Notes To My Mother

Looming 14,179 feet high, Mount Shasta can be seen miles and miles away on a clear day as you drive north on highway 5.  Mount Shastina is a satellite cone of Mr. Shasta, located on Shasta's west shoulder. Standing at 12,335 ft, Shastina would be the third highest volcanic peak in the Cascade Range, after Mount Rainier and Mount Shasta.  As the golden hour approaches the clouds hovering around Mt. Shasta begin to display their evening glory. One of my goals on this trip was to capture the Milky Way over Mount Shasta.  The developing clouds at sundown made for a nice sunset but I was beginning to doubt whether or not I would be able to get a good view of the Milky Way. I knew that it was not unusual in this mountain location to have clouds in the daytime and by the time full darkness arrives they are gone.  That happened on this night and the galactic core became visible just above and to the right of Mount Shasta.  An interesting thing happened as I was setting ...