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.

The Lost Coast

Sounds of the Sea RV Park, Trinidad, CA:  Drove back south on the 101 to the little Victorian town of Ferndale.  This little town is so cute with lovingly maintained or restored Victorians.  This cute little place that time forgot is on the way to the Lost Coast—so named because this is the only section of the California coast without a road along its coast.  Mainly because the King Range rises steeply right out of the sea.  I saw a PBS program on this Lost Coast which has been designated a natural area and will allow no roads or buildings in perpetuity.  I think there’s one road in there that goes to a lighthouse.  The only way to get in there is to hike or backpack in.  We got just a glimpse of the headlands.  On the way back we stopped in old town Eureka which was founded in 1850 and boasts the largest number of historic Victorian buildings in the world.  The coast in Eureka isn’t that great.  There’s a wide, crescent bay with two spits of land—one juts out from the south, and one juts out from the north—that almost makes the bay a lake, except for a small opening.  Just north of Eureka where we are the coast gets more scenic and rugged.  We had lunch in Ferndale at a little Mexican restaurant.  Browsed some of the shops.  Then stopped in Eureka and walked around their historic district.  Both of these towns have a flourishing live theater community.  There are a lot of old hippies up here also.  Their clocks stopped back in the 60s somewhere.  A beautiful, sunny day today.  Temps reached as high as 70.

Beautiful Victorian home in Ferndale--palm tree is a nice touch.

A ranch home outside Ferndale.

The Lost Coast headlands.

Another ranch home outside Ferndale.

A tree grows through it.

The little main street in Ferndale.

Old Town Eureka