Road Trip Day 3: Accidental Off-Roading

My brother is a photographer. He wasn't always a photographer - he was lots of other things - but now, primarily, he is a photographer. The best thing about being a photographer, I think, is as long as you have a camera, you can do your thing. It doesn't really matter where you are or what you are "supposed" to be doing, as long as you are looking around, you are working. I woke up at 7am in McCloud - Mr. Happy was nowhere to be found. I called his cell and he answered, "I'm out shooting." He didn't want to miss the early morning light. I offered to drive him out of town a bit and he accepted. We drove from McCloud up to Mt. Shasta and then, on our way back, we took a ski park road up the mountain. Just before a gate closed it off (not in season) we saw Rt. 31, a national forest road. "Should I take it?" I asked. "Yeah," he said. Easier said than done.

Soon after we got on to Rt. 31 it became a dirt road. It had clearly been paved once, a long, long time ago. We kept going, looking for the perfect light, the perfect shot and felt sure that eventually Rt. 31 would meet up with Rt. 89 which would take us back in McCloud. Not so.

After about 40 minutes (and only 6 miles!) we turned around when the road became pretty much impassable for little Lucy, The Silver Bullet and me. Mr. Happy was not impressed my skill in reverse or my 3 point turn on the side of mountain, but he doesn't have a license...

We made it back unscathed and Lucy proved herself to be a strong and reliable friend - she's a bit dirty, but she doesn't mind.

Back in McCloud we checked out the candy store that had all my dad's old favorites and the far J was throwing in the park. Then back on the road....













We left Mr. Happy in Ashland, OR and made it to Eugene just in time (actually a bit late!) for the rehearsal dinner. Yum.