In my previous post, I talked a little about mental health and self-care. I'm not going to talk too much today. I did have to have my baby, Ellie, put to sleep as he was very far gone with what we are pretty sure was stomach/intestinal cancer.
So, I'm just going to give a brief overview of the end of my road trip to Washington. I tried, but failed, to drive the entire trip without sleep. I used to be able to do such things when I was younger, but not anymore.
So I had to stop and get some sleep, which I did at the Klamath rest stop off I-5 just inside Cali. I woke up to a beautiful morning with a soft rain falling and sun rays showing through the clouds. It was absolutely beautiful and refreshing.
I walked around in the rain for a little bit to wake up more fully, and then hit the road. However I had to stop again at the Weed airport because I was still a bit sleepy. Since it was not raining, I took the opportunity to take some photos to help me wake up.
And then, since I was already behind schedule from having to sleep, I decided to detour to see what Lake Shastina is all about. I have seen the signs for this place while driving to the Lower Klamath and Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuges, but didn't really know what it was.
There were some interesting sights along the way.
Of course, this being the Mount Shasta area, there are a lot of small cinder-cone shaped hills around.
In my search for Lake Shastina, I actually went too far (there is only one small turn off and it looks like it's to enter some country-estates like area) so I got some good views of the surrounding country and stately Mt. Shasta underneath it's cloudy blanket.
But luckily I checked my gps, backtracked and found the "lake". It looked completely dried up (but was it?) but the colors in the grassy lakebed were amazing! This is the view from the campground (now day use only) area there.
This is a special place for me... My outdoor bathroom. lol Sorry, but it was so beautiful I had to take a photo to commemorate the occasion.
Then I found a dirt road that went alongside the lake so I knew I must follow it. haha My poor car.
This was the hillside to my left and the lake bed was on my right.
On this side, the colors were even more vibrant.
I soon found that it was because there were small streams of water still over here. If you look across the lake in this next picture, you can see the boat ramp just under the cinder-cone hill towards the right and a blue expanse of shallow water.
I just love all of the cone-shaped hills in this area! It's really amazing, especially with the cloud banks from the storm.
After this, I drove all the way back down the dirt road (because I didn't know if I could get around the lake if I kept going or how far it would be), through the campground, and up the road to the boat ramp to see the water.
This is the view from the top of the boat ramp.
I drove to about here---------------------------↓
And this is Shasta from the boat ramp. :)
Just before getting back on I-5 I made a pit stop and took a few more macros of some interesting flower stalks I found.
That's all for now. Love yourself and always keep fighting.
xoxo
Nikon D600
