On the Way to Oregon

July 26, 2016 – leaving Shasta Lake, we continued north on Highway 5 toward the KOA at Culver, Oregon. This highway also appears to be called the Cascade Wonderland Highway and the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway. We saw more and more of Mount Shasta with its mantel of snow.

Of course there were other mountains and interesting rock formations as we continued north toward Oregon.

Below is Black Butte, a cluster of overlapping lava domes between the city of Mount Shasta and Weed, CA.

More lava formations …

These trucks are real – even though they may look like toys.

Near Exit 743 on Highway 5, not far from something called Truck Village Drive, we saw an unusual collection of trucks — they were all alike but were colored like a box of crayons.

Of course there were the ubiquitous trains carrying produce and products from coast to coast:

We happened across a fire along the way, but we were not near enough to be of any help.

Below are more cows grazing pleasantly, not far from farm buildings and what appeared to be processing plants. Meat or milk processing? We don’t know … and neither do the cows, thankfully.

Entering Oregon, we were struck by the irrigation ditches — controlled by a series of small dams and patrolled by various water birds.

A pleasantly dramatic sky on a clear day …. and some untouched bumps and mountains that made us feel as though we were seeing the same land the original pioneers must have seen.