Mount Shasta.
The Drive Up And Back
The drive to Ashland from Fresno didn’t seem particularly difficult, at least from a directional point of view. Simply head north on Highway 99, eventually cut over to Interstate 5, and continue heading north until reaching Ashland. I knew the trip would take about eight hours, but I didn’t expect that it would rival our drives through the desert Southwest for monotony. Still, there were a couple of diversions worth noting along the way.
We set out from Fresno around 9 a.m. We tried for an early morning (i.e., 7 a.m.) departure, but just couldn’t wake ourselves from our slumber that early. While we enjoyed the extra sleep, we condemned ourselves to driving during the heat of the day. To make matters worse, the entire West Coast was suffering through a heat wave, which meant that we’d be driving through 90-100 degree temperatures for most of the day.
The drive up through Highway 99 from Fresno to Sacramento is noteworthy only for the interesting juxtaposition between agriculture and urban blight that one observes. One would think that cities would take great care to beautify the major highway running through their town. But, all one sees is a series of big box stores, strip malls, gas stations, and cheesy roadside attractions. It would be depressing if it weren’t for the wide stretches of farmland that provide some tranquility to the capitalist madness.
One might think from that last paragraph that I’m a tree hugging environmentalist that would like to nuke all cities and let nature heal the urban wounds. Actually, I enjoy cities, provided they are well planned and/or have some character to them. Such is the case with Sacramento. I’ve always enjoyed walking around the downtown area of Sacramento. I love strolling around the Capital’s grounds, visiting the shops on the K Street Mall, and absorbing the atmosphere of Old Town. Given how much I enjoy Sacramento and the fact that it was lunchtime, we decided to stop in Old Town for a bite to eat. We chose the Happy Pita Café at 1100 Front St. #110. We were tempted by the thoughts of the wonderful gyros we ate in Athens. However, the gyros we ate here couldn’t have been further from those we ate in Athens. They were slathered with a mystery sauce and filled with a mystery meat that was advertised to be chicken. The whole meal was a disappointment. I’d have to say that one should avoid the Happy Pita Café.
Our stomachs unsatisfactorily full, we started the drive up Interstate 5 to Ashland. We enjoyed the drive during the first few miles outside of Old Town as we passed over several bridges which spanned the American and Sacramento rivers. But, once we got past the Sacramento Airport, the road turned north through the grasslands of the Sacramento Valley. We didn’t see anything but grassland for the next three hours (with the exception of a few gas stations). I think I would have enjoyed the tranquil setting, except the heat focused my thoughts toward the cooling I was getting out of the air conditioner.
Once we got to Red Bluff, the scenery started changing. We left behind the grasslands and entered a foothill environment. The foothills became steeper and steeper until we were in full fledged mountains by the time we got to Redding. The mountain-scape was breathtaking. But, two parts of it were exceptionally memorable. The first was Lake Shasta. I knew this lake stored much of the water that is later shipped to Southern California. But, I didn’t comprehend just how big this lake was. It’s so big that a driver on Interstate 5 crosses the lake twice when traveling in either direction. In other words, a person going north will cross part of it at one part of the trip, and then cross another part of it about 10 miles later. The sheer physical size, and the volume of water that it contains, is very impressive. The other natural feature that is impressive is Mount Shasta. Shasta is first seen as a small snow capped peak that barely stands above the other mountains. But, as one gets closer to it, one sees how massive this mountain really is. By the time the base is reached, one realizes that Shasta is really a monolith that stands in the middle of a high prairie. The fact that it stands so majestically in the middle of a relatively flat plain just adds to its impressiveness. Once we passed it, we kept glancing back in our mirrors just to take in some new feature or new aspect of the mountain that we hadn’t notice before. It is truly the natural highlight of the drive to Ashland.
From Mount Shasta, it’s about an hour and a half to Ashland. One passes through prairie before climbing again into the mountains. Almost immediately after crossing into Oregon, one reaches the top of this climb: Siskouyu Pass. The descent from the pass is rather steep, but short. About 10 miles from the pass, one reaches Ashland.
On the way back, we decided to stop by Shasta Dam to see the structure that holds back the mighty Shasta Lake. It was a 15 mile (one way) detour from our initial route. But, it turned out to be worth it. The visitor’s center had several interesting exhibits on the dam’s construction and the role it plays in providing water to the entire state. The dam itself was as attractive as a dam could be. What was most impressive about it was the vast sea of blue that lay behind it. It was amazing to think that a body of water the size of Shasta Lake could be contained and controlled by this simple structure. Still, the proof was in front of my eyes. Seeing this monument of engineering made the detour worth our time.
The drive to and from Ashland was fairly uneventful and unspectacular. The best sights are within 100 miles of Ashland, which means they are at the end or the beginning of the trip. Since we had never seen this territory before, we were glad to see everything that we did along the drive. However, if we ever go to Ashland again, we will probably try to find an alternative route to break up the monotony.
2004 Update – That last sentence turned out to be rather prophetic, because we took alternate routes both up to Ashland and back to Fresno. On the way up to Ashland, we first did a detour to San Jose in order to attend a concert. Then, we followed outline of San Francisco Bay until we got to Interstate 80. We turned east on Interstate 80, until we reached Fairfield. There, we turned north on Highway 505. Eventually, Highway 505 connected with Interstate 5. We then took Interstate 5 to Ashland. However, taking this route allowed us to bypass both the boredom that permeates Highway 99 all the way to Sacramento and a part of the monotony that starts just north of the Sacramento Airport.
For the trip back, we decided to follow the California coast and enjoy the cool weather. Little did we know that this alternate route would be an adventure in itself. Please click here to find out about that part of the trip.
Home
This page hosted by
Get your own Free Home Page