After three months of
traveling through eight U.S. states and two Canadian ones, it was time to come
home.
Somehow, the summer had
slipped away. We arrived back in California at the end of August, just in time
for some of the driest, hottest weather of the season.
Nevertheless, it was still
good to be back. As we crossed the Oregon border, I suddenly lost the feeling
that we’d just been away a few weeks, and the enormity of all we had seen and
done was overwhelming. Not only was my computer full of photos, but my brain was full of great memories.
Despite living in California
for 30 years, I had never explored the part of the state northwest of Willits,
including the mighty redwoods that reside there.
Our first stop was at
Jedediah Smith State Park, east of Crescent City. This is a beautiful place to
walk among the redwoods.
We took a hike through the
Stout Grove, where trees 200 to 400 years of age rise to the sky along the
Smith River. What a peaceful spot, even though there were also many other
visitors there. We all walked reverently among the big trees, craning upward to
see their leafy tops trying to touch the sky.
One small disappointment in
our homecoming was that the state of California had just raised its camping
prices because of budget problems. It is now $35 a night to camp at most state
park campgrounds, and some are $45. Even the rangers seemed frustrated at the
increase. The only upside was that there were vacancies during the normally
booked late summer as a result.
On our way between Jedediah
Smith and the Avenue of the Giants, we stopped in historic Ferndale, a historic
town established in 1854 and filled with meticulous Victorian architecture.
The home and business owners
here take great pride in their unique and historic buildings. Almost every one had a sparking coat of
contrasting paint — and walking around taking photographs of the perfect
gingerbread architecture was quite fun.
Ferndale is also home to the
annual Humboldt County Fair, which was just ending the day we were there.
The Avenue of the Giants, a
31-mile drive that runs from Scotia to Garberville, is one of the most unique
drives in California.
There are more than a dozen
significant redwood groves along the route at which to stop and stretch your
legs. We stopped at six of them, our favorite being the Rockefeller Forest,
which is about four miles west of the Avenue, and as a result stretched the
31-mile drive into a two-day adventure.
There are no significant
towns along the route, so be sure to plan ahead and bring food and supplies, if
you decide to do the drive. The town of Miranda has a cute local café, called
The Avenue, where we enjoyed a pancake breakfast on our second day.
After cruising through the
redwoods we took Highway 1 south from Leggett to Mendocino. The coastal
Victorian town has always been one of my favorite spots in California simply
because of its small size and unique location on a cliff top mesa at the edge
of the Pacific.
We spent the night at Van
Damme State Beach, which has a lovely cove for sunbathing or kayak launching
and a scenic, quiet campground. Mendocino looked much the same as it did when I
was last there eight years ago, although all the shops seemed to have gotten a
little more expensive.
We traveled back to Highway
101 over Highway 20, and proceeded south down the 101. Near Monterey, smoke
from a forest wildfire was visible from the freeway, reminding us that it is
fire season year round in California. The worst wildfires we had passed on the
trip thus far were actually in Canada, where a drought and dry weather in
British Columbia combined for a dangerous fire season.
As we continued south toward
the Santa Ynez Valley, I spent a lot of time reflecting on all the wonderful
things we had seen, and some of the challenging ones too. America’s west has so
much to offer us in history, culture, geography and geology. Its natural beauty
is unsurpassed and opportunities for outdoor recreation unparalleled.
More than anything, I felt
grateful to have had this experience to soak up so much of New Mexico, Utah,
Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, Oregon and Washington, and Alberta and British
Columbia and Canada. And I have been equally glad to share these experiences
with you.
Thanks for reading. Happy
travels.
etling@hotmail.com