Oakland to Eugene, OR

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July 31, 2009

I drove 524 miles today, from Oakland to Eugene, Oregon. I stopped only at the Willows rest area, to walk Molly, maybe 15 minutes; at the AM-PM mini mart in north Redding, to buy coffee and water, maybe 10 minutes; in Yreka, to buy a terrible chicken “club” sandwich (the club of which it is THE sandwich must be the Mayonnaise Fiends of America; surely ¼ of a cup of the stuff dripping goo) and then to buy gas, maybe 20 minutes; and at a rest area north of Grants Pass, hot and smoky from some forest fire, but cool all the same, with woods and picnic tables and a little trail into the woods for Molly, maybe 15 mins. Otherwise, burning the road.

When I was in college and grad school in So Cal, 1967-1976, my parents lived in Vancouver, Washington, so I drove between those two geographical points many times. Back then, in the '60s, Hwy 99 was the freeway through the San Joaquin, lined with oleanders all the way. There were even a couple of stop lights on 99, where the road wasn’t free. But the stretch from Red Bluff through Oregon is very much the same now as then. I had forgotten what beautiful country it is. The freeway through the Siskiyous, from about Weed to Grants Pass, and then through whatever hills and valleys follow all the way to Eugene, is really spectacular, and the road itself is thrilling, with long rhythmically curving descents. (At least 5 signs for 5 different stretches of 6% grade.) I used to tense up and grip the wheel back in those days, young driver in a cruddy old car, prone to panic. But now, in a good car with good tires, I found the road a pleasure to drive.

No pictures of all that beautiful country. No picture of Mt. Shasta, so bereft of snow now it looks bony and gaunt. No pictures of the woods at the rest area in Oregon, mossy, ferny, damp, so clearly NOT California even though the temperature was 100+.

Me and Molly, we’re hanging at the Motel 6. Ready to lie down and sleep.

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