Tag Archives: California

Vacation

GAR: Day Seven – Eureka CA to Salem OR (386mi)

This morning, it was early to rise, and off toward Oregon. Our first stop was the Redwood National and State Park.

We got to the Kuchel Visitor Center right as it opened, and started asking questions about what to do in the park. We were pointed to Elk Meadow, and true to its name, we saw a dozen elk feasting in the meadow. They were beautiful to see in their natural habitat. Of course, we have these at Lone Elk SP at home, but the addition of the vistas in the park made viewing them spectacular.

Having been told by the rangers about Davison Road, we headed up it to Gold Bluffs Beach and Fern Canyon. However, before heading up the dirt/gravel road, we took the front tops off, and set off through the dense forest. The road was clear, but canopied with the tallest trees I’ve ever seen, with ferns of all types covering the forest floor. This place was green, green, green, and beautiful to drive through, especially with the tops off. We could look skyward — right through the missing roof — and enjoy the majesty of these giant trees.

Once we cleared the big hill, we descended to the beach, where we found a couple of large elk. I’ve never thought about elk being near the beach, but in this environment, that must be pretty normal. The beach was beautiful to drive along. As we continued down the path, there were a couple of small stream crossings… the Jeep finally had its toes in the water! Nothing deep, but fun nonetheless. Darla even got out and shot its first crossing.

Once we got to the end of the trail, we came to a walking trail into Fern Canyon. This canyon was mammoth, with walls that were more than thirty feet tall, and covered from top to bottom in ferns, with a small creek running in the bottom of the canyon. The rangers told us that some of this area was used to film one of the Jurassic Park films — the second one, I believe — and I could certainly see how that could be. This area looked prehistoric, and you could imagine a velociraptor cruising down the canyon pretty easily.

We doubled back, and continued north on the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway. This is the old road through the park, and was lined with giant redwoods on either side, with plenty of turnouts to stop and enjoy them. After that drive, we had ended up spending just under four hours in the park, with the biggest part of the day’s drive ahead of us.

We continued up toward Crescent City, and found a little turnout next to a beach covered in rich, black sand. This little cove had loads of dark rocks jutting from the water, and I’m sure the wearing of those rocks by the waves created the sand we walked on. It was here that Sio finally got to dip her toes in the Pacific Ocean… it was cold! We played on the beach for a while, and continued on up the beach.

Once we got to Crescent City, we stopped on the shore, and ate at a little place called The Chart House Restaurant. This was a classic seaside dive — you could almost imagine the fisherman coming here to celebrate their catch. Their claim to fame was a beer battered fish, and it really lived up the billing. Really, really tasty and light. I could’ve eaten two orders easily!

On up the coast we went, crossing from California to Oregon, watching the redwoods dwindle, and the landscape change as we moved inland. We finally got to Salem — late — did our laundry, and crashed … late.

Apple Existence, Vacation

GAR: Day Six – Half Moon Bay CA to Eureka CA (356mi)

Teased by the mileage and GPS as being a short driving day, we moseyed around this morning, getting our fill of free breakfast from the Comfort Inn (the chain we’ve elected to try to favor during the trip), and reloaded the Jeep. A week of only pulling/replacing a few items at a time had made for a very unruly interior. With Sio’s stuff all over the backseat, it looked like a teenager exploded back there. A reload was definitely in order!

Part of that timing was around the Apple Company Store at Apple HQ, which opened at 10am. We arrived a little early, but found the doors open, and started wandering about inside. Generally, the hardware/software choices were the same as what was available at other Apple Stores — and the same price! — but half the store was devoted to trinkets…. hats, shirts, cups, pens, pencils, pocketknives. The three of us frolicked in the aisles for almost an hour before finally landing on a basketfull of goodies. A few photos, and we were on our way.

As we left San Francisco, we crossed the Golden Gate bridge. This was a cool trek! I was really surprised at how much pedestrian traffic there was. It seemed like the pedestrian walkway was stuffed with walkers, skateboarders, and cyclists. It was a great way to cap our stay in San Francisco.

The drive through the interior of California on US 101 was pleasant, although uneventful. However, in Petaluma, we did eat at our first In-N-Out Burger. This is a western chain I’d heard of, but never nibbled at. Essentially, it’s a fast paced, short menued hamburger joint with pretty good food.

Also in Petaluma, while refueling, I had a couple of folks asking about the Jeep. One of them had never seen an Unlimited, which was a surprise to me. After some good conversation, we continued on up the road.

After a little more driving, we saw a sign for a drive-through tree. We figured we had to take a look. As it ends up, that was a very, very cool deal. In the bottom of a giant redwood, a 6′ x 6′ 9″ square was carved out, just big enough to drive a vehicle through. Guess how big the Jeep is? About an inch shy of those dimensions all the way around! It was a neat experience, and I’m glad we took the new Jeep through it.

We saw tons of motorcycles today. From what the folks at the drive-through tree told us, there was a big biker party going on about 70 miles south of Eureka. Seems like that’s about when we started seeing fewer in the rear view mirror, and more in the oncoming lanes. Fun to see all the bikes, but they sure must’ve had a big ol’ place to gather so many folks!

We jaunted the rest of the way to Eureka, found our hotel, and slept well after hitting the hay!

Vacation

GAR: Day Four – Winnemucca NV to Half Moon Bay CA (422mi)

Today’s drive was a little shorter — only two-thirds of yesterday’s — but it was the first day we’d taken on city traffic as we drove in the San Franciscan ‘burbs.

Leaving this morning, it was really comfortable, with temps in the 60s. We put Nevada behind us pretty quickly, and entered California right around lunchtime. After a quick stop for snacks and bio-breaks, we decided to veer from our plans, and head down to Lake Tahoe for a bit.

The Tahoe area is beautiful, with big hills, and loads of pine trees reaching for the sky. Add to that the beautiful blue lake, and you end up with an idyllic setting. We stopped, looked, shot some photos, and decided to head back to the interstate for the push into San Francisco…. on the worst road ever.

I-80 through northern California has got to be the bumpiest, roughest interstate highway I’ve ever driven. I thought some of the roads in Arizona were bad, but this took the cake. At least in Arizona, you’re travelling on a roughly flat surface through the desert. This road was uphill and downhill, with plenty of bouncing, harsh turns and road construction to make it that much more enjoyable. What a road!

Early rush hour wasn’t too bad, and we made it to Half Moon Bay around dinner time, with plenty of time to catch a meal, and get to a public beach access to watch the sun set into the Pacific. There’s a wildfire burning near here, and I thought that might help color the sunset, but it didn’t really seem to help much. Still, it was a beautiful sunset.

This was the first time Sio was able to see the ocean close up. She said that it was weird to not be able to see the edge of it. I guess I’d gotten past all the novelty of how big the ocean can be. It’s definitely been interesting to see this new experience through her eyes.

Tomorrow is a down day for us, with us planning to be tourists in the big city. Next up is the trek up the coast, with the Pacific northwest awaiting us toward the end of the week.