OK, Here's the map. Here's the excuse: it was raining, it was mountainous, it was beautiful, and we sort of have a "plan." We are staying tonight in Crescent City, California, positioning ourselves to start a drive through the Redwood National and State Parks tomorrow morning.Some excuse for driving fewer than 80 miles all day, isn't that?
The truth is that it was raining all day, and the fog settled over everything, but it was still beautiful scenery, and we had to keep stopping to try to take pictures with wet hands and cameras. A lot of scenery was lost in the fogs, and at some points all we could see off the side of the steep roadside was whiteness. At Gold Beach we stopped to see an ancient boat that must have wrecked years ago and is rotting on the shore. We bought groceries at Brookings Harbor for our picnic lunch at Lone Ranch Beach, eaten in the car while the rain poured down and we looked at enormous rocks in the ocean. Here are pictures I took today. Try to see through the fog, as we did.
We crossed the state line into California about 2:30 this afternoon. It was pouring rain.
To let you know what "seasoned travelers" we have become, let me run you through the STATE LINE ROUTINE, which is how we keep showing ourselves modeling those "welcome to...." signs. We have our tripod stretched out in the back of the van. At the signs, we jump out, attach the camera to the tripod, stand up the tripod, set the timer, and run to get into the picture. It's pretty easy to smile for the camera, because we're laughing at ourselves all the while. Except today. The camera had to be in a plastic sack until the timer was set, we were cold and wet, and drivers were whizzing past, thankful that we'd gotten out of their way, rubbernecking to see what those Ohioans were doing. But we got the picture.
Once in Crescent City, we visited the Redwood Parks Information Office, checked into the Quality Inn, and drove down to the dock to see if we could see the gray whale that reportedly had been hanging around there this morning. That whale knew we were on our way, and must have made its way out to sea. We did, however, admire the Battery Park Light House, nearby.
Dinner was a delicious meal of clam chowder for Randy and vegetarian chili for me at The Good Harvest Café, near our motel. It is a nice place, with good, healthy food and excellent service.
After dinner, while the freezing rain was pelting out of the sky and the wind was howling and blowing, we went back down to the city park, and we walked out onto the boardwalk, just to say we'd done it, and I was literally blown by the wind back to the car.
Notice the fogged glasses
We're hoping for better weather tomorrow, so we might be able to see the tops of the redwoods, and then you can, too!
Copyright, text and photos: KP Gillenwater, 2013
