A Blessing in Disguise!

My husband stated that he wanted to camp at a place we haven't visited. I stated I wanted to see the Mt. Shasta area. We both knew it would be at least a six hour drive from home. So, we planned on staying at least three nights. This was the weekend before Memorial Day Weekend, and we didn't make any reservations. The plan was to camp for three nights at Fowlers Campground, but that didn't happen.

While driving the portion of I-5 through the mountains of Shasta Lake, the oil light came on. The car was overdue for oil change, which was scheduled for the next week. We drove into McCloud to get gas and top off the oil, but McCloud didn't carry the correct oil for our car. So, we came up with a plan to find a campsite at Fowlers, unhitch trailer, and then head to the NAPA store in Mt. Shasta for the oil. It was a great plan, but that didn't happen. We got to Fowlers to find all of the sites taken. Yes, my bad since it was a Saturday afternoon. And yes, I know that reservations at a popular campground on a weekend is essential to nab a site; but, I didn't make reservations, and it was a blessing in disguise.

While waiting for husband to get the oil, I walked Meeks around the parking lot and enjoyed the stunning view of Mt. Shasta. Once husband had topped off the oil, I told him of a campground that is located closer to Mt. Shasta city than McCloud. I told him to keep fingers crossed.

We got lucky! From our campsite we had a view of Mt. Shasta. There are no views of Mt. Shasta from any of the campsites at Fowlers Camp.

Not only did we have a view of Mt. Shasta, we also had views of the snow covered Trinity Mountains.

Our site was so private. Nobody was camped in the site across the street from us or right next to our site. And even if someone had been right next to us, we wouldn't have been able to see them.

After settling in, we took a stroll around the campground.

While researching this campground, I read of a small creek that runs through the campground. Meeks enjoyed drinking the icy cold, clear water from this spot.

There is a hidden water pump. One has to cross the creek and hike a short distance to an open area where the pump is located.

We were camped at one of the sunnier sites. Many of the other sites are under the canopy of trees and were not as private as our site. 

We walked across the main road, Everitt Memorial Hwy, to check out the dirt road across the street. Sadly, that was just a dead-end and didn't provide us with a road to hike. There are no hiking trails close to the campground.  From the middle of the road, there is a great view of Black Butte.

Since the weather forecast for the next day was the low 90s and I had planned other hikes in the McCloud area, we agreed to just one night at this beautiful campground.  

In the morning before hitching up, we drove the Everitt Memorial Hwy until it ended at Bunny Flat, due to snow. Many cross-country skiers were taking advantage of the late season of snow, which doesn't look like it will melt until late August. 

This gem hidden beneath gorgeous, snow-covered Mt. Shasta is such a wonderful campground that I wish it wasn't so far from home. My husband and I would love to explore more of this area of Mt. Shasta.

Part 1 of 3 Mt. Shasta/ McCloud