Trip date: May 2021
After my fall road trip to California's redwood forest I was even more interested in visiting the Giant Sequoias on the other side of the state. I decided to do a spring road trip, this time visiting Sequoia National Forest, Kings Canyon National Forest, Yosemite National Forest, and Lake Tahoe. Unlike the redwoods, I had never been to any of these places!
With the world still dealing with the Covid pandemic I felt this would again be a safe way to explore, and made my plans to revolve almost entirely around outdoor hiking and exploring. As an unexpected bonus I was able to get my vaccine a month before my trip so I was fully vaxxed when I left.
Day 1. Seattle, WA to Ashland, OR - 480 miles
My first day would consist of an almost 8 hour day of driving. That's a lot for me, I prefer to keep things around 5 if possible. I stopped in Portland on my way to Ashland and had a nice lunch and catch up with a friend.
I was on my final hour, driving over Grant's Pass when all of a sudden my BMW lost power. I was able to get over to the side of the road (semi trucks everywhere!) and call BMW Road Service. They connected me to Medford BMW and I was able to persuade the service guy to let me bring the car in first thing the next morning after explaining my situation. Luckily the car was driveable, although still acting strange even after a "re-boot". Definitely not how I wanted this big solo 2-week road trip to start!
My first night stay was at the Lithia Springs Resort, just outside of Ashland. Friends had stayed there just a couple of weeks prior and really liked it. It seemed a little silly to stay at a hotsprings resort for just one night, but it was actually cheaper than the Best Western I had originally booked!
Knowing that the on-site restaurant was not open because of Covid, I stopped at Blue Toba for some Indonesian take out before I checked in. Once I got into my room I made a quick change into my suit, grabbed a chilled wine spritzer from my cooler, and hit the natural springs hot tub. After the stress of the car, this was exactly what I needed. Never mind the warning on the spa gate that bears had been sighted in the area recently!
I was so happy to be staying at this gorgeous little retreat. Natural spring water is also in all of the rooms so you can take advantage of it in the shower and bathtub. The grounds are gorgeous and my room was huge and very comfortable.Day 2. Ashland to Sacramento - 308 miles
I was up early in order to be at the BMW dealership by 7:30am. I had to arrive before the first appointments so they could squeeze my car in for diagnostics. I was out of the dealership by 10am only $120 lighter and they included a car wash! Thank gawd!
Before hitting the road to Sacramento, I stopped at Lithia Park in Ashland and did the easy loop hike around the creek. This was such a great suggestion made by some friends of mine, highly recommend if you are in Ashland!
I had about a 5-hour drive and it was a gorgeous sunny spring day for it. Unlike the last time I drove past Mt. Shasta and couldn't see a thing because of forest fire smoke, this time it was directly in front of me until I passed her.
I stopped again just past Shasta to do another short hike at Hedge Creek Falls. It felt good to get off of I5 and get into a little nature for about 30 minutes.
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