Northern California
My first stop along Hwy-101 in California was a small town called Crescent City which sits on the edge of the Pacific Ocean, surrounded by towering cliffs and ancient forests.
The first few days I spent in Crescent City were rainy and cold but that didn't stop these two surfers from getting into the water and it wasn't going to stop me from going on a hike to enjoy the coast!
The rain came down in sheets and the waves crashed against the rocks as the sun set over the ocean. With a break in the rain, I was treated to a beautiful rainbow that stretched down the coast.
Crescent Harbor is also home to a variety of wildlife including harbor seals and sandhill cranes! I have never been near this many seals before and I was astounded by the sheer amount of noise these blubbery creatures were making. Despite all the noise, the crane shown below sat comfortably on its rock, surveying the bay.
The rain held off while the sun set behind the storm clouds that had formed over the ocean.
The ocean views were fantastic but I was eager to see some Redwoods. Luckily for me, just east of Crescent City is Jebediah Smith Redwoods State park!
The park is home to some of the largest and oldest redwoods in the world, with some trees reaching over 300 feet tall and dating back thousands of years. The park's elevation meant that all the rain from the past few days had come down as snow. This created a unique landscape of green and white that was truly awe inspiring.
When you stand at the base of a redwood tree, you can't help but feel a sense of wonder. The sheer size of these trees is staggering, and it's hard not to be humbled by their presence. Walking among them, I was surrounded by a quiet, peaceful beauty that's difficult to put into words.
After my morning walk through the Redwoods along the Smith River I headed 80 miles south towards Humbolt Redwoods State Park, the next stop on my journey down Hwy-101. I slept at one of the many pullouts found along Hwy-101 that night and woke up to SNOW IN CALIFORNIA?!? I would like to formally apologize to California for bringing the snow with me from Minnesota...
After making my morning coffee I was off to the Avenue of the Giants, one of the most scenic drives in the world!
I spent the day exploring Founders Grove and the numerous other groves of redwoods that are found along the Avenue of the Giants.
Founders Grove is home to some of the largest and most impressive redwoods in the world, including the Founders Tree, which measures over 346 feet in height and is estimated to be over 2,000 years old.
My Power Steering goes Kaput!
Now I want you to imagine this: you're in the midst of an incredible hiking experience, surrounded by towering redwood trees that are hundreds of years old. But on your way back to civilization, winding along Avenue of the Giants, the return hose on your power steering blows...
This happens to be the situation that I found myself in on Friday, February 24th. As I pulled off the highway to this wonderful viewpoint my steering wheel became rigid and having owned a Pontiac G6, I knew that my power steering was gone.
Now conveniently it was 5 pm which is right after all (and I mean ALL) the auto-shops on the northern California coast had closed for the weekend. The road twists and turns, following the contours of the land and the towering redwoods that line the route making it impossible to drive without your power steering intact :/
At this point, I knew that I was going to have to hunker down for the weekend while I waited for the auto shops to open on Monday. Luckily I was close to the town of Miranda which consisted of a gas station, a welding shop, a woodworking shop, and a single restaurant that was closed for the winter season. After explaining my situation to the gas station attendant, they were nice enough to let me park out front for the weekend.
The weekend was filled with rain and snow (again so sorry California) and I was secluded in the 4x8ft space of the van for the majority of my stay in Miranda. Sunday afternoon the skies cleared up and I was able to take a bike ride to a nearby grove of redwoods and get my butt out of the van!
Monday morning showed up just as my sanity was running out. I called a tow truck to take me 18 miles south to Redway and the closest auto shop where I could, fingers crossed, get my power steering fixed.
Enter Pete and Miclette's Automotive Repair, the greatest family-owned auto repair shop in all of Northern California! By 9 am Monday Pete had looked at the van and ordered a replacement hose for my power steering system. Now all I had to do was wait and hope that the truck delivering the part could make it over the snowy mountain passes that stood between us. Mother nature was not done dumping snow on the state and roads stayed closed through Tuesday afternoon which meant more hanging out in the van for me!! Pete was kind enough to let me park and sleep in his lot for a few nights while we waited.
I was very thankful that I had a safe place to park the van and the next few days I spent cleaning the van, reading, and taking walks down the 3 roads that made up the town of Redway. The truck with my part was able to make the trip to Redway on Wednesday and Pete had the van up on the lift and the hose installed an hour later! The van was back up and running and I was no longer stranded!!
My original plan to split off Hwy-101 to Hwy-1 had to be tossed because Hwy-1 had numerous road closures going south. After deciding to skip this section of the coastal highway I had only 1 goal and that was to shower. I was coming up on 6 days without bathing myself and was getting pretty darn stinky. Since Pete had done the repair so quickly (Thanks a million Pete) I had tons of time left in the day and after a woooonderful shower, feeling re-energized, I headed south towards Santa Rosa!
Next time on the blog...
This darn snow keeps messing up my plans!! Yosemite National Park, my next planned stop, was closed with up to 12ft of snow in certain places of the park:/ Join me on the next blog to explore the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and San Francisco!
