Day 2
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Waking to another sunny day and currently 48 degrees. We had breakfast, packed up and hit the road by 8:00. We filled up with some $2.63 gas before we hit California and all the small high priced towns. On this tank we only got 8.9 MPG but we really did push it through some hilly country.
Today was another travel day with lots of driving but we did get to see some prettier country. We headed west from Grants Pass and it was mostly a two lane highway. We drove through lots of long needle pines until we hit the coastal mountains where it turned into big beautiful red wood trees.
You can start to see the coastal fog here at the entrance to the Redwood National and State Park. It was also where we got inspected for any fruit, plants or firewood that we might be bringing into California.
Once we crossed the coastal range we dropped down to the Pacific Ocean and a heavy marine layer of clouds and fog. The temperature was about forty degrees cooler than what we had just been through, from 91 down to 51.
At Crescent City we got on highway 101 and headed south along the ocean. The road would be nice divided highway for a while then down to two lanes. From Eureka on south it got pretty hairy with many hairpin turns and very narrow roads. Marilyn dug her fingernails into the upholstery and white knuckled it while I just cranked away on the steering wheel. It is not a trip for the weak at heart but it is beautiful and if you don't push it too hard it is relatively safe. You just need to stay in your lane because some of the crazies coming from the other direction will try to cut the corners a bit. Our V10 Ford and 26' fifth wheel trailer handled it just fine.
We stopped for lunch at Redwood Creek Beach County Park when we got back to the ocean after being taken inland for a ways. It's a beautiful area right on the ocean. They have an interpretive center but we were on a roll so didn't visit it.
Although the sky was cloudy the view was really nice.
There was also a bunch of wildlife in the area. The pelicans and other birds really liked the big rocks along the shore.
We arrived at our final destination just north of Fort Bragg. Ken's brother Ron met us on the highway and lead us to Jim and Michel's home.
They have a beautiful place in the woods with a hook up area for an RV, perfect!
After we got things set up we went to Ron and Lolli's for an evening of good food, fine wine, and conversation.
We both took showers at their apartment because there is no sewer dump at Jim and Michel's. We were pooped by 10:30 and headed to the trailer and a good nights sleep.
