Northern California

28^th April

After another laundry and publishing the last blog we followed the Sir Francis Drake Blvd northwest and around a nice harbour, formed by the San Andreas Fault Line, to Point Reyes lighthouse. The last 8 miles were along a very rough narrow road past historic farm houses which reminded us of Southern Ireland. The lighthouse is right on the point and down 300 steps. The views were spectacular. We talked to a ranger who had lived in Kaikoura and where she studied whales. The Grey Whales migrate around this point going north with their cubs at this time of the year. She had seen 7 this morning but unfortunately, despite hanging around for some time, we saw none! Back down the bumpy road to the N-1 again and north to Bogeda Bay and the Sonoma Coast State Park.

29^th April

The weather has really warmed up and we enjoyed the N-1 north passed some stunning coastline and some cute little towns. We stopped at Manchester State Park in an isolated camp. After lunch we followed a trail passed a lake to the beach. This was like a S.I. West Coast beach with white sand and bounding surf. The evening was warm and we had dinner outside watching the sunset.

30^th April

We took advantage of the isolation and both had haircuts before heading north again along this great coast line. More cute coastal towns, Little River, Mendocino and Fort Bragg. Just passed Fort Bragg we stopped at the MacKerricher State Park. This was another great camp and we set off on our bikes along the old forestry tramway back to the town of Fort Bragg. We stopped at various points to enjoy the view and then wandered around the town.

The ice-creams here were great! Before dinner we returned to the beach and walked out to Laguna Point and watched the sun set and seals and their pups on the rocks. I am not a great seal fan, but these were less smelly than their NZ cousins.

 

1^st May

We have been away for a month now. Time is really flying and we are worried that we have not travelled as far as we should have. Never mind it all seems to work out in the end. This was a long drive today firstly along the coast before heading inland on the N-1 and then eventually turning further inland on the 36. We are heading towards Redding and the Lassen Volcanic National Park. We are not sure if it will be open but regardless there is some nice country to see in this area. It will take us a couple of days to get there and we have stopped at Grizzly Creek Redwood State Park for the night.

The ranger said the river was too cold for swimming but when have we let that put us off. It was really warm and we enjoyed a great swim and a sunbathe back at our site. This has been another really warm day (25C)

2^nd May

Overnight we have had a rethink of our route thru Northern California. As well as Lassen Volcanic National Park we also want to go to the Redwood National Park on the coast and only 60 miles north. We retraced our drive on the 36 and passed the town of Eureka and north along the coast passed Humboldt Bay to the Redwood National Park.

After checking out the visitors centre we found a camp site. It was not quite what we imagined as we were in a meadow where elk roam. Before lunch we set off on our bikes thru the coastal redwoods on a spectacular ride. These coastal Redwood trees are the tallest living things in the world! Back to “Ernie” for lunch and off again on foot for what Val described as a 3.5 mile loop track. What she neglected to tell me was that we had to follow a series of tracks thru the forest for 2.5 miles to get to the loop. It ended up as glorious walk of about 8.5 miles and we deserved our drinks when we got back at about 6:30pm. All in all the decision to come to this National Park was a great one!

 

3^rd May

There are three main roads heading north. The N-1 follows closely up the coast line. The 101 parallels the N-1 but is a much more developed route. The I-5 is about 130 mile east of the 101 across the coastal mountains. We drove inland for our longest day yet up the 299 to the city of Redding on the Interstate 5. The road was great following the

Trinity River and winding thru the valleys between the 101 and the I-5. We have had a slight problem with our fresh water pump and I had eventually figured that it was a faulty pump. We drove to Redding where we bought a new pump. The new one was cheap around US$65. It took a bit of installing it however. One of those jobs that never goes the way you think. After a return visit to Camping World for another part we now have the pump working properly. We are camped just out of Redding in a pleasant RV Park.

4^th May

After yesterday’s long day we have decided to take it a bit easy. We drove into town and followed the great Redding cycleways either side of the Sacramento River, this included the lovely Sundial Bridge. We hope someone from Christchurch is taking note of the these great cycleways and bridges across the river. After a shop “Ernie” got a well deserved wash later in the day. It has just started to rain but the temperatures are still very warm. Our hope tomorrow is to venture as far as we can into the Lassen Volcanic National Park which in theory is mostly still closed due to the snow. As we have good internet at this camp we will post this blog tonight.