Thursday, August 23, 2007 – Yreka, CA

Why Yreka? Whoever came up with that name? Actually, WikiPedia gives two reasons: a) it was an Indian Name for Mt. Shasta (close by); or b) Written up by Mark Twain in his autobiography saying, “It was a mining town. The local baker had his sign painted but not yet hung. The word “BAKERY” was wrinkled, partially obscured, and read backwards. Thus the name.” (I’m paraphrasing here). Anyway you take your choice.

We started later than planned today. Margaret had one of her full-moon sleepless-nights (and yes, it’s only a partial(?) full-moon). I had some difficulty getting the car hitched – a first on the trip. We stopped in the first rest area and got the car properly attached (without incident).

We pulled in to another Oregon Rest Area but it was all parallel parking and there was almost no room for anything over 20 feet long! On we went. We tried to stop for lunch in Roseburg, OR, but picked probably the busiest street in town – at lunch hour. I finally found a semi-deserted parking lot where Margaret took over the driving.

Then we needed fuel. Into downtown Medford – again at rush hour; or maybe it just seemed like everyone was late for a meeting / appointment? After refueling at the second gas station (we didn’t “fit” at the first one we pulled into), we headed south over the Siskiyou Mountains. The Siskiyou range divides California from Oregon. Although not particularly tall as mountains go, it is a pretty steep climb for semi-trucks and RV’s.

Anyway we arrived in Yreka at around 4:45 pm and were grateful to find an appropriate pull-thru RV spot. By the way, “appropriate” in motor-home lingo is a pull through that accommodates motor-home and towed auto without unhooking and fits in the spot with all hookups.

The scenery has definitely changed since entering California. No longer are there huge trees and green slopes. Instead, it’s the brown grass and scrub oak of the California inland region. Probably won’t change much until we’re heading east and into the desert areas. Even the San Joaquin valley, while green, is that way because of irrigation.

Today’s photo is from a few weeks ago. After visiting the bonsai garden in Federal Way, Harold was so excited, he went home and created the world’s first cabbage bonsai. At least that’s what he said it was. (Margaret says it's a red-leaf lettuce. In any case, it's a red-leafed something.) I leave that up to the viewer.