So i got the laundry done, then headed south on i5.

This is what you see most of the way:

For anybody not up on their geography this is, of course, Mt. Shasta. Despite having read about this region for many years, this is the first time i’ve actually seen the mountain. Like many of the peaks of the western hot zone (i.e. the cascades, etc.) it does not disappoint on first glimpse. That it’s fairly isolated adds to the drama. I foresee many a trip to the myriad state campgrounds surrounding the mountain and the area in general.

After doing my usual cursory drive-thru of Yreka (pronounced by the local NPR station as “why-reka”) i pressed on south to the odd little town of “Weed.” A billboard on i5 advertises for visitors to “enjoy Weed legally.” A sign on the way in to town says “Weed… like to welcome you.” How can you not do stuff like that when your town is named Weed?

I bought coffee from a drive-thru place that offers a freakin spectacular view of the mountain to the barista. Seems to me an actual coffee house on the same spot, with a great big window, would do a decent business, but what do i know.

I again did my cursory drive of the town (which took less time than Yreka), but on my way out of town saw a sign saying “college” so i figured i’d take a look. On the way up College Street i discovered, to my complete surprise,  The Weed Brewing Company, Huzzah!

It took a couple moments to figure out that, yes, they do indeed serve and sell their product there despite the fact the building resembled a small industrial brewery. I parked and headed up to the bar where a pretty representative cross section of the locals were already seated. Seeing they had growlers and also seeing i had no desire to do a series of tastings on an empty stomach before heading back onto the interstate i asked the somewhat harried woman for a growler of the golden ale.

While she was filling the big glass bottle a scruffy little guy next to me asked “pretty good beer here.”

“Cool… i only learned about this place five minutes ago.”

“What?”

“I’m not from around here…. just doing some sight-seeing. Didn’t even know this place was here. I just started a job in Ashland.”

“But that’s in Oregon,” he exclaimed.

“Yes, yes it is. Is there a problem bringing beer from CA into OR?”

“No, but…. but… that’s an awful long drive just for some beer.”

“Well, like i said, i didn’t know this brewery was here… so i actually came to look at Mt. Shasta. The beer, it turns out, is a bonus. Besides, Ashland’s only about an hour north.”

“Well…. wouldn’t catch me making that drive just for beer.”

I suppose i should be sufficiently impressed there is a university at all in this region… that needs a web geek. If it weren’t for that, i’d probably be working in one of the remaining mills turning trees into “forest products” and thinking Oregon was a foreign country way up north.