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Moon over Montague, August 2020
Siskiyou County: A Photographic Log
10 August 2020
Yesterday my ace support crew and I drove up to Siskiyou County on the far northern edge of California—adjacent to southern Oregon—to spend a few days inspecting our new granddaughter.Naturally, Old Grumble-Face found it necessary to bring along the Ogre, and today I managed to slip away for a short ride in and around the town of Montague. When America moved on steel rails, Montague was a bustling little railroad town. But years later the government routed the Interstate on the other side of the hills, through Yreka. With the railroad abandoned, or nearly so, and all the car and truck traffic using I-5, the busy stretch of downtown adjacent to the train depot has mostly rotted away. Even the Adventure Cycling Association's Sierra Cascades route, which passes right through Montague, couldn't rejuvenate the economy with an occasional long-distance bicyclist.
Nevertheless, Montague is a typical friendly small western town, hanging on despite ongoing economic woes with a couple of stores, a saloon, a gas station, a park, a school, baseball fields, and an annual rodeo. Town is surrounded by cattle ranches and hay fields of the Shasta Valley. It's dry around here, but the Shasta River and snow melt from the mountains prevent the landscape from turning to dust and blowing away. And it's difficult to find a more scenic view than majestic Mount Shasta, rising at the southern edge of the valley.
Anyway, here's my ride around Montague before resuming infant inspection.
For more Siskiyou County, see also:
The moon was still up and barely visible in the bright blue sky when I started pedaling in and around Montague.
It didn't take long to see Mount Shasta.
A little hazy due to several wildfires burning in remote, uninhabited parts of the county.
Every ranch needs some kind of decoration.
Along the road.
Looking west.
Tried to get a little artsy by lining up Shasta through the gateway arch.
The gate again, looking east.
North edge of town.
There are plenty of perfectly attractive, comfortable, well-tended homes in Montague, but the old broken-down buildings seem most photogenic.
As in most little western towns, folks in Montague are proud of their early days.
The community hall—formerly a school?—features murals depicting the development of Montague.
This building won't survive much longer, but a local historian could probably explain when it was built, who built it, and what it was used for.
Once upon a time, this was probably Montague's equivalent of Walmart or Target.
Now it has looked exactly like this for years.
By the way, for fans of the Bard of Stratford-on-Avon, the Shakespeare festival is just up the road in Ashland, OR, but I'm not aware of any town around here named Capulet.
Summary
Date: 10 August 2020
Time: 10:00 - 12:00
Weather: 80-90° F, sunny
Route: In and around Montague, California
Distance: 7 miles
Bike: Ogre
Riders: Solo
Comments? Questions? Suggestions? I'd like to hear from you.
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