"Shasta Snow Trip"
page 8

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4-Feb-01, Sunday a.m.

        Everyone arose and made ready to depart between 9:00 and 10:00....we all went to the Black Bear Diner for another hearty breakfast, and then gassed up and made ready for the jaunt down I5 to Redding.   I had wanted to stop and shoot some real photos of Mt. Shasta somewhere before we left, but it was not to be...I guess it'll still be there next time!

    We stopped at the Railroad Park/Hotel....drove around inside once, and then looked for some mysterious town that wasn't on the other side of the freeway....and on to Redding we went.  What can I say about driving down out of the mountains on I5?  Well, it was hot, and heading into the sun didn't help.   Cruised at about 65 the whole way.....

    Somewhere between Shasta Lake and Redding, I saw a familiar white bus parked on the side of the road....turned out that Brian's alternator finally kicked the bucket....that red light unfortunately wasn't caused by a broken fan belt....we have those!  Confident that he could make it through to home (I think he had a spare battery), we set out to catch up with Aaron...

    Babs had a mission to fulfill at the Factory Outlets in Anderson, and we had time there to make another batch of cowboy coffee, check our oil, etc.  Aaron's fancy new oil pressure sender had been squirting an annoying mount of oil past its threads, and his engine compartment showed it.  He had also been dealing with a sticking throttle which, upon startup, would occasionally cause his engine to rev up.  I say those dual carbs are more trouble than they're worth!  Everyone's engines were doin' fine...they were hot, but not overly so!

                 

    Eventually, we got underway again, and slogged through the final torturous miles of I5 to Red Bluff, where we somehow made our way west to Red Bank Road.  Didn't know if we were heading into more adventure, but certainly hoped so!  The land was largely flat, with rolling hills periodically, and sudden upjuttings of rock here and there, sparsely dotted with copses of trees, and again, the houses and signs of modern life were fading....

    Not too long after we were decidedly on a rural road, Stuart happened to spot a sign that said something about the road being closed ahead.....

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