Redding, California

When I signed off yesterday, I didn't realize we were going to be well north of our location this morning. Here's what happened. Well...as you know, the weather was just terrible. It was even snowing. We were intrepid Oregonians though. We were going to see those last two gold rush towns if it killed us. And we were really brave, bold, and adventurous...until we got out on the road and realized the snow was coming down a little more threateningly than our stomachs could handle. Within one mile of the RV, we said in unison, "We should leave." And let me just tell you, when we decide to leave, we can be so outta there in no more than about 20 minutes. We could probably do it in less time if we were trying to get out of the path of a tornado. (Heaven forbid.) So anyway...we discussed it with the tour guide, and we were on our way.

Good morning. My name is Smitty, and I have appurroved this message.

So we headed north. We drove for many miles in blowing rain until, near lunch time, a spot of sunlight appeared on the mountains in the distance.

The weather continued to improve, but there was still far to go. We saw lots of barns along the way. I especially like this first one for the many birds on the wire above the barn.

They aren't the best pictures, but they're the best pictures I could take from a speeding automobile.

When there were no barns within our line of sight, it was because we were passing by groves of trees. Some had no leaves, and hadn't yet bloomed.

Some were fully leafed out.

Some were babies.

Also, we saw more of this. Something tells me I have a close-up image of this somewhere if I could find it. I believe we saw it one spring when stopped at a rest area near Mt. Shasta.

When we pulled into our RV park for the night, this was our view across the interstate.

Smitty hadn't been outside in days, and he couldn't wait to get his harness on and soak up the waning rays of sunlight. Also, the grass here is delicious! The CSA grass we're bringing him is fine, but there's nothing like a good nibble of grass in the wild. California is a legal state...just want to make that clear.

Sadie watched from the balcony.

Purrdonne-moi...I didn't mean to turn my back on you.

She's been taking French lessons from Pepe Le Pew. (Please tell me you're old enough to remember Pepe Le Pew.)

So I'll close with the message we saw on every signboard we passed on Interstate 5.

No fooling around any more, my friends. It's getting crazy ugly out there. It's going to be good to be safe at home. Today we're heading for an Oregon State Park, and I know we won't have internet access there. So, I'm signing off for a few days. When I write again, we'll be home.