way to Redding, California
As we approached Redding via 299 we passed a beautiful blue lake, Whiskeytown Lake, flooded in the early 60s to be a reservoir. We stopped at the information center so that everyone could stretch their legs and use the bathroom. Wow, it was HOT. 104F according to the car’s thermometer (though a check of the NOAA site indicated it was only 101F). Amazing to be in this wonderfully brisk fog and the upper-50s and just four hours later furnace hot 100+.
Whiskeytown Reservoir just west of Redding
Pretty water colors in Whiskeytown Reservoir
After arriving in Redding at 3 o’clock we checked in to our hotel then set out to find somewhere to eat and also buy detergent for the day’s laundry. We went just down the road and ate at a Chinese buffet called Grand Buffet. It wasn’t bad at all, and they had a tasty coffee-like cake dessert. Then we went to K-Mart and picked up some Tide and some other supplies and an iTunes card for the kids.
Off in the distance we saw what looked to be a fire’s smoke plume. Many of the buildings are more Spanish inspired with tile roofs and stucco. Also our first palm trees (though they may not be native and thus wouldn’t count)!
Once back at the hotel we sorted clothes and started that long process. The kids mainly relaxed and played with their iPads (still well over 100F outside, can’t blame them) while Michelle and I worked on laundry. The laundry still underway, we ordered pizza to the room before turning in for the night.
Route for Wednesday, August 01, 2012