Arts by Dylan: Mt. Shasta Highway 97 North Vista Point II Canvas

I decided to drive to Oregon simply because I have never been to Oregon before.  I spent a few hours in Ashland before heading back south to California.  I took county road A-12 for 20 miles to highway 97 and pulled over at the North Vista Point of Mt. Shasta for this photograph. 

 

I beat the thunderstorms that rolled in later that night and was able to capture the Mountain in not half bad of light.  Highway 97 is a little bit of a secret highway on the West Coast.  Much like 395 which takes you all they up to Washington and ends on Fremont street in Las Vegas, Highway 97 begins at Mt. Shasta in the town of Weed and continues all the way up to Canada along an inland route.  The other major landmark on this highway is Klamath Falls and Crater Lake National Park in Southern Oregon.  I did not make it that far up on this trip but I think it would be a nice drive as well. 

 

What makes this a "secret route" is that it avoids the major highways where most people are on.  State highways tend to be a little less maintained, a little more curvy, a little more difficult to drive, but also a little more scenic.  The interstate systems are designed to move people from point to point along an efficient route.  I took about a 40 mile detour to get some photographs at this Vista Point and I can't really complain, my car gets decent gas milage at about 30 mpg, so in the grand scheme of things this was about $5 and 45 minutes added to my schedule, but it was 45 minutes of driving a county road that hardly anyone was on looking at Mt. Shasta the entire time..... That's time well spent in my opinion and well worth the minimal extra effort it took. 

Photographer: Dylan Carpowich