In Oregon I used to take my daughter and my niece over the border on the 101. At times the driving was, let us say, interesting. In places - usually at sharp curves with a precipitous drop downslope - slippery wet clay frequently oozed over the roadway. But it was always beautiful. I used to say that with its mountains and trees and rivers northern California reminded me of the Oregon I gree up in, while southern Oregon, with its flat beaches and wide expanses reminded me of California.

Nowadays I go down on the I-5. Either way you get the opportunity to linger in the redwoods.

My favo(u)rite little town in northern California is/was Dunsmuir. I first saw it by train in mid-winter and that first magic has never left me.