The road from Klamath Falls, Oregon, into California is a straight line along US 97 through farmland and  sage covered prairie. Then, suddenly as you cross the state line, you begin to notice the looming image of Mount Shasta. It is a striking, startling sight, even from 60 miles away. At 14,339 feet above sea level, Mount Shasta dominates the northern California landscape.  The US Geological Survey considers Mount Shasta a dormant volcano that will likely erupt in the future and rates it as a very high threat volcano. The lore of some of the Klamath Tribes in the area held that Mount Shasta is inhabited by the Spirit of the Above-World.

Our first stop in California was Chico where we had a terrific chicken soup dinner (for the soul) prepared by our friend, Winder. For more details about Chico, which is a charming town, see last year’s post. This year we made Chico a short stop and continued our way southwest to the Napa Valley.