Shingletown

Greetings from the Shingletown KOA. We've settled in here for a few well-deserved days of rest and relaxation. This is another KOA that is out of the ordinary. It's located about 20 miles from Mt. Lassen National Park, and is tucked away in a forest of tall ponderosa pines, firs and aromatic cedars. It's very well maintained and staffed with some very cheerful folks. This is exactly the kind of spot we like: we have all the modern conveniences in a place that feels like a rustic campground. 

We arrived yesterday after an afternoon on a few California freeways. Along "the 505" (as our friends from Southern California would call it) between Allendale and Winters, we were struck with how "boring" the scenery had become. We've heard people complain about how boring a drive across our native state can be. Well, folks, this picture proves that Northern California can be more boring than Western Kansas!

It was so boring, in fact, the pilot of our moose fell asleep at the wheel! (Just kidding. He was just blinking!)

With the boredom behind us, we caught glimpses of snow capped mountains as we moved north. (Much better!) We arrived safely in Shingletown by 4:00 PM and were set up in minutes. We relaxed under the shelter of our awning as a few widely scattered thunder showers passed our way. The intermittent showers continued through the night, lulling us to sleep.

Today, we enjoyed a very lazy morning lounging around our campground. After lunch, we headed out for a brief exploration of the booming metropolis of Shingletown, where the altitude (3700 feet) outnumbers the population. We picked up a few geocaches along the way. This creek ran along side a very nice rest area nearby. And, yes, there's a cache there.

Our caching took us for a little walk in the woods. Here's our Jeep Rocky looking very at home amongst the tall trees. 

What on earth is this guy doing?

He's finding another cache. This one was in the remains of a once popular Shingletown watering hole.

In between the caches, I spotted this perfect dandelion gone to seed. I had to capture it!

On this Friday afternoon, we've seen a steady stream of new arrivals as our cozy campground is expected to fill up for the weekend. The biggest task ahead of us yet today is to decide what's for dinner. And, with light rumbles off in the distance, it sounds like we could have another night of peaceful sleep to the pitter patter of rain on our fiberglass roof.

TGIF!