The Long and Winding Road from California to Washington, Part 11: California, Here We Come
Note: We're republishing this post to include a picture of Trinidad Head Lighthouse from a 2009 trip and make a few adjustments to text:-) Thank you for following our blog!
November 11-13, 2021
On Veteran's Day, more than 5 weeks since leaving home, we left Oregon, continuing south toward home. Just over the stateline in California, we stopped at Battery Point Lighthouse Park, in Crescent City.
Doug opted to stay on the beach, while Marilyn walked up to the lighthouse on its island. With the tide coming in, part of the usual path was underwater, so Marilyn followed others across the alternate narrow path of stones.
Once across the water she scrambled over rocks to the main path, reminding herself not to linger at the lighthouse, for the stone path, too, would soon be under water.
From Crescent City, we continued south along the coast on the Redwood Highway.
Once again we realized how beautiful this area is.
At Thanksgiving, Doug's son and daughter-in-law would be taking a 3-day excursion from Bellingham, WA to Trinidad, CA, so Andrew could show Devon the redwoods. It's a mere 1,300 miles roundtrip. Yes, like his dad, he likes to drive. We cautioned them to allow extra time for construction on 101.
When you see golden bears flanking a bridge, you know you are crossing the Klamath River.
We'd decided to try a new place, Emerald Forest RV Park. It turned out to be further from Trinidad than we'd hoped. If the rain hadn't made the grounds so muddy, we might have wanted to return. But we did encounter wonderful mushrooms, which Marilyn wrote about in We Pause for Marilyn's Mushrooms.
In the morning, we drove into Trinidad, a favorite spot on the coast.
We were surprised to see a lighthouse in the harbor parking lot and empty ground on the cliffs in town where Memorial Lighthouse used to be. It's a replica of the real lighthouse, built to display its Fresnel lens.
Climate change and unstable ground combined to force the removal of Memorial Lighthouse to the harbor in 2017. The original plan, according to a Los Angeles Times Article, was to move it back 20 feet. Howver, Trinidad residents, descendants of the Yurok village Tsurai that once occupied the bluffs, say the land contains ancestral burial grounds.
So the lighthouse was instead moved to the harbor, but there it sits on Trinidad Rancheria land. The upshot is an ongoing dispute between the two tribes and the city.
Meanwhile, Trinidad Head Lighthouse is still functioning.
When originally finished in 1871, it aided ships involved in the Redwood Coast's lumber trade as they entered Trinidad Bay.
A bit south of Trinidad, 101 heads inland around the Lost Coast. It's a 50-mile stretch of coastline that is very steep and very rugged and deemed too much so to build Hwy 1 along it. It was dubbed the "Lost Coast" in the late 1930s, when most of its population left. Marilyn's research led her to an interesting read, Gem of the Lost Coast.
We were headed to Fort Bragg, and so faced a decision at Leggett: drive 80 miles south then west, or drive 44 miles west then south. A no-brainer, right? Well, Hwy 1 to the coast, the "short" route, is a barely 2-lane, steadily descending road with nonstop curves and switchbacks—hair-raising even in the best weather. We (meaning Doug) once drove it in the lumbering MRV in pouring rain on a very dark night. This time the weather was splendid! "Hwy 1!" said Marilyn. Hopefully the video below works, but if not, we've added a few pictures to give an idea of the road.
Arrived at the coast, Doug parked to enjoy the view. Then he announced that he would never, ever drive that route again.
But we did find that Westport Union Landing, a favorite campground, had reopened.
In Fort Bragg, we checked in at Harbor RV Park, where we enjoyed an unobstructed view.
We arrived just in time for a glorious sunset.
The road still beckoned, but it was time to head home. So in the morning it was south on Hwy 1 to Albion and inland on SR 128 Navarro River Redwoods State Park.
We arrived home just at sunset.
Another amazing trip. 5-1/2 weeks. 5 states. 5,346 miles. Visits with family and friends. And the van now had well over 22,000 miles.
Now to get ready for Thanksgiving with Marilyn's sons and their families. The plan was a walk through General Grant Grove in Kings Canyon National Park, so our grandchildren could experience the Giant Sequoias for the first time, then a picnic.
November 11-13, 2021
On Veteran's Day, more than 5 weeks since leaving home, we left Oregon, continuing south toward home. Just over the stateline in California, we stopped at Battery Point Lighthouse Park, in Crescent City.
Battery Point Lighthouse, Crescent City, CA
Doug opted to stay on the beach, while Marilyn walked up to the lighthouse on its island. With the tide coming in, part of the usual path was underwater, so Marilyn followed others across the alternate narrow path of stones.
When the tide comes in, the paved path to the lighthouse is underwater.
Once across the water she scrambled over rocks to the main path, reminding herself not to linger at the lighthouse, for the stone path, too, would soon be under water.
Marilyn walking up to Battery Point Lighthouse.
Fuel House. In front is the foundation from 1907 water tower.
Keeper's House. Today, volunteers live onsite 2 months at a time.
12,000-gallon water tank, no longer in use, next to lighthouse.
View north from lighthouse grounds. Crescent City is to right.
View south from lighthouse grounds.
From Crescent City, we continued south along the coast on the Redwood Highway.
Redwood Highway.
Construction on 101 is not unusual due to its being right on the edge of the ocean bluffs.
At Thanksgiving, Doug's son and daughter-in-law would be taking a 3-day excursion from Bellingham, WA to Trinidad, CA, so Andrew could show Devon the redwoods. It's a mere 1,300 miles roundtrip. Yes, like his dad, he likes to drive. We cautioned them to allow extra time for construction on 101.
Pacific Ocean to right.
When you see golden bears flanking a bridge, you know you are crossing the Klamath River.
Klamath River Bridge Golden Bears.
We'd decided to try a new place, Emerald Forest RV Park. It turned out to be further from Trinidad than we'd hoped. If the rain hadn't made the grounds so muddy, we might have wanted to return. But we did encounter wonderful mushrooms, which Marilyn wrote about in We Pause for Marilyn's Mushrooms.
In the morning, we drove into Trinidad, a favorite spot on the coast.
Trinidad Head and Bay.
We were surprised to see a lighthouse in the harbor parking lot and empty ground on the cliffs in town where Memorial Lighthouse used to be. It's a replica of the real lighthouse, built to display its Fresnel lens.
Picture of Memorial Lighthouse from a previous trip, before it was moved.
Climate change and unstable ground combined to force the removal of Memorial Lighthouse to the harbor in 2017. The original plan, according to a Los Angeles Times Article, was to move it back 20 feet. Howver, Trinidad residents, descendants of the Yurok village Tsurai that once occupied the bluffs, say the land contains ancestral burial grounds.
Memorial Lighthouse once stood just down the path.
So the lighthouse was instead moved to the harbor, but there it sits on Trinidad Rancheria land. The upshot is an ongoing dispute between the two tribes and the city.
Memorial Lighthouse in Trinidad Harbor.
Meanwhile, Trinidad Head Lighthouse is still functioning.
Trinidad Head Lighthouse.
When originally finished in 1871, it aided ships involved in the Redwood Coast's lumber trade as they entered Trinidad Bay.
Trinidad Head Lighthouse from path we took around Trinidad Head in 2009.
Marilyn was going to put California lighthouses on the map above, as she did for the Oregon map, but there are too many. Hence the maps below for those of you who may also be lighthouse fans. We have visited lighthouses marked with a purple asterisk.
We were headed to Fort Bragg, and so faced a decision at Leggett: drive 80 miles south then west, or drive 44 miles west then south. A no-brainer, right? Well, Hwy 1 to the coast, the "short" route, is a barely 2-lane, steadily descending road with nonstop curves and switchbacks—hair-raising even in the best weather. We (meaning Doug) once drove it in the lumbering MRV in pouring rain on a very dark night. This time the weather was splendid! "Hwy 1!" said Marilyn. Hopefully the video below works, but if not, we've added a few pictures to give an idea of the road.
Driving Highway 1 from Leggett to the Pacific.
Curve after curve.
And downhill around a curve.
And another hairpin downhill curve.
Last turn, the Pacific at our 12 o'clock.
And the reward: spectacular views of the Pacific.
Arrived at the coast, Doug parked to enjoy the view. Then he announced that he would never, ever drive that route again.
Highway 1 Looking toward the Lost Coast.
In Fort Bragg, we checked in at Harbor RV Park, where we enjoyed an unobstructed view.
Our grand site had views of the Pacific and the Noyo River.
We arrived just in time for a glorious sunset.
We joined others on Pomo Bluffs to watch sunset over the Pacific.
Doug especially enjoyed taking pictures of this photogenic seagull.
Clouds lifting to reveal a last burst of color.
Alas, no green flash.
Enjoying driving through more Redwoods.
We arrived home just at sunset.
We'd driven 5,346.1 miles through California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington.
22,654 miles on our Promaster van in 2 years, 1 during the pandemic, when we took no long trips.
Another amazing trip. 5-1/2 weeks. 5 states. 5,346 miles. Visits with family and friends. And the van now had well over 22,000 miles.
Now to get ready for Thanksgiving with Marilyn's sons and their families. The plan was a walk through General Grant Grove in Kings Canyon National Park, so our grandchildren could experience the Giant Sequoias for the first time, then a picnic.
 |
| General Grant Giant Sequoia, Kings Canyon National Park |
Great reminder to get outside.
ReplyDeleteSteve
Indeed!
Delete