Well, as of 8:00AM this morning, I crossed into the state of California and now can say that I have been in each of the 48 contiguous United States on this trip. I will take a picture entering Nevada on Tuesday but since I started there 91 days ago, I've already counted it. I'll celebrate getting home on Tuesday by washing my Ford Explorer.
The drive from last night's lodging in Medford, Oregon was pretty quiet, this being a Sunday morning. I had a full breakfast around 6:00AM and was on the road by 7:00AM. I can't remember the exact mileage but it didn't take long to reach California. There was little to stop for in the remainder of Oregon, so it was not until my entry to California that I had reason or opportunity to stop.
I drove through the Smith River canyon area but it was not that scenic because the river is quite dry just now. I began to see giant redwood trees almost immediately when crossing the state line, but the Redwood National Park didn't begin until a few more miles down the road. When I entered the park, Tank was kind enough to take my picture, for the record.
At 9:00AM, I was the first one to open the visitors center, and in addition to buying my usual assortment of books, cards and slides, I had a good conversation with the two rangers on duty this morning. We talked about the redwoods but soon the conversation got onto my trip. It's fun to tell others what I have been doing and I think I will enjoy retelling my story again and again for years to come.
Once in the Redwood National Park, I took pictures at multiple stopping points. It is very difficult to really capture the beauty of these very large trees. They're awesome. Redwoods are the world's largest, tallest trees. I took a short hike down one of the groves and it was almost like being in some sort of a cathedral. You begin to understand how really small and (relatively) insignificant you are.
The redwood tree is like no other. I had Tank take one picture of me with a fallen redwood, to illustrate its width and the rings which could tell its age. Tank took another picture of me standing by a very large, living redwood, again to show just how wide they can be. I have seen larger redwoods but not this morning. Near Saratoga, California, where I lived 1972-1979, there is a very large redwood at the park called Big Basin.
The nature of the Redwood National Park is that you actually drive in and out of its land area. Because I was in northern California, I drove into Crescent City, just to see the town, but also to drive to the seashore and hopefully see some sights and/or take some pictures. The tide was out, so I took advantage of that and walked across the rocks out the Battery Point Lighthouse, built in 1856. The lighthouse didn't have as much character as the ones in New England, or the east coast for that matter, but I'm sure it performs its function just as well.
Along the coast highway, I stopped to view multiple redwood carver's handicraft, and in one case I had a long conversation with a carver, asking about some of his pieces and in general, the art of wood carving with a chain saw. I thought long and hard about buying one of his pieces, a 30 inch high eagle, but finally decided against it.
In addition to pictures of trees, I took pictures of the coastline. I stopped at the Crescent City overlook, both sides of the Klamath River delta and even four-wheeled it down to one of the bluffs with an overlook. At the Klamath River Bridge, Tank took my picture with a California Golden Bear.
Since I was in the Redwood National Park, there was not the usual assortment of restaurants, whether fast food or not. But not all property along the highway is the park, and at one point, I stopped at a private motel which had a German restuarant. There I had a two sausage plate, complete with sauerkraut, German potatoes, salad and my drink. That was one of the best meals I've had on this trip, and my waitress was one of the best too! If you're just north of Orick, California on US101, look for Rolf's on the west side of the highway.
Well, the starting and stopping, the hiking, the picture taking and all, certainly consumed my day. I'm pooped! I'm in my motel for the night and hopefully a good rest will put me in shape for my drive over to Redding, Shasta Lake and the Shasta Caverns tomorrow. I'll keep you posted.....
I should have spent more time looking around Eureka when I arrived yesterday. I now discover that they have quite a few Victorian houses in excellent condition. I found a book while at breakfast, and I drove by at least some of the houses. I left for my day's destination of Lake Shasta, California, but I made myself a promise to come back to Eureka one day and check out these beautiful houses.
Eureka is right on the Pacific coast and as is the case much of the time, such a town will get engulfed in morning fog off the ocean. That's what I found when I got up and got started. The fog was pretty dense and when I began to travel east on highway 299, I drove through the cloud(s) until I got about 1000 foot above sea level, and then I could look down on the top of the cloud cover. I took pictures just to remember the event.
Since I wanted to see the Redwood National Park yesterday, and Lake Shasta today, that clearly laid out the route I would take to get from Eureka to Redding, California. Highway 299 is over 100 miles of mountainous road, going up and down and curving right and left. Add to this challenge, there was road construction in multiple places, and no guard rails in many places. Talk about staying awake and alert, this was a morning for that. I stopped a couple of times just to get my mind off the road.
Highway 299 follows the Trinity River for the most part. I saw signs that said Trinity River Canyon but at times it felt more like a gorge because of the steep mountain sides on each side of the river and the deep river bed. I kept looking for a photo opportunity but really didn't see any. How do you take a picture of a huge mountain full of trees? And after you do, what will you see on the resultant photo? A lot of green trees, with little constrast. You have to have 'things' in the picture, such as river rapids, or huge rocks with some kind of 'character'.
I have seen so many gorges here lately, I came up with the phrase 'gorgeous gorges'. They really are something to see. Today, for instance, there were fisherman who pulled over and parked, even on the narrowest of shoulders, and they hiked it down to the water's edge so they could try their luck.
I was attracted to a number of road construction features of highway 299. All too often, the traveler takes things for granted, but in this case, the state has gone to a lot of trouble to make this road over the mountains happen. There were a number of long, high, arching bridges over very deep canyons, or tall rock retaining walls to hold up the road along a steep mountain side. Remarkable road building.
I saw lumber trucks again, all over the place. Eureka has a big lumber mill, Weaverville on CA299 has a big mill and there were several as I entered the Redding area. I have travelled all over the state of California, and it's interesting to note how dissimilar northern, central and southern California are. The north is noted for trees and the lumber industry. Central California produces tons of fruits and vegetables for our consumption, and Southern California.....is Southern California.
I stopped at Weaverville, California to break up the distance on CA299. Gas was ten cents cheaper than either Eureka or Redding. Someone please explain how a mountain town can have cheaper gas? But anyway, Weaverville looks like a nice town to spend time in.
I got to Redding and turned north to go a few miles to Lake Shasta. I thought I knew which freeway exit to get off at for the Caverns, but the exit sign did not have what I expected, so I went further north than I needed, doubled back and did begin to go a short distance east to the lake.
The road 'down' to Lake Shasta is nothing to brag about. Narrow, not well maintained, and full of curves. I drive slowly on that kind of road because I can't rely on the car coming at me. That paid off today because there are those that are driving the grand prix, no matter what condition the road is in.
I got to the Cavern tour ticket office at twenty past the hour, not realizing that the ferry boats leave every half hour. So, I paid my fare and immediately boarded the next boat to go out to the caverns. The boat ride was okay, but once on the other side of the lake, they then take you to the top of the mountain using an old school bus on a narrow, bumpy one lane road, with no guard rail and no shoulder to the road. I would NOT want that job of driving that bus all day!
At the mountain top, we waited a few minutes for the tour ahead of us, but soon we were inside the caverns, and our tour guide took us from 'room' to 'room'. Many years ago when the caverns were first discovered, it was assumed that there was only one significant room, and when they bore a tunnel to allow public access, they discovered five more very large rooms. Because of this, they now have concrete steps (800+) so the tourists can walk up and down into the various rooms to view. I have been to the caverns before but it was just as much fun this time as the first time.
I had lunch, did some shopping, and took a quick look around Redding before calling it a day. It's a nice day and the motel pool was empty, so I swam for a while. Now, I'm attending to my documentation for the pentultimate time (don't you just like that word?) (why can't people just say 'next to the last'?). Anyway, diary tonight and one more time tomorrow when I get home. I'll probably write some kind of trip summary as well, so as Yogi Berra said, "it ain't over till it's over".
Well, I did it! 94 days ago, I began my odyssey, leaving my home state of Nevada, with an objective to see all 48 contiguous United States in a single trip. All my planning paid off because the trip went 99.44 percent according to plan or expectation. I saw things I wanted to see, and saw some things I had not planned for, or even had any prior knowledge of. It was great.
Total mileage was 18877 miles, a bit over my initial estimate of 12,000. But at an average of 200 miles per day, it really wasn't bad. I love to drive and sightsee and that's exactly what kind of trip I planned. I have seen some places now that I hadn't seen before, but would like to see again. And the unplanned things were terrific.
I had no major problems on the trip (one flat tire, one set of lost keys, a scare with my thermostat, and that's about it). I managed to get oil changes, haircuts and laundry taken care of when each was due.
I wrote tons of postcards. I wrote at least one postcard to each of my five children/grandchildren, and some days more than one. For them, I estimate I sent a total of 500+ postcards from all over the U.S.. My grandsons tell me that they have created quite an album from these cards.
I kept detailed records of my expenditures, so if anyone is planning a trip of this kind, I'd be willing to share my records or answer questions about my budget planning, etc. I stayed at Motel 6, most of the time, for economic reasons and also for consistency and quality of the rooms. My average motel cost was around $35.00. At an average of 200 miles per day, I was able to stay under my gas budget of $25.00 per day, paying a high of $1.799 and a low of $1.129 for premium gas. My meals also were under my budget of $25.00, eating at buffets, family restaurants, cafeterias, etc.
I was up early this morning, most likely anxious to finish the trip and get home. Breakfast at 5:30AM, gas at 6:00AM and on the road. I got to Lassen Volcanic National Park (Mount Lassen) even before the gate was staffed. Not to worry though, they checked for my Golden Age Passport on exiting the park.
Mount Lassen is part of a volcanic action that occurred a zillion years ago, and it is the highest surviving point at 10457 feet above sea level. I drove along the park's summit, which only got up to 8500 feet. Again, the roads don't have much in the way of shoulders, and no guard rails to speak of. Thank goodness the park traffic was light this morning.
Lassen has no major attractions as some of the other national parks. The campgrounds however are heavily used. Like Yellowstone, but on a much smaller scale, Lassen has sulphur 'hot pots' where a boiling brew escapes the earth and puts its steam into the air. When I was at the park, the temperature was only 42 degrees, so any warmth was welcome.
I spend just a couple of hours at Mount Lassen and then headed east to Susanville, California and then south into Nevada and my home town of Sparks. I passed through mountain towns like Chester, which was bigger than I would have imagined. A lot of lumber companies and ranches running cattle up there. Lake Almanor is a focal point for recreation and people were out boating as I drove by. From there, I could see Mount Lassen, back to the west, 25 miles away! A fairly clear day.
On entering Nevada, I had Tank take my 'entry' picture, just for the record. I also went into the Bordertown casino for lunch and to win $20.00 of their money (paid for lunch).
I stopped at the post office to fill out the form and have my mail resumed. It had been going to my daughter-in-law in Sacramento, who has been paying my bills while I have been gone.
I ran across the street to talk with my neighbor who has been watching my house, picking up things left on my door step, etc. We chatted for a while, but I warned her that with 3600 slides and 24 hours of video, I had more stories to tell.
I have talked with my kids by phone to let them know I'm home, done my laundry and begun to put things away. I reconnected my washer/dryer in order to do my laundry. Replugged my garage refrigerator and put in a fresh stock of Budweiser. Reconnected the battery on my 300ZX and started it, after a three month sleep. Lit the pilot light on my hot water heater. Went grocery shopping, too.
And here I am keying my last daily diary. I probably will write some kind of overall trip summary, and there may be other things I want to tell interested parties. I'll keep you posted....
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