Three Week Road Trip - Second Leg to Grants Pass/Rogue River, OR, September 24, 2013

Morning broke bright and beautiful in Petaluma.  We spent a somewhat leisurely morning catching up on emails and having a basic Best Western breakfast.  We knew we would probably be driving into rain up in Oregon, so there wasn't a rush to get up there for golf.  

The drive from Petaluma to the Oregon border, driving from the 80 to the 505, connecting to the 5 is one of orchards and agriculture with smaller towns dotting the landscape along with the cows, horses and sheep.  There were three alpacas in there for good measure.  You know you're in the middle of nowhere (but a beautiful nowhere I have to say), when you're on the 505, a freeway I never knew existed, and the turnoff is for Road 12A. 

Attention farmers:  I have a complaint.  When I'm driving past miles and miles of orchards and fields, I am constantly wondering what crop it is I'm looking at.  How about a sign or two letting us know what we're driving by?  The one tree I could identify was the olive tree, and there were scores of them.  Little did I know we were fast approaching Corning, California, otherwise known as Olive City, home of the Queen Olive.  Being the olive-lover that I am, we had to stop and visit The Olive Pit where we browsed and bought some olive oil and two jars of olives, Mediterranean Mixed and Castelvetrano Italian Whole Green Olives (so tasty!).  The Olive Pit
 
Hungry for lunch, we used our Around Me app to find Fat Daddy's BBQ in Redding, CA.  Boy did we get lucky!  I was unable to find a website, but if you're ever in Redding, DON'T MISS THIS PLACE!!!  Here's the address and phone number:  942 Hartnell Ave  Redding, CA 96002  530 221 6270

A great sign of great food to come.

Dollar bills on the ceiling and flying pigs.

We split The Fat Meal - pulled pork, brisket, spare ribs, BBQ beans and coleslaw.  It tasted as good as it looks.

Whenever I see Redding on a map or read about it, I go back to 6th grade and the best teacher I ever had, Mr. Fields, who moved to Redding after he finished teaching at Rio Vista Elementary in El Monte, CA.  He was the man who encouraged my art and made me promise that I would go to college.  If you're still out there, Mr. Fields, you are not forgotten. 

Deeper in our trip, we came across Shasta Lake and Dam.  We decided to make a detour (why are we traveling by car if not to stop at these places we've never been?).  We drove through charming Shasta Lake, a small, old school-type of town and found our way to the dam and lake, which we caught glimpses of through the trees as we drove to the visitors center.  I had been to Hoover Dam before, probably 20 years ago, so it was pretty thrilling to see something of this scale.  There were very few people there, so access was easy.  The weather was interesting, 75 degrees and cloudy with quite a bit of wind, so Stan had to hang onto his hat as we walked the span of the dam.

Soon to follow was Mt Shasta, covered in snow, which rose in the distance in front of us as we drove up the 5.  The top of the mountain was shrouded in clouds, but Stan was able to click off a couple of shots as we drove past. 

That's Mt Shasta in the distance.

You can't see the top of the mountain, but Mt Shasta it is!

The moment we crossed the Oregon border, it began to rain.  And it poured.  Great.  We got to our second Best Western Inn at the Rogue, near Grants Pass.  Best Western Inn at the Rogue  Our room here is better laid out, bigger and nicer than the one in Petaluma.  We dropped off our stuff and went out for dinner.  The rain had stopped, and we decided to get gas before we drove to Grants Pass for dinner.  I pulled up to the pump, Stan got out with his credit card, but was stopped by...a gas station attendant!!!  It was like coming across an extinct animal! His name was Jim, and he filled up our car, washed our windows and told us it was illegal to pump your own gas in Oregon.  Amazing!

Jim the Gas Station Attendant

A seven-mile drive in the pouring rain to Elmer's Restaurant, a traditional coffee shop...plus.  Elmer's 

Nice to have a fireplace going at Elmer's on a rainy night.

The food was basic and good.  I got the small portion hazelnut crusted cod with rice and steamed veggies.  Super good, especially since it came with a big side salad.  Stan got the roast turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy and cranberry sauce.  It came with clam chowder.  His dinner had vegetables too, but he wouldn't eat them no matter how much I asked him to eat something green!  And oops!  I forgot to take pictures of the main dishes, so this adorable photo of Stan with his clam chowder will have to do!

Tomorrow we're off to the Columbia River and hopefully to good weather, sightseeing and golf!