Day 1: On the Road
With Colleen in the driver’s seat and the mini van packed to the hilt with all our stuff and food we headed out of the mountains, through Yuba City and West towards the Mendicino National Forest on our way to the Redwoods, the Ocean and Bigfoot. We saw some sun on our way and enjoyed the beautiful foothills we were winding through. For dinner we stopped at a restaurant in a casino for hamburgers and spaghetti. We the drove into the hills looking for a campground we had found on a map but the higher we climbed the thicker the snow was so we turned around and drove down out of the snow and camped at a pull out. I set the tent up on a spring and in the middle of the night the tent was full of water on one side so I slept in the van which was cramped and uncomfortable but better then a puddle which the other three slept in.
Susanna and Oona didn’t sleep in a puddle but thwir gear kind of sucked so thy were cold and uncomfortable. In the morning there was 2″ of wet snow on the tents and EVERYTHING was wet so we packed up and drove 30 miles to a laundromat in Willits, CA where we threw everything in a 4 dryers to dry everything. Oona does really well in the car but out of it she can be a handful. While our stuff dried I used the firebox and a newspaper to cook oatmeal for breakfast. Lots of tweakers and homeless people also at the laundromat drying their stuff. This they say is the coldest and wettest Cali has been in a long time.
Day 2: Redwoods
With everything dry and us fed we got back in the car and this time with me in the driver’s seat we headed North towards Eureka CA where the Ocean is and our friend Sophie from G’wood days lives. Our route took us on 101 the Redwood Highway and we wound through tight groves of these immense beautiful trees.
At a pull off we found Bigfoot!
and posed for a picture with one of the Redwoods!
Day 3: Sue-Meg State Park
After our cold and uncomfortable night in a puddle we opted for a motel with a pool and hot tub and found one in Eureka! Unfortunately the hot tub was cold but the girls enjoyed the pool. Meanwhile back in N. San Juan they had 2 feet of snow and the power was out with many roads blocked by falling trees.
After another firebox and newspaper oatmeal breakfast we piled back in the van and headed the short distance to Sue-Meg State Park where we camped on a bluff overlooking the ocean.
It was a big long beautiful beach and bundled in all our warmth because it was still cold but at least not raining we made our way down the trail to the strand.
We spent hours on the beach collecting stones, playing plover with the surf, chasing rainbows and exploring primitive beach shelters.
Jakobi sets the bar high
OCEAN BEACH RAINBOW!
Colleen attempts to fly!
beach plants
Ambiana’s soars
Jakobi and the beach plants
Airborne Mochi !
Jakobi sets off for Hawai’i
Colleen and he beach plants
Belly Bumps !
Day 4: On the Road
We found a shelter to cook dinner under and Sophie joined us for a bit before we retreated to our tents for another rainy night. Overnight the campground filled up and emptied again as we rose and made breakfast and broke camp.
After Colleen and Ambiana went for a run on the rim trail and Susanna and Oona took a short hike to Ceremonial Rock and I made another firebox and newspaper breakfast we packed up and headed out towards Harbin Hot Springs, our desire was to find warmer temps and a campsite again on the ocean a short drive from the hot springs.
Our first stop was in Fort Bragg where Colleen spotted an ice cream shop and we all had ice cream for lunch. Then Susanna bought a life vest for Oona so she could relax when we got to the hot springs and Oona could have some freedom of movement without being attached to her
The wet weather and the small size of the firebox made cooking for us all a chore, Susanna wanted a two burner propane stove anyway so we found a store to buy on at in Arcata. They did not have the propane canisters and we searched 5 stores without any luck. Supply chain issues were making them scarce. Susanna called around and found a sporting goods store in Fontaine that had some and we drove there and bought two
We then retraced our route on 101 back through the redwoods and at the turnoff to the coast we came across the drive-thru tree. It cost $10 but we decided it was worth it to drive through a tree. It’s kind of fucked up that someone cut a huge hole through the tree so people could drive through it but the tree is still alive so what the heck. We paid our 10 bucks and then drove through twice. Pretty messed up but also pretty fun.
Day 5: Mckenzie Beach
The road to the coast was a twisty-turny affair through beautiful forest and when it let out upon the coast the scenery was stunning. All misty grey with mountains lost n the low clouds and the immense ocean off to the west. The Mendicino coast was definitely the high point of beauty along our road trip. We arrived at the state park just before sunset and had a quick look at the ocean before setting up camp and making a burrito dinner on our new stove.
In the morning I was up first and down to the beach for a beautiful sunrise. There was snow on the coastal mountains and big surf. Susanna, Oona and Colleen soon joined me.
We played on the beach watching the waves and the birds and the surf.
After 45 minutes or so Jakobi and Ambiana appeared over the dunes. We found a rock full of seals to watch. It was a beautiful morning on the beach!
Ambiana gazes out to sea
After breakfast we took a walk on the boardwalk out to a lookout over the sea. I spoke to a couple of lifeguards who said the cold and the snow on the mountains was a something that never happened.
Day 6: Hot Springs
We spent a night at Harbin Hot Springs in Middleton Ca. They did not allow pictures so we did not take any. We soaked in the hot pools among many naked other people during our 24 hour visit. It did not rain, the sun was out but it was still cold with snow up on the top of the bluffs surrounding the retreat center. The camping was pretty basic with no cooking facilities or picnic tables. We spent the majority of our time in the hot pools. I had a nice soak in the evening and again in the early morning spending the afternoon reading in the sun while the others soaked.
Day 7: Sacramento
On Thursday afternoon we left the Hot Springs and drove 2 hours to Sacramento where we got the last 2 rooms at the motel Colleen had scoped out on line.
Susanna dropped us in Downtown Sacramento the next day and we walked around for a few hours and found a Mexican place for lunch.
We decided to take the bus to the airport as our flight did not depart til midnight New Years Eve. I was afraid we’d get stuck in Cali because of Omicron work shortages but only one leg of our trip was cancelled and our re-routing actually got us to Manchester NH 3 hours earlier than our original itinerary. We celebrated New Years 3 times in the airport for the East Coast, Central and Mountain time zones and were in the air as the calendar tuned to 2022 in California. The man in the aisle seat next to me died of a heart attack probably sometime in the night. When the pilot turned on the lights to prepare the cabin for landing in Chicago we noticed he was no longer in his seat but laying down in the aisle. He was a big big man probably 400 pounds and was wedged on his side and stuck. His brother was on the flight and screamed for help. There were 2 doctors on board and it took some effort to get the man on his back so they could attempt to resuscitate him. They worked on him the entire time as we landed and then the paramedics came on board and worked an additional 20 minutes on him before pronouncing him dead. Then they had to figure out how to move him as he was so big. This took another 30 minutes as they tied some straps around him and it took 3 men to drag him to the rear and out of the plane. I felt for his bro. It was intense. The girls were 3 rows behind us the whole time. We then had to catch a flight to Charlotte and another one to Manchester NH where we finally arrived at 2pm. It was a crazy day of travel. We still had a 2 hour drive home.
