From -6 to 11 degrees

Big 9.5 hour driving day blasting as far and as fast down the I5 as we could, with only one directional mishap in the snarl of freeway around Seattle. The temperature stayed around plus or minus 0 degrees through Oregon, but the roads were blessedly clear. The area around Eugene must have experienced a recent ice storm as all the trees were layered in a thick coat of dripping ice, making for magical views during sunset.

Hutchins, the truck, is performing spectacularly - pulling strong and getting amazing fuel economy. Andrew thought he was driving a Prius!

Oregon has GREAT rest stops dotted every 40 miles or so along the I5. They allow free overnight stays and some even offer free coffee and cookies!

We've settled for the night at a nice one 99 miles north of the CA border in Canyonville. It's still zero outside but we're snug in the trailer with the furnace on and a glass of vino. Buenos nochas!

Day 3:

Woke amidst frosty mountains. There are several lower passes in Southern Oregon before going over the Siskyou Summit at 4200 ft a few miles before the CA border. Then the highway winds down into California and the foliage goes from lush to dry. On this clear sunny day we were afforded awe striking views of snow-covered Mt. Shasta and drought decimated Lake Shasta before hitting the flat (yawn) agricultural belt of northern CA.

Andrew made friends with the parking security guards at the Sacramento Walmart to ensure a peaceful night's rest. It's still too cold to fill our water tank so that's necessitated some creative uses of buckets and jugs ;-)