Mighty Mount Shasta

Mount Shasta. For years I have wanted to visit this area in Northern California. I’ve actually driven through the region but the mountain’s never been “out” as we say in the Pacific Northwest. So, it’s been on my list of places to see for a long time.

I knew that I’d have a few days in between my speaking engagements in Medford, OR and the Bay Area and decided to spend that time around the Mighty Mountain. I was incredibly fortunate to have three beautiful days of sunshine and just one rainy/cloudy/foggy day that made me appreciate the previous three even more.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I stayed in the home of a woman who lives about 20 minutes north of Mount Shasta City. Her lovely home sits atop a ridge and she has a 180 degree + view of the valley below and the mountain itself. Simply stunning.

Her yard was visited daily by about ten deer, coming to munch on the local vegetation. Every time I stepped out the front door, the deer would temporarily be spooked and then stand and watch me as I went to the car.

View from Natasha’s

Deer roaming outside Natasha’s front door

By my last day there, the clouds had moved in and there was a thunderous lightening storm with passing showers. I realized how quickly the weather can turn and also realized why the other few times I had driven down I-5 through the area I hadn’t ever even seen the mountain. How could you when it is so easily socked in?

Storm clouds moving in

“View” of Mount Shasta as I leave the area

Most of the people that I met had confessed to being drawn to the region, as if by a magnet pull. They came and couldn’t leave, carving out small businesses by teaching yoga or practicing healing arts on the many pilgrims that pass this way.

While I was definitely pulled to see the mountain and the small charming village, the magnet wasn’t strong enough to keep me there. The Bay Area awaits me…

Happy Travels!