Returned antenna booster to Staples as it really didn’t help us pull in signals from Elks Lodges when we are parked too far away to get free signal. Tried to ship back the fuel pump to Simonsen’s in Tucson, but the UPS desk in Staples couldn’t do it because we were using Simonsen’s account to pay for the return. Will have to find a UPS in Eureka. Dumped tanks at the Elks and finally on our way at 12:15 pm.
As you can see below, they put vineyards anywhere and everywhere. Don’t know how they all survive as there are so many wineries here in CA. Today we have sun and white fluffy clouds as we wind our way north on 101.
We see higher mountains. Travel through Windsor, Ukiah, and then climb from 600’ to 1945’. Truck did awesome. Yea! Mendocino Nat. Forest is on our right and the Pacific Ocean equal distance to our left…about 12’ away. Goats, blooming plants, hot pink wild lupins brings us into Willits – gateway to the Redwoods. Terrible traffic through this town slows us down. See a sign for a teen dance @ the grange. (We never hear of granges any more – at least in the midwest.) A sign for a business named “A Bar and No Grill.” LOL 101 highway again through here designated the Redwood Highway. We see a Rexall Drug store (brings back Davenport memories.) So many different trees and shades of green – beautiful. And then there is a small meadow near the side of the road with a white toilet sitting in the middle. This is the 2nd of this kind of “folk art?” Also pass a hippie station wagon painted pink and purple with white daisies with yellow centers. Now there are no vineyards but cows grazing in fields of tan grass. Two trucks hauling redwood trunks go by heading south probably towards the lumber mill we saw. We start climbing again and get to 1796’ at Rattlesnake Summit.
We pass Leggett, home of the “Drive Through Tree” which we have to pass up due to our large RV. Redwoods are growing by the road now and we can appreciate some of the smaller giants.
We get another peek at the Eel River which we are following. At Piercy, we pass the One Log House, which we saw previously somewhere in our travels. This is a hollowed out redwood with a home inside. Kind of interesting.
We travel through the middle of Richardson Grove State Park – more redwoods to admire. We pass Avenue of the Giants, a scenic alternate to 101 for a few miles. Darn…there are some disadvantages of our large rig. Then the Humboldt Redwoods State Park. Hope to come back to this area on our bike.
More wildflowers, cattle grazing, cozy-looking farms in this large valley. We are now down to 87’ elevation.
And as we approach Eureka, we see the huge Humboldt Bay protected from the Pacific by a barrier island. Jerry was very happy to be landed – 5 hrs, 235 miles – grueling twisty-turny roads for most of the afternoon!
We easily find the Elks Club south of town, and get set up. We are parked perpendicular to two sites as we are wayyyy to long to fit into their very short spots. OK, though as there are only 3 other RVs here and there are probably 14 others available. Registered at the bar and got a recommendation for pizza in town as Jerry has been hankering for one. Angelo’s turned out to be really weird…with “interesting” people already there. Pizza was ok, Sierra Nevada beer (becoming a favorite of ours) was great. Price was great as we bought one large pizza and got one free and they gave us a Sr. Discount, so our whole bill was $26 including two draft beer.
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