Day One to Castle Crags State Park in Northern California

We traveled from SLO County to Vancouver a few years back via Route 1, so we decided to travel via I-5.  My intention was to put some miles on the car the first day and get to Mount Shasta by the end of the day.  There was very little stopping except for the occasional dog breaks and lunch break with our standard fare of PB&J.

Shasta Lake was pretty full, which for CA, is remarkable.  We found our first campsite at Castle Crags State Park.  There were views of Mt. Shasta from a short trail above the camp.  We took these shots of the dogs and of the mountain and crags after setting up our first camp.

Mt. Shasta

Crags

BuddyJack

Luther

The first campsite let us know what worked and what did not.  It also let us know what to expect for the next month.  The first thing that came to mind was the lack of mattress for the tent.  I can sleep anywhere, anyhow.  Tom on the other hand likes his comfort.  I didn't necessarily forget the mattress, but was kinda pinching pennies and hoped that Tom wouldn't notice.  He did, and I promised a trip to Walmart before the next night.

We also learned that there are mosquitoes in the world.  A lot of them!  I had packed some bug spray knowing that they would be around, but since moving to Los Osos, CA where there is very little fresh water, I forgot how prolific they are.

We often have a repacking of the car the first night out and that night proved it again.  The tube on the top of the car had the tent, which meant hat we had to open it up every night.  Poor planning.  It was meant to hold items that were not often needed.  We also had some clothes up, some clothes down.  Socks and underwear were up.  jackets were down.  No sense.

I always forget that we do not change our outer clothes daily when we travel.  It's just so much easier climbing out of the tent and put on the clothes that are at your feet in the tent.  Showers can also be dirty or cold at campsites.

The following morning, we broke camp, rearranged the car, including putting the dogs in the middle and packed items in the rear.  I wanted to have the dogs closer so I could keep an eye on them and they could participate in the view ahead of us, rather than a view of headlights behind them.  They also had the opportunity to look out the window and smell the smells of the open road.

Luther & BuddyJack smelling the sights.