Shirley stretches her legs

Day 86

Day 86 was the type of thing that I have been looking forward to for a very long time. I had picked a point on our local map of Whiskeytown and convinced Katie it would be a good idea to drive there. Little did she know that meant driving the Jeep up to an elevation of 6,200 ft via a 4wd only access route. A twisted hard packed dirt road covered in either loose sand or stones. It's the type of road that you wouldn't want to traverse if you have never played around on some backroads. For those of you out there who ever slung their car sideways through the gravel 4 way stops, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. The pictures and videos don't do the hill justice. It was a legitimately steep climb that I would of have been nervous of doing in a full size truck.

That's katieand eli about 30 ft higher than me

The climb to the top yielded a fantastic view of the valley. California's most fertile land producing food for all of america lays between the mountain ranges. 

The declining 6 miles back to gravel roads took an hour. Shirley clawed her way down in 4wd with the tranny set in first. The brakes still needed to be used quite a bit in order to prevent us from careening off the mountainside. Following the road trip we decided to cap it off with a kayak ride through around the shore line of the lake. 

Not a bad way to wind up the anxiety of the afternoon. Water is a calming body that always relaxes down your soul when th need calls for it.