A Stop in Georgetown and Shasta Lake

Leaving Oakhurst behind, I move further north, still in California, 1 am driving along route 49, named after the 1849 gold rush, a pleasant road, but due to the fact it runs along the foothills of the Sierra Nevada range it is very twisty and full of up and down sections, not in any way relaxing, in fact at one stage I could smell hot brakes, so a stop for an hour was called for. 

Georgetown is a perfect example of the small towns along this road, they still look as though it was 1907, old hotels and diners, an old feel to the place, most buildings having wooden covered sidewalks, the kind you can picture an old person sitting on a rocking chair, the whole place feeling and looking old.

The next place on the map I am heading for is Shasta Lake. It lies in among the Cascade Range, just off interstate 5, which runs from the Mexican border to Vancouver.About 25 miles north of here is Mount Shasta, at over 14,000 feet, it is covered in snow year round. I get booked into a nice site overlooking Shasta Lake, unfortunately they could only offer me two nights. 

As I walked around the site, I was aware of birds flying about a lot, I quickly discovered they were Acorn Woodpeckers, every telegraph pole was perforated with Holes for storing acorns in, they were very busy, it was fascinating to watch as they tried various holes to find one that was a tight fit for the acorn they were carrying, woodpeckers are not as easily observed at home as they are here, these ones were in the middle of a busy campsite.