Friday, September 7, 2012

Life on a (Mc)Cloud

All Aboard? Not so fast, this historical train is "dry-docked" and begging to be refurbished. 
Every spot in town competes for the shutter bug's attention

Shasta hike
 McCloud, originally a company owned mill town, is reinventing itself as one of the Best Places to live in America. The old mill houses are being gobbled up, remodeled, painted bright colors with drop dead gorgeous flower gardens to match. The best part is that they are just a short walking distance to town. Art galleries, diners, and country inns are revitalizing the town of 1,200 residents. Situated at the base of Mt Shasta in Siskiyou County, and surrounded by rugged mountains, cinder cones, lakes, reservoirs, and waterfalls spilling into the trout laden McCould River, this heavenly (literally) spot captured our hearts. In fact, we were so content to hike, fish, and swim everyday we never got any further towards our San Juan Islands destination!

Lake Siskiyou
Lake McCloud
Spark retrieving
Unbelievably clear, clean, & cold
One of 3 waterfalls at Fowler's Campground
A refreshing reward for hot sweaty hikers, like me & the Spark 
Birthday Boy needed a boat fix
The Charming McCloud Hotel

We celebrated Darrell’s 62nd birthday here. Missing boating, we rented a pantoon boat on Lake Siskiyou for the day and then had a delish home-cooked dinner on the terrace at the McCloud Hotel. They serve the BEST-Freshest heirloom tomato salad, and the owner makes all the breads and desserts herself. Addictive. The same weekend the town had it’s annual 3-day Logging Festival complete with a parade consisting of a fire truck, a police car, 2 snowmobiles, and of course a tractor or two. Everyone lined the street to cheer and clap, and then headed over to the log-rolling contest.


The MOUNTAIN looms from every direction,
 reminding one of just how small we are in the Grand Scheme of Things! 
Humbling and Humanizing.
The Brown Dog Gallery - Great local art!
One of several local churches - all picturesque.

It's the water.

The local water is so darn good that Darrell could not go past the constantly running drinking fountain without stopping. The clearest, cleanest water we have ever enjoyed was also good for Traquila, who sparkled spot-free after her bath. See how she glitter and gleams below in our glamping spot at Country Dance RV Resort! Country Dance Resort was FUN for all of us. It had horses, wild sweet peas, a stream for Spark to swim, nice neighbors with friendly dogs, and plenty of much needed shade.



Tranquila Sparkles & Shines, Glitter & Gleams, after a bath with McCloud water.
 Lots of picturesque barns around Mt Shasta
 A Palomino neighbor at Country Dance RV
 These were neighbors, but we grilled 'em and then ate 'em.
A local Cinder Cone 
Tranquila is nestled in the shade at Fowler's, one of Spark's most favorite campsites.
Ours too. 
Dry Camping is the BEST. Just like anchoring.
Our bedroom faced the McCloud River.
 Muy Tranquila.


1 comment:

  1. I love your blog! And I can't wait to go to the same places next summer and hopefully swim with Sparky.

    ReplyDelete