We did it again. We turned a 4:30 hour trip into 11 hours. But it wasn’t all our fault. And it ended just fine.
As mentioned yesterday, Garberville was selected for last night’s stay based purely on logistical considerations. Serendipity was at work because not more than a mile up the highway this morning we discovered the Avenue of Giants, a 32-mile drive though the Humboldt Redwoods State Park. Talk about redwood trees! The Avenue parallels Highway 101 (and is in fact the old Highway 101) so we were even on distance, but we didn’t escape until 11:00 AM after an 8 AM start. The only thing Muir Woods has over this place is proximity to San Francisco. And that’s a blessing because this huge park has far fewer visitors. We took two extended walk to “groves” of trees, including one created by the National Association of Women’s Clubs, and stopped at several other groves along the way.
The Park was rescued from loggers in 1918 by concerned citizens, including the Boone and Crocket club and the Garden Club of America. Today it’s a California state park. Say what you will about California, they have a genuinely fine park and recreation program.
GPS said we’d hit Grant’s Pass by 4 PM or so – a sensible, low-stress hour to arrive. Part of our trip on The 101 followed the coast so there was some risk of stops for a few hundred more surf-crashing-against-those-funny-rocks shots but fortunately the coastal fog and cool temps (upper 50s) put a kybosh on that.
Who would have thought it, but on the outskirts of Eureka we saw a sign for the Humboldt Bay Wildlife Sanctuary. The Nissan’s Self Drive feature learns driver preferences and automatically steered us off the road to the Sanctuary. A few dozen bird snaps and we were back on the road. GPS estimate: 5 PM. Still OK.
We stopped in Eureka and found a Subway, took the sandwiches to a county beach, hoping for a picnic table. No table and it was too cold anyway, so we ate in the car. We made our non-refundable hotel reservation while we ate. Efficient use of time.
I was feeling nappish so Judy took the wheel up The 101 headed to Crescent City, the jumping off point where we were to leave The 101 for US 199 toward Grant’s Pass. I was asleep for maybe 45 minutes when I sensed the car had come to a stop in the middle of the highway. Now what?
Turns out, there had been warning signs, and even Google had notices that this route, the only route north, was subject to a potential two-hour delay due to construction. Sure enough, we were car #15 in line for two hours. The price of those bird snaps. A nice lady came down the line to explain. Nothing to do but wait. We walked around a bit, Judy took her nap, and I processed some pictures.
The ride up and over the mountains was another spectacular event. First redwoods (through a National Park forest) then following a series of streams and rivers. We only stopped once for a brief photo shoot.
We finally found the Riverview Hotel and before checking in, walked next door to a very nice restaurant right on the river. Judy had Sockeye, I had Halibut. Tomorrow we’ll be able to enjoy what promises to be a most appealing view from our room’s deck.
Tomorrow, Crater Lake and then we’ll see where after that.
