Resurfacing after a wi-fi free weekend

© 2011 Lydia Hinshaw

The Magic Bus in Lassen Volcanic National Park

Coquille River Lighthouse, Bandon, OR

 SONORA, CA -- We have continued our travels for several days now without benefit of wi-fi.  The e-mails piled up and the blog bogged down.
 Among the highlights were the Coquille River Lighthouse in Bandon, OR, which we viewed in a rare moment of fog-less-ness on the Oregon Coast.  Later that day (Friday) we camped out at Cape Blanco State Park, which also has a lighthouse.  Although we've camped there three times in the past five years, we've never seen the lighthouse, because there has always been a whiteout fog hiding it.  Blanco means white in Spanish, and the place is aptly named.
 The top photo was shot at Lassen Volcanic National Park in northern California.  The peak in the background is not Lassen, although it does hide Lassen Peak from view.
 Four years ago we hiked to the top of Lassen Peak, at some 10,400 feet.  It was a strenuous and spectacular hike, but one we couldn't repeat this time because the trail is closed for repairs.  What a relief!
 We have spent the past couple of days meandering along California back-roads.  It is amazing that a state as heavily populated as this one (36-million-plus) can also have such vast reaches of wilderness dotted with small towns that have yet to be invaded by the chain stores and restaurants you see in every American city.
 Urban California does nothing for me, but so much of the rest of it is wonderful.  I can see why so many people worked so hard to get here in the 19th century.
 Tuesday night finds us in Sonora, a small town with a vibrant downtown in spite of the usual big-box stores that have sprouted a mile or so away.  This is a familiar stomping ground for us, as it's where we did our shopping during the summer of 2008, when we worked in Yosemite, 70 miles away.
 The Yosemite high country is where we'll be heading Wednesday.