OK to start this post I need to put Reno in perspective. Reno lies along a beautiful stream where you can tube and enjoy gorgeous scenery. Unfortunately, the town is packed with homeless who camp, bath and crap in the water. It took us less than 30 minutes to have one them yell “Fuck Trump” at us…..trying to get me into a confrontation. These are streets that will make the hair stand up on the back of your neck. Reno somehow was just named as the best little city in America for 2020 by BestCities.org??? (I have no idea why)

This was my third visit to the town. The first visit was many years ago when the kids were young and we had been up at Lake Tahoe and were heading back to Sacramento. I had made a wrong turn and ended up in the area where the brothels were. I will never forget my daughter yelling from the back seat: “Look daddy its a Bunny Ranch, can we go play with the bunnies?” My response was something like: “No Sweetheart, I think all the bunnies are sleeping this morning.” My wife and I laughed hard about that and got the hell out. The second time in Reno, about 10 years ago, I was inspecting the Air National Guard Medical Squadron at the Airport and was their for four days. I stayed downtown and learned quickly that you stayed in the casinos and off the streets at night. It was like Vegas but much more depressing. Homeless, drug addicts, prostitutes and beggars lined the streets and middle-aged men shouldn’t be there unless they were looking for sex or drugs. On that trip, I ran up the trail by the river through the city. Every bench was a homeless encampment, and the area stunk of urine and desperation.

This trip the streets actually looked better since they were mostly deserted due to the pandemic and the lack of tourists. But my recommendation would be to stay outside the city at one of the newer casinos and just drive through to look at the pretty parks and get a picture of the famous sign….from your car.

Hopefully, if you visit this town, you will end up with a better impression….but my best view of it was in the rear-view mirror, as I headed out of town.

The drive from Reno to Tacoma is 730 miles and can be made in one day, but we wanted to break it up into two. That would allow us time to explore the roadways in Northern California and spend some time hiking in the forests around Mt Shasta.

Fires were burning in California and we were worried that roads would be closed but we lucked out.

I was amazed by the beautiful pine tree lined straight roads going through the thick forests. I had heard that this was a beautiful area but I never imagined anything like this. For over 100 miles the roads were straight and beautiful. With a 65 mph speed limit and little to no traffic, it was an exceptionally pleasant drive.

Our first stop was Subway Cave which was right along the road. The cave was comprised of lava tubes and you could tour it completely on your own. There was no charge but you needed your own light and jacket.

While at Subway Cave we were talking to some other travelers and they recommended stopping at Burney Falls State Park which was on out route and about 45 minutes up the road……we were not disappointed.

Next stop was just a little further up the road at McCloud Falls. We chose to visit the lower and middle falls which included about two miles of hiking.

Now on to Route 5 and the next portion after a quick trip to the town of Mt Shasta and the Weed.

I wanted to answer the age old questions: “Can you buy a Shasta Cola in Shasta Mountain? and Can you buy weed in Weed?” Unfortunately the answer to both those questions was no! We stopped to look for a Shasta in the only grocery store in Mt Shasta but could only find natural and health foods….yuck. Of course I didn’t look to hard for the weed in Weed…but we didn’t see any dispensaries. We did however find a “Grocery Outlet” that sold wine cheap and loaded up a case.

Next we picked up I-5 and headed north into Oregon and our night in Medford. Unfortunately, the homeless issues along the coast coupled with the fact that everything was closed didn’t inspire us to do anything in the area.

The next day we made a stop in Portland (see previous post) and continued directly to Puyallup Washington for some family time and to check out Mt Rainier National Park. Northern California is worth a trip, give it a shot.