Tripometer – 8729 mi
Gas Gauge – 675.525 gal
Location – MacKerricher State Park, Fort Bragg, CA
Lodging – $55
Cans of OFF – 4
We started today with our last Oregon coffee for a while and drove south on Rt 101 towards LA. All along the coastal route we’ve been enjoying stopping at antique, junk, thrift, rummage shops. Marine related antiques and oddities tend to attract our attention more than most, so our route down the Pacific coast has provided ample opportunities to indulge. Today we stopped at one of the more eclectic shops we’ve passed. The marine stuff outside got us to stop, only to find the inside was filled with bizarre collection of leftover Burning Man art in various states of disrepair.
Today’s drive took us through Humboldt Redwoods State Park, uncontestably one of the most amazing scenic drives in America, the ‘Avenue of the Giants’. This 20mi road that weaved left and right of the main highway along its entire route was absolutely breathtaking. The old growth redwoods in along this route have been untouched by modern man and exist as they have for a thousand years. This state park is home to many of the top ten tallest trees in the world, all of which are well over 300 feet tall. Travelling slowly through the park we spotted a hollowed out giant Redwood right on the road and stopped to take a closer look. It turned out to be one of the coolest things we’ve seen on this trip. Check out the video above for a closer look.
Still travelling south on Rt 101 after Humboldt Redwoods we took a left at Leggett, CA on Rt 1 ‘Shoreline Highway’ to continue our travels along the coast road. What followed was a lesson in patience and route research. The road became a barely two lane back road through dense coastal redwood forest. The forest had been logged long ago so there were no huge trees, just smaller densely packed young redwoods and assorted other trees. The area reminded us both of Green Ridge State Forest, our favorite camping location near home. Not familiar due to the foliage but rather, the topography of the mountains, the size of the roadway, the tight turns and steep hills with deadly drop offs with no guard rails. Kelly’s driving video game just leveled up again. The driving was excruciatingly slow much to the dismay of everyone behind us (few though they were). There were towns listed on Google Maps, but more oft than not the ‘towns’ were either abandoned and falling down or simply a single business that had closed years before. The road seemed to go on for hours at the rate we had to drive and there was nothing but dense forests surrounding us the entire way. Thank God we filled up the tank before we started down this road. It was hours before we saw another gas station. So much for great coastal views.
We arrived late at MacKerricher State Park and overlooked the $55 campsite cost due to simple exhaustion. Dropping the trailer as fast as we could we scampered into town to find something warm to put in our bellies. The only restaurant in town, a small Thai place would only serve us take-out because they were closing at 8:30. “Things close early around these parts”, we were told. That’s fine, it was delicious.
Special Note: Our favorite activity to wear out Ranger before long drives has been to play fetch in the water, be it ocean, lake, river, or stream. The past few nights have been to beaches where swimming is strongly warned against. Both the sandy beach that you are used to walking on and the beach underneath the waves near shore are very steep causing tremendous undertow. Apparently it has been frequently deadly in the past. Needless to say we haven’t exercised Ranger enough over the past few days and he is getting rather melancholy about it. When we try to put him in the car he refuses to jump up on his own and often walks away from the car when we are fully hooked to the trailer and ready to leave. He’s done with this daily drive stuff.