MAGIC MOUNTAIN

We have returned from our road trip and I am just getting around to posting some of the pictures here. It was a wonderful, spur-or-the-moment trip where my husband woke up and said "Let's go someplace". So, we packed a bag and jumped in the car. We talked on and off about things that seemed important to us. It is good to get in the car and not be interrupted by chores at home or appointments that have to be kept. Best of all, it was spontaneous and we hardly ever do anything spontaneous. It felt good.

So, here is the picture of Mt. Shasta which was in view practically the entire time once we hit I-5 heading north. They say that you can see it from 100 miles away from many different highways. We drove on at least three different highways during our time away (Highway 3, Highway 5, and Highway 89). And, yes, we could see it from all three of those highways once you had a clear shot and the view was not obstructed by a large mountain getting in the way.



VIEW OF MT. SHASTA FROM HIGHWAY 5

There are many myths about Mt. Shasta. Some include stories about the Lemurians, some include stories about Big Foot. The American Indians have their own myths and stories regarding Coyote. I just find the mountain absolutely beautiful and to me it is a spiritual place. Perhaps it is just because it is such a large mountain or perhaps it is because it is a dormant volcano but one cannot help to "feel" something when you look at it.

We used to live over the pass from Mt. Shasta in the Scott Valley, which Highway 3 runs through. This valley is so lush and beautiful and there are many farms that grow alfalfa. You can also find a winery and dairy farms there too. The Scott River flows right in the middle of the valley and is a source of water for all the irrigation that takes place during the growing season.



VIEW OF SCOTT VALLEY FAR BELOW FROM THE SUMMIT

I remember the first time I saw this valley. I wasn't married yet and my boyfriend at the time was moving there from the San Francisco Bay Area. I followed him in one of his two vehicles. When we arrived at Yreka, I wondered to myself "what does he see in this place". It was high desert and was very brown. There were not many trees, except close to the bottoms of the hills. But, when we drove up over the pass and got to the summit I could see what it was that was calling him there. It was absolutely spectacular! The valley was green far below, there were snow-capped mountains in the distance, and it had a very sleepy atmosphere. I was hooked.



MT. SHASTA OVER THE MOUNTAINS OF THE SCOTT VALLEY

I still find this place beautiful and when I rolled down my window or exited our car on this trip, the smells that I smelled all those many years ago were still the same. I could hear the same birdsong: red-winged blackbirds sitting in the willow trees calling to each other. When I got home and downloaded my pictures, I saw again why we loved it there.



BARN ON HIGHWAY 3

That was many years ago. Things have changed for us in so many ways and we have made a home for ourselves here in the Sierra Nevada Foothills yet something about that place still calls to me. Seeing it again made me want to purchase a small piece of land or a run-down cabin (with or without electricity, I don't care) and just go there for a month at a time. I wonder if I am just nostalgic for my past or is there really something magical about the mountain that is calling me.