Too the hills we go

Day 85

Let's go full fledged PG-13 today. I'll keep it short of R, but it's gonna be close. Today we rolled out of Bear River casino and headed east through the cavernous hills of Northern California. Up and down, up and down. That was the mantra of the day. Roo was working her ass off pulling all 15 tons up an 8% grade for 4 miles at a time. The little 5.9 cummins that could pulled us up in third gear. The tach stayed right at 2,500 rpm and we were rolling full boost at 40 mph. The hills were pushing us and our convoy to the max. Semi drivers were getting pissed at us holding up the line through 299 westbound. I gratuitously flipped them the bird as their horns blared during brief periods of passing lanes. 

The miles clicked by until we came to a standstill. Traffic relented to show us a wildfire that had just ravished the area. Burnt cars and cabins abound revealed the devastating forces of nature that humans are constantly in battle with. Remember this my friends, nature is the all powerful force that controls all. Recent demonstrations of hurricanes and earthquakes have showed this relevant to other parts of the world. Take heed... we may be next. 

After five hours of white knuckle driving we ended up at Whiskey Town Recreation area just outside of Redding CA. This giant park was gracious enough to let us park in the boat launch parking area for a mere $23 a night. What a steal. I love paying to park in a parking lot with no  amenities. The upside however is a chance for us to bust out the kayaks and finally use them in the continental states once again. We haven't had them off Shirley since we came back from Alaska. In the meantime I secured a gold panning permit for $1 and headed into the hills in search of gold. 

Nothing, nada, bupkiss, skunked, slyed, empty-handed, ok that's all I got. Maybe tomorrow. In the meantime I'll remain happy I got to drive Shirley up and down the washboard gravel roads.