MY FAVORITE MEMORY

We rolled into California. Woohoo! We drove south on I-5 and stopped at a little town called Hornbruck. One of the folks we met along the way recommended the park we stayed in because it is right along a river and backs up to some hills. He said that when he was there, a number of wild horses came down into the campground and wandered around. We thought that would be cool. Well, we saw a number of wild horses, but that number is one. And, that one wild horse stayed way up on the hill. Oh well.

We drove into Yreka one day to see this little town. The charm factor is nice for a couple of blocks. That was about it. Oh, by the way, Yreka is still the “capitol” of the State of Jefferson. If you’ve ever heard of groups of people who want to secede from their state or the union, then you get the picture. Apparently, this old movement started in the early 20th century and still pops up every once in while. Here, the yahoos who formed the State of Jefferson initially had a beef because they felt that the politicians in the state capitols of this area, which includes California and Oregon, are so far away from them that their concerns were not being heard. Geez, this story sounds familiar. The movement would probably get some traction if they started legislating morality, governing like authoritarian despots, banning books, and taking away the rights of women, people of color, and other minorities. Oh well.

Next, we made our way further south. We soon got a glimpse of the awesome sight of Mt. Shasta. This mountain is the second highest peak in the lower 48. Beautiful. Shasta is a generic term that means "Teacher, Guide, Lord, Ruler" in Sanskrit. In South India, a number of deities are associated with Shasta.

We arrived at our next home in Weed. Don’t worry. Weed was named after Mr. Weed rather than the herb. There’s a couple of ski resorts close by so Mt. Shasta has more than its share of hotels, motels, B&Bs, etc. Nice downtown and we managed to find a proper dive bar where we cooled our tonsils. We met a cat who works at the ski resort. He recommended a day trip to Burney Falls State Park. So glad he did. We made our way along the roads where snow was piled up on either side. It felt like we were in a tunnel. Surreal. We hiked up to Burney Falls where we were treated to beautiful sights and sounds. We were covered in mist from the falls as well. What a treat!

We named this post for a Merle Haggard song which mentions Lake Shasta in the lyrics. Buster loves Merle Haggard tunes. Simple. Heartfelt. Real.

Betty and Buster

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