5/15/2018 222 miles Weather Window - Reno, NV To Mt. Shasta, CA

I wake Carrie up when I miss the last step on her stair well.  We have coffee and visit until it is time for her to go to work.  I miss my girl but am so very happy she is doing well in Reno.  Justin gets up to have coffee too.  I am sad to leave today.

Ron texts that Laura is still not mended and we decide to leave early with out breakfast.

We meet them at Border Town for gas and blaze up the highway.  The weather is cool.  The sky is clear with white cumulus in the distance.  We reach Susanville quickly and gas up again.  Then a Burger King burrito to get us over 44 and back to 89 and the way home.

We realize those pretty cumulus clouds were right over Hwy 44.  We stop BEFORE the rain.  Ron and Laura get their rain gear on and I put heavier gloves on.  Sure enough, a good rain shower starts and we get a little soaking.  But that is soon over and clouds become sparse so we soon dry out.

This is the most beautiful day of our trip.  I wonder why we left California?  We have beautiful high mountain meadows, Lassen National Park, stately Pines, budding Aspens, wild flowers (white, pink, yellow and blue).  The smell of rain soaked sage and chinkopin lay beautifully in the air.  On Hwy 89 later, we have beautifully bloomed out Dogwood trees.  All the grass is green, blue sky hosts a growing complex of cumulus clouds (that is our only real concern).

White popcorn clouds stretch above
As we scoot toward home
Across the gray two-lane.
I am grateful to be in this picture.
Spring weather, warm leathers,
The moist, air fresh
With wild flower layers.

It is Tuesday and traffic is light on Hwy 89.  Ron and Laura are soon far ahead of us so we take it down a notch and just have a nice ride home.  We even stop for photos of the cloud complex over Mount Lassen.

The Dogwood trees in our yard have bloomed and are so beautiful.  We stop our bikes by them and take some photos.  We are glad we did not miss this blooming.  We have had those trees since Gary turned 40 (white) and 41 (pink).

We are able to go pick up Molly Brown even though we are a little early.  It is so good to have our chocolate girl home.  She is such a love.  We get quite a puppy bath in the truck on the drive back to our place.

Our bikes are unpacked and we are futzing around the house.  Shae comes over to drop of the key and stays to listen to our stories.  He took good care of our place.  Much gratitude to him for staying here.

Gary says "what's for dinner?"  I say "reservations at Black Bear Diner".  As we drive in to town the sky opens up and a flooding down pour begins.  Lightening and thunder are close by. But we have our lovely sandwiches at Black Bear.  A nice ending to our Grand Canyon Loop.