After a bit of a restless night sleep, possibly due to the hearty dinner last night and partly due to the bins being collected at silly o'clock in the morning , it was a slow start to the day.
On Don's advice, we back tracked slightly to go and check out the light house (station) at Cabrillo point, http://www.pointcabrillo.org/. The most impressive part of this visit was seeing the effects of coastal errosion on the shore line, especially when wandering around the headlands we realized that the ground we were just standing on was actually hollow underneath and was nothing more than some unsupported earth.
Keen to make progress we again headed north up Route 1, destination set as a town called Eureka... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eureka_(U.S._TV_series) for those not aware of the scifi significance. Following on from yesterdays twisty route 20, we were glad of a bit of freeway, multi-lane driving along Route 101 to take us into town. This did take us away from the coast, but as all we could see was sea fog, it was no great loss.
Just before we joined Route 101, we saw some intriguing advertising hoardings for a drive through. Over here there are lots of drive thrus; Macdonalds, Starbucks, banks and now it seems, even trees! The small hamlet of Leggett offers this unique experience, http://www.drivethrutree.com/, and made for the quote of the day, "We just drove through a tree!"
In land by just a few miles was much hotter, with clear blue skies and blazing sunshine again. Now, where did we pack that sun cream?
We did drive right through Eureka and snapped a few comedy pics, including a tentacle. Next stop Orick and the Redwood National Park. The morning might have been foggy, lunch time might have been a bit of a gimmick, late afternoon, arriving at Lady Bird Johnston Grove in the presence of these giants Redwoods was majestic.
The self guided loop trail which took about a hour was calming and wondrous. Seeing trees that are centuries old, have survived fires, that are hollow yet still growing and massive in a way that words cannot explain was breathtaking and very calming. The perfect antidote to all that driving at freeway speeds. Although the distance of the hike would not normally take us an hour, it is almost impossible to walk with any urgency as round every corner is another breathtaking sight. Cries of "look at that one", "look at this" and "get back inside and I'll take a photo" were typical.
As the evening drew near, Tom Tom was set to the hotel in Gold Beach and we were on the road again. For about 5 mins until we spotted the Elk in Elk Meadow. It took us a while to get a good view point, but once we did the heard of about 15 wild Elk gathered near a river could not be missed.
Eventually on the road again, passing Crescent City we eagerly awaited the Oregon State line, it is hard to believe that after all this time, we were still in California!
Crossing the border felt like an achievement and as if to reward us, we caught a glimpse of the setting sun to our left. We were frustrated again by the sea fog, when the road took us high and in land, the sky was clear but we could not see the horizon, or the sun set. When the road was near the coast, we were shrouded in fog, cold and had no sight of the horizon. This game of cat an mouse continued for a good 15 mins, until, at last, we found an opportunity to pull of the road and we literally sprinted down the side off a cliff to try and get a good view point.
Sadly it was in vain, the area was too densely wooded, too steep and by the time we could see through the trees, we were below the fog line.
Once we were finally at the hotel, we were informed that they had a wonderful fog-less view of the sunset, had we been there 30 mins earlier, we could have watched it form the comfort of our own room. That is how these trips go though, every decision, no matter how seemingly small, can have a dramatic impact. Personally, I'm glad we drove through the tree, spent as long as we did with the majestic redwoods and spent time photographing the wild Elk, the sun will be there tomorrow.
It's the interesting places we find and people that we meet on our journey that makes this trip so special. We just wanted to give a special shout out to the Gold Beach Resort who were so friendly and welcoming on our arrival, and the staff of Spinners Seafood and Steakhouse for the most awesome food and service on the trip so far. The brick seared duck breast was particularly special, coming decorated with blackberries and strawberries. If you visit save room for dessert.
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