Thom & Carol's Adventures: Trees, Trees & More Trees

What a week! But, before I report on our travels and explorations, I have to tell you about California highways. From the time we entered the state from Nevada across I-80, we’ve been off-roading in the motorhome with the Jeep in tow! Enough said other than whenever I see a highway improvement sign in California, the phrase "Caltrans at work........ making roads rough for you" pops into my mind.

This was our first venture into northern California above Napa County (wine, of course). Spectacular is the operative word for the terrain starting with the Redwoods, continuing on with the coast and finally with the small towns that have not fallen prey to progress. In fact, some of the locals in the smaller communities were protesting highway improvements funded by the Recovery Act to widen some parts of Highway 101. It was a flashback to the 60’s. I think we discovered where the Hippies have relocated. Tie-dyes, headbands, shorts and Birkenstocks are still the norm and shaving is infrequent. Many street performers are plying their trade as gas stations, local markets and restaurants. Small donations pay their rent, or so they say. We also saw more medical marijuana facilities than we’ve ever seen. Really cool, man!

Perhaps it was the timing of our visit. While we were in Benbow, there was a three day Reggae festival happening down the highways about 14 miles south of us. Driving by, it looked like a Woodstock type of event. Sadly, we could not get tickets, they were sold out. To give you an idea of the numbers of fans, our RV park was getting $20 a day for parking and running buses to the event.

The redwoods begin in Willits, California or so the sign says that the town bought from Reno, Nevada, that crosses 101 and now reads Gateway to the Redwoods. The further north you drive, the denser the forests become. The trees are simply astonishing, in size and number. The redwoods, as we learned, can grow to a greater height than any other tree. The current record is something like 374 feet and the some of the giants are well over a thousand years old. Considering that one felled tree can market for over $100,000, it is no surprise that logging these forests is tightly managed. It takes at least 30 years for a tree to become ready for market. Examples of overharvested forest spots are easy to spot. The roots, no more than 2 feet deep spread out from the trunk rather than deep in the soil to support their trunk size and weight. All this gives anyone who has had a redwood deck or chair an appreciation of the cost. Properly maintained, your deck or chair will last for generations.

We took two train rides in the redwoods, the first from Willits to Northspur, an old logging camp; the second on private property that had an old narrow gauge line at Confusion Hill. We love train rides.

Day trips from our park included Eureka, CA, CA Hwy 1 along the coast from Mendocino to Leggett and local attractions in the Redwoods. Our park, by the way, was an attraction in itself. We had a nine hole golf course on site and the historic Benbow Inn across the highway. By far the best RV resort we've visited to date. Level sites, nice people and great amenities.

Eureka, CA was an unplanned day trip that turned out to be enlightening and fun. When we asked about the nearest Walmart location at the park office, we were told Eureka about 70 miles away was the closest. This was the longest drive to the market and full service car wash we’ve ever made. We started out and drove through the Avenue of the Giants road to view the redwood forest, then on to Eureka. It is a commercial center for fishing and logging located in Humboldt Bay of about 27,000 people. The Walmart is located as one of the anchor stores in the single shopping mall of the town. Old town has some interesting Victorian buildings and the bay port has some good seafood restaurants. That’s it.

The coast drive was fabulous. The northern California coast is rugged for the most part and nothing like we SoCal guys are used to. Finding a sandy beach is much harder than down south and getting to it often requires a hike down from the highway. The terrain though is breathtaking. Mendocino is a charming city, also Victorian in theme, with many small specialty shops. Carol was in shopping heaven and we're moving there in the very near future if Carol has her way.

Well, off to the central coast with a rest stop in San Juan Batista and then on to Paso Robles, CA. Take care and keep on truckin….. I think Carol might (read know) be sick of trees and curvy narrow roads.

Thom & Carol