Sunday, Aug 4--Hat Creek, CA

After driving 210 miles I found a nice camp site at Rocky CG in the Lassen National Forest.  It is right off the road and I can hear occasional traffic, but most of the noise is drowned out by the creek rushing behind my site, and the birds.

First things first.  I set up the Stanley brothers (sounds like a Bluegrass Group) and I'm naming them Carter & Ralph, after Carter & Ralph Stanley, of course.

The campground is called Rocky CG and while I was looking for Bridge CG I stopped a little too short.  It lives up to its name and has big rocks and boulders everywhere.  I decided to set up my small tent because there wasn't a large enough level spot for the big one.

  

The creek that I'm camped up the hill from makes the lovliest sound that will croon me to sleep tonight.

I had a small campfire with only sticks and small pieces of wood that are lying everywhere.  Before turning in I walked a couple of steps to the fire ring so as to stir the embers, but in the dark I stepped back and didn't sit down close enough to the chair, which fell over and I banged my tailbone into a big rock.  It still hurts, but not nearly as bad as it did shortly after I fell.

The tent is definitely harder to get in and out of than the big one, but it is fast to set up and take down and perfect for one person.  It would be better if that one person was about 15 years younger, though.

After paying $3.59/gallon for fuel in Sac, I topped up the tank in Old Station for $4.39!  I hope Oregon is cheaper, but I'm afraid it's not.

I arrived at Lava Beds National Monument this morning after a drive of about 100 miles.  Beautiful scenery - you can see Mt. Shasta from almost anywhere you are along the route.  There is still pretty much snow on the peak, and even Lassen Peak has some snowy patches.

I'll post about Lava Beds tomorrow.