California Dreamin'

Last night we went to bed thinking that we’d get up early and go for a 10km walk before leaving Crescent City. We woke up to the sound of thunder and the occasional flash of lightning. Oh, and it was raining, I mean really raining. At first our hopes of walking were dashed. I didn’t really want to go walking around for two hours holding a lightning rod (umbrella).

Mural in downtown Crescent City

After breakfast the rain had almost stopped and there hadn’t been lightning since we went down to breakfast. We decided that walking in the light drizzle would be refreshing, so off we went. I’m glad we did. Crescent city turned out to be a really attractive little city. It seems that just after the big Alaska earthquake in 1964 the ensuing tsunami wiped out the entire downtown of historic Crescent City. Only the areas on high ground survived. There are enough buildings from the 1800s left to make for an interesting mix of styles.

Point St George in Crescent City

Looking into the mist at Point St. George

Waiting in the rain on Hwy. 101

Just was we were arriving back at our car the rain began to get serious again. Good timing on our part I guess. Our journey down I-5 for today began with seemingly endless road construction. Every time we’d just get up to speed we’d be stopped again by flaggers, or those unmanned signals. At first progress was painfully slow. After the first hour for so things picked up and traffic thinned out. We made it to our lunch stop in Samoa right at lunch time. Samoa, CA used to be home to huge sawmills. The last remaining building at what used to be a huge sawmill is the Samoa Cookhouse. It is actually the old cookhouse that fead the millworkers in years past. Its a fun place to stop to eat.

The Victorian Hotel and Restaurant

A beautiful victorian in Ferndale

Our next stop was at Ferndale, a beautifully preserved old town dating from the mid 1800s. We had a nice walk around town enjoying the architecture before returning to the highway. Last, but not least we made a stop at Leggett, the junction of 101 and Hwy. 1. This is where the Chandler drive-through tree is located. I rode through this tree as a child back in the late 50s. I just had to do it again since we were so close.

The Drive-Through Tree

California Hwy. 1 has a reputation for being one of the most twisty roads in America. I know the 40+ miles we drove on today has to take the prize. It makes the road between Longmire and Paradise seem tame. I’ll say it again, because its true, these are the kind of roads the Mini was made for. What fun! Even though I was careful not to follow too close, everyone pulled over to let us pass. Wow! you don’t see that every day.

Downtown Ft. Bragg

The original Skunk Train

Ft. Bragg was the home to an enormous sawmill. Several years ago the mill shut down and almost destroyed this little mill town. Today the town seems to be making a come-back. The historic downtown is a mixture of very old buildings and a few more modern structures. Nothing remains of the mill except the railroad facilities. Ft. Bragg is home to the Skunk Train. They have been running excursion trains up into the Coast Range for quite a number of years. We arrived too late to get much of a look at it, but they run both steam trains and diesels.

Tomorrow we head down the coast to San Fransisco. Stay tuned for more asdventures,

Jim

The Samoa Cookhouse

Elk watchers

Elk herd along the highway

Jim

The Nordic Inn

Greetings from Crescent City, CA. Its been another great day on the road. We departed the Nordic Inn, in Lincoln City, right on time for our drive south. We thought maybe we’d be leaving the smoke behind us as we headed south. Ha! Fat chance. Although we did drive through some areas where the smoke wasn’t as bad, here in Crescent City its worse than ever. It seems that there are two really big fires burning just outside of town.

The drive down Hwy. 101 was a mixture of motor homes, trailers, and tourists (oh wait, I guess we’re tourists too). I should also mention that there were long stretches of road with no one but us. That translates to exhilarating interludes of racing through the twisty ups and downs of this scenic highway. No, I don’t squeal the tires or slide around the curves, but its sure fun to feel the G forces of powering around a sharp curve. I had fun! (but Karen??) This is what the Mini was made for.

We spent a good part of our day in Bandon. There is a 10km walk in this picturesque little town. Our walk took us all around downtown and out to the bluffs above the Pacific. Although it wasn’t smokey, it was quite foggy. Thats like smoke that doesn’t smell. Anyway, the views were a bit obstructed although the cool damp air felt great for a change. If you’re ever driving down this way I’d really recommend stopping here for a look around. Lots of fresh sea food and lots of nice little shops to explore.

Once we got back on the highway we drove straight through to Crescent City, CA. For some reason the drive today felt much longer, even though it was in reality about the same as yesterday. All in all it was a great day. First thing tomorrow morning we’ll do another 10km walk, then head south. We’ve planned stops in Ferndale and Leggett before arriving in Ft. Bragg.

More tomorrow,

Jim

Trains at last!

Yes, we enjoyed Bandon

A stop on our walk

Face Rock?

Interesting artwork

On the boardwalk

Horse parking?

Cape Kiwanda, OR

Wow, did you see the sunrise this morning? A big bright red ball rising above the horizon, wow! I admit that I’m rarely awake early enough to see the sunrise, but an early departure calls for drastic measures. Along with the red sun there was a dusting of white ash all over the car this morning.

We departed right on schedule under a weird red glow. To my surprise the smokey sky prevailed throughout the day. We have spent the afternoon and evening in Lincoln City under a blanket of fog and thick smoke. What an eerie feeling. Even the shadows had a red cast.

Our drive south went very smoothly. I love driving the Mini on the twisty Hyw. 101 along the Oregon coast. Our one and only stop was at Pacific City (or Cape Kiwanda) to have lunch at the Pelican Brewery and Pub. We ate out on their deck enjoying a soft warm breeze. After eating we took a walk across the beech to the rocky outcropping that is Cape Kiwanda. It was beautiful in spite of the smoke.

Lunch at The Pelican Brewpub

From the deck of the Pelican

Launching into the surf.

We arrived in Lincoln City mid afternoon and located the start point for a 10km walk. The walk took us to almost every corner of the town that is north of the Dee River. It was good to get out and get a bit of exercise after driving all morning.

Afternoon pink sky

Tomorrow our destination is Crescent City. We plan to stop along the way to do another walk, or maybe a hike out through the woods. We’ll see when we get there. I hope we finally emerge from the smoke by the time we get to the CA border.

More tomorrow,

Jim

PS. I’m still evaluating blogging sites. I hope to have all this figured out soon.

Tugs arriving for Harbor Days

Hi everyone,

Since my old blog host folded earlier this year I've searched for an alternative. It looks like Travelerspoint might be a good alternative. I'll give it a test run on this road trip to California. As yet I'm still not sure how to share my posts, but I hope to figure that out soon. As usual I hope to create an entry each day of our trip, as long as we have a wi-fi connection. I do know however that in Death Valley there will be no connection, so I'll just have to post my entries once we've re-entered civilization.

Our scheduled departure is bright and early on September 5th. If all goes according to plan we should arrive home in the evening of September 18th. Our proposed route will take us along the Washington, Oregon, and California coast lines. We plan on staying on US 101 and CA 1as much as possible. Our destination is San Diego with overnights in Lincoln City, Crescent City, Ft. Bragg, Halfmoon Bay, Carlsbad, and San Diego. We plan to take lots of side trips along the way and even do a few 10k volkswalks/hikes.

Our return will take us first to Tehachapi (to watch trains), Death Valley (two nights), Carson City, Bend, and finally back home. The trip home will be a bit more diving intensive. Our side trips will be limited unfortunately, but we've been through central Northern California and Oregon several times in recent years. Tehachapi and Death Valley are both places I've wanted to visit.

The Chieftan and Lady Washington

Well we have one more full day to prepare for our trip. There is just so much to do before we can leave home for two weeks. Just getting the sprinkler system set up so it will keep the garden and landscape watered was a big deal. Then we had to go down for Harbor Days so I could get my new Harbor Days T-shirt. We're finally wrapping up all of the loose ends and we'll start (and finish I hope) our packing tomorrow. The car (Karen's big Mini this time) is ready, the house is ready, all the reservations are made, and I think on the 5th we'll be able to give a huge sigh of relief and drive off on our adventure.

Stay tuned for regular up-dates,

Jim