UC Davis

KOA, W. Sacramento, CA:  Left for Jerry and Helen’s home in So. El Macero at noon.  Only about 12 miles away, so we got there a little early.  They have a lovely home on a beautiful golf course.  We had lunch at a cute little restaurant in quaint Davis near the UC Davis campus.  After a great lunch we drove around Davis a little and then took Helen back home because she wasn’t feeling too great.  Then Jerry, Mike and I went back to the UC Davis campus and Jerry took us around.  He teaches a graduate course in business management at the university.  A beautiful campus. The kids that go to school here are very lucky.  Across from the School of Management where Jerry teaches is the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts.  A beautiful facility and Jerry even got them to open up the building and give us a mini-tour.  The campus also has an Olympic size pool and fully equipped gym.  We met a bunch of Jerry’s colleagues and even went into the Dean’s suite of offices.  Back to Jerry and Helen’s and visited some more and then we headed back to our park.  A fun day.

Mike and Jerry outside the Graduate School of Management where Dr. Suran teaches.

The lounge of the Graduate School of Management--UC Davis

A classroom dedicated to Jerry's Wife, Helen.

Jerry and his late wife, Elsie, have also made generous donations to the university.

One of the conference room walls were entirely "white board".  So I posted a note on the wall.  Eat your heart out Facebook.

Sacramento

Premier RV Resort, Redding, CA, to KOA, W. Sacramento, CA:  Left Redding this morning at 9:30.  Took the 5 down through the Sacramento River Valley with mountains on both sides off in the distance.  This valley is a big agricultural area.  Apple orchards, olive orchards, vineyards, and lots of other more exotic looking crops we couldn’t identify.  A lot of the highways in California have beautiful, flowering bushes in the median—especially the 101.  The 5 was no exception.  Arrived at the KOA in W. Sacramento and were set up by 1:00.  Had some lunch and then called Jerry, my former boss in Syracuse, NY.  We’re getting together with them tomorrow.  Should be fun.  Mid-90s today.

One of the guest houses--Hearst Castle

Main dining room--Hearst Castle

Hearst Castle

Premier RV Resort, Redding, CA:  The guy that showed up this morning to wash the fifth wheel did an outstanding job.  He said there was a lot of salt on the roof.  I’m so glad we had it washed.  No wonder it was filthy—all that salt.  No marine layer any more, so it should stay clean for a while anyway.  After lunch we drove back on 299 to the remains of the historic town of Shasta, which was founded in 1849 when gold was discovered in nearby clear creek.  The gold petered out, but the town became prosperous by supplying other mines and miners.  This little town had the largest number of brick buildings north of San Francisco.  And the area is so rugged that the carriage/stage road terminated in Shasta.  On the way back to our park an indicator lit up in the truck that the battery wasn’t charging, so he dropped me off and drove over to the GMC dealer in Redding.  They installed a new alternator and he was on his way in a few hours.  I sat outside reading.  Finished my book on Alcatraz which was really interesting. Whitey Bulgar, the infamous gangster they just recaptured was incarcerated in Alcatraz for a while. 

Mount Shasta off in the haze.

Masonic Lodge built in 1849--still in use.  Oldest in California.

Bull Baker & Co.--largest supplier of mines/miners.

General Store & Bakery--in use until 1960.

Premier RV Resort, Redding, CA:  Intended to just kick back the couple of days we’re here.  We had to get the laundry done first.  We lucked out and the laundry here was completely empty when we went over there this morning.  Got that done by 10:30 and came back and relaxed outside reading.  Later in the afternoon we headed into Redding and I got my hair cut and Mike got the truck washed.  Tomorrow a guy is coming over early to wash the fifth wheel which is filthy.  I guess because of the constant fog drip. Since we’re away from the coast now, hopefully it’ll stay cleaner.  95 today.

Bark of a huge redwood.

Huge redwood.

Moss-covered tree in the redwood forest.

Sounds of the Sea RV Park, Trinidad, CA, to Premier RV Resort, Redding, CA:  Left at around 9:30 this morning in a heavy fog and listened to the barking of the seals one last time.  Took the 101 south 20 miles or so and then headed east on 299.  We weren’t sure what to expect on this road.  On the map it looks very twisty and windy.  Turns out it was a really nice road in good condition with shoulders and guard rails and passing lanes up the many uphill climbs.  A steep uphill and then a steep downhill many, many times.  Stopped in Weaverville and had lunch at a little restaurant there. And this route went through beautiful, heavily-forested mountains along the crystal clear Trinidad River which cascaded through deep, rocky gorges.  Just outside Redding we passed the pristine Trinidad Lake and went through the historic town of Shasta, which appears to be a ghost town with all the old, historic buildings in place.  We left at 9:30 and arrived in Redding and were set up by 3:00.  It’s 92 here!  Ahhhhhh!  Back into shorts!

The beautiful drive along Rt. 299

Pristine Trinidad Lake

Trinidad

Sounds of the Sea RV Park, Trinidad, CA:  We planned on just driving the few miles to Trinidad today to check it out, buy some groceries, and fuel up the truck.  A really foggy day.  We didn’t get going until after noon.  Trinidad is a cute little town right on the coast and boasts a population of 399 souls.  The coast along here is very rugged with lots of huge boulders just off shore.  We can see a huge one out our back window up here on the bluff.  After our grocery shopping and fueling we had a late lunch at a cute little café in town.  Then drove back on an old stage road.  This one-lane road meandered through the most beautiful, scenic jungle.  Back to our park and put everything away.  It never got out of the 50s today.  Tomorrow we leave for Redding on our way to Sacramento.  We are looking forward to some warm temps.  

The rugged coast around Trinidad.  We're up on the farthest bluff.

The little bay in Trinidad.

So many wildflowers.

  

Redwood National Park

Sounds of the Sea RV Park, Trinidad, CA:  We drove a few miles north this morning to the Redwood National Park.  Just the drive on 101 was beautiful.  Drove into the park and stopped and hiked one of the trails.  Then just drove through this beautiful place.  After that we headed up to the Klamath River bridge on the 101.  We’ve been seeing signs for days now about cars and people on the bridge.  Thought we’d check it out.  Turns out there’s a grey whale hanging out just beneath the bridge.  And all these idiots are pulling over and walking out on this two-lane bridge to see and take pictures of this whale.  So, we joined all the other idiots and pulled over and walked out on the bridge.  The local law enforcement people must just love this CF.  The whale was pretty amazing.  She's been here for weeks just swimming in circles.  Hope she's okay.  She had a calf with her, but the calf left a few weeks ago. Left there and headed back, stopping to take some pictures of yet another elk herd.  There are a lot of them up here. 

These trees can grow to over 300 ft. tall with a girth of 15-20 feet.  The coastal redwoods are the largest and the biggest ones are over 800 years old.

Grey whale in the Klamath River

She had a calf with her, but the calf left weeks ago.  They can't get her to leave.