Mad River RV Resort, Arcata & McKinleyville, CA / Silver City RV Resort & Incline Village, NV – July 19-26, 2015

Our journey continues…

Sunday, July 19 we departed Joseph Stewart State Park near Crater Lake at 9:30 a.m., heading to Arcata, California, just 199 miles away. It was a short driving day, but that was good, as our drive took us through the windy, mountainous and narrow roads of Route 199 to Route 101 south to Arcata.

We arrived and got checked in by 2:00. We left temperatures in the mid-90s and were pleasantly surprised to find temps in the low 70s in Arcata. Dick’s sister Susie and her husband David live just north of Arcata in McKinleyville, so we were fortunate to have dinner with them that evening. They had moved from Ohio just over 3 years ago to be near their 2 sons who live in Arcata. We noshed on burgers and corn on the cob… Yum-Yum! We hadn’t seen Susie and Dave for several years, so it was good to catch up with them and their family.

Monday was a down day for us: a visit to Safeway in McKinleyville for groceries and McDonalds for computing, fixing the kitchen faucet which had collected calcium deposits from RV park hard water. We invited Susie and David for dinner, so I spent some time preparing the meal: popover chicken and asparagus. Susie brought a salad, fresh strawberries and shortcake. Delish! We don’t go hungry around here!

When we were in McKinleyville that morning we came upon this totem pole near the Safeway parking lot.  That just begged for a bit of research.

Here’s what we found.  The totem pole was carved in 1961 by 2 fellows, Ernest Pierson and Johnson Nelson, from a single 500-year old redwood tree. It’s 160’ tall, weighs in at 57,000 lbs. and sits on a base that weighs over 2 tons. It’s touted as being the world’s tallest totem pole, although there are 4 others that also claim the same. It is the tallest carved in one piece, while others were carved in separate pieces, dismantled, or not carved by a Native American. McKinleyville stands by its claim.

Tuesday was a day spent with Susie and Dave at Humboldt Redwoods State Park, Avenue of the Giants.

Humboldt Redwoods State Park is California’s largest redwood state park, and includes the largest remaining contiguous old-growth coast redwood forest in the world—the Rockefeller Forest. The trees here have an average lifespan of 500-700 years, redwoods can live to more than 2,000 years and grow to over 360’ in height. Their scientific name, sequoia sempervirens, means ever-living referring to their ability to sprout from root stock as well as from seed. Today, over 160,000 acres of redwood forest are protected by federal, state, county and local parks on the Redwood Coast of California. Here are some fun facts about these magnificent trees.

• The world’s tallest tree was discovered in this park in late 2006. It was named Hyperion and is 379.1 feet tall, which is nearly 6 stories taller than the Statue of Liberty.
• The tannic acid in redwoods makes them resistant to disease and insect infestation; their thick fibrous bark effectively resists fire (as you can see in some of the following photos).
• The base of a tree that has been hollowed out by fire is called a “goose pen.” These openings are so large that early settlers could corral their livestock in them, thus the name
•  The wart-like growths on redwoods are called “burls” and can produce shoots of new redwoods.
• “Fairy Rings” or nursery trees are a circle of younger redwoods that surround a fallen or cut redwood tree. These young trees all receive nutrients from the original tree’s root system.
• There are 3 members of the redwood family: Coast Redwoods (California coastal fog belt), Giant Sequoias (Sierra Nevada), and the Dawn Redwoods (central China)

1. Coast Redwoods are located on the Pacific Coast from central California to southern Oregon and can live up to 2,000 years. The trees can weigh up to 1.6 million pounds, growing up to 367’ tall, with a diameter of 22’. Bark thickness can measure up to 12”, making them impervious to fire.
2. Giant Sequoias are located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains from 5,000 to 8,000 feet elevation and can live up to 3,200 years. These trees can weigh up to 2.7 million pounds, and can grow to 311’, with a diameter of 41’.
3.  Dawn Redwoods, located in Hubei province of China, can grow to 200’ in height. The bark and foliage are similar to the Giant Sequoias, the trunk diameter is only about 6’ in diameter.

We spent the day hiking through the forest, continuously in awe of these stately trees. Our first stop was along the Eel River. The ongoing drought in California has lowered the river substantially, and even though the Eel River drains an area of 3,684 sq. miles, the river is sluggishly slow moving. (By contrast, the “Christmas Flood of 1964” brought such heavy rains that the river reached a peak of 936,000 cubic feet.  The deepest flood waters were nearly 70’ above the normal river level. Ten towns were obliterated and dozens more damaged. At least 20 bridges were destroyed. Many of the towns and bridges were never rebuilt. Several thousand people were left homeless and over 4,000 head of livestock died.

Redwoods near Eel River

Our day continued as we walked among the giants taking in their size, their beauty, and their awesomeness. 

Above: the Fairy Rings around redwoods.
Below: "Grown up" Fairy Rings around old growth redwoods

Redwoods in the Rockefeller Forest. Notice the burls on the trees.

David is standing inside one of the redwoods that suffered lightning damage. The tree is still
living. A strong wind blew through this forest causing many of the trees to fall. Their root system
isn't deep enough to hold them against the wind; the roots spread out quite a way.

More trees in the Rockefeller Forest. In the bottom photo, Susie and I are
peering through the lightning damaged tree, which is still thriving even though
the entire inside is burned out.

We don’t have the words to describe the beauty and majesty of these trees, but I did find a poem that helps describe their grandeur.

The Redwoods

Joseph B. Strauss

Here, sown by the Creator's hand.
In serried ranks, the Redwoods stand:
No other clime is honored so,
No other lands their glory know.

The greatest of Earth's living forms,
Tall conquerors that laugh at storms;
Their challenge still unanswered rings,
Through fifty centuries of kings.

The nations that with them were young,
Rich empires, with their forts far-flung,
Lie buried now-their splendor gone:
But these proud monarchs still live on.

So shall they live, when ends our days,
When our crude citadels decay;
For brief the years allotted man,
But infinite perennials' span.

This is their temple, vaulted high,
And here, we pause with reverent eye,
With silent tongue and awestruck soul;
For here we sense life's proper goal:

To be like these, straight, true and fine,
to make our world like theirs, a shrine;
Sink down, Oh, traveler, on your knees,
God stands before you in these trees.

We stopped for a picnic lunch at the visitor center before heading home. After a stop at Costco in Eureka, CA on the way back to Arcata/McKinleyville, we had dinner with Susie and Dave again: Caesar salad with grilled chicken. Good stuff!  Thanks, Guys!

That evening, after returning to our rig and as we were watching TV, we heard the sound of water spraying against the camper. That was a sound we had never heard before! Sure enough, upon investigation, we found that our water regulator had blown apart and water was forcefully spraying against our camper. Since it was dark Dick elected to put a new one on in the morning; we used on-board water that night.

Another day of sightseeing, this time to Trinidad State Beach, just a few miles north of Arcata and McKinleyville was how we spent Wednesday. But first we had breakfast at Tony’s, a local 24-hour restaurant located just around the corner from our rv park. What a feast! The food was plentiful and really good! We can understand why they’ve been in business for over 36 years.

Afterward we needed to find a notary public to sign the final documents for the sale of Mom’s house. A little place called “Post Haste” fit the bill for both notary and overnight UPS to Minnesota. Whew!

Then, we just had to stop in downtown Arcata to take in the local color. And…Susie and I had to visit her favorite yarn store called “Fabric Temptations.” Yup, I made a purchase for my stash. Dick wonders why…?

On to Trinidad State Beach. Photos show the off-shore rocks that create such a beautiful sea-scape. The vast sandy beach is perfect for walking and relaxing. The rocks looming out of the water are part of the California Coastal National Monument. Trinidad Beach is a pet friendly beach so we saw quite a few dogs giving their owners a workout!

Susie and Dave hosted dinner again, and this time their son Andy and his family joined us. Pizza was on the menu with Greek salad. YUM! We wasted no time in scarfing down dinner! It was good to see Andy again after quite a few years, and to meet Anne, Liam (3 years) and Logan (almost 1). Unfortunately, we didn't Greg, Susie and Dave's younger son, as he was ill. 

Clockwise from top left: Susie and Dave; Andy with Logan;
me with Liam; Anne, Andy and Logan.

Thursday was another travel day—this time heading to the Lake Tahoe area and Silver City RV Resort (where we stayed last year). It was a 2-day drive so we spent Thursday night in the Walmart parking lot in Yuba City, CA. We were a bit concerned about the mounting wildfires in the area but, thankfully, we had no issues.

Our visit to Walmart that evening netted us the movie “McFarland USA” from their Red Box vending machine. What an excellent movie! It is a definite “must see!”  Based on the true story of a 1987 cross country team from a predominantly Mexican-American high school, the school’s struggling coach (Kevin Costner) puts together a team of kids, who overcome quite a few hurdles to win a state championship. (Dick’s computer lasted ‘til about ½ hour from the end—dang—so we decided to watch the rest in the morning.)

We did not get much sleep that night! It sounded like people were drag racing down the adjacent road for a good part of the night. Ugh…

Friday morning, after breakfast at the nearby McDonalds (and watching the last ½ hour of the movie) we continued our drive east and south to our next stop: Minden, NV and the Silver City RV Resort. We got on the road about 8:00 a.m., and after a fuel stop and a bit of confusion on directions we decided to take highway 20 to 49, then south to I-80 to 395 south—just a bit over 180 miles. We didn’t get very good mileage as we had to reach the summit at Donner Pass : 7,225’. It was a drive of up and down mountains, and lots of semis. We arrived at the rv resort about 1:00 p.m. and were set up by 2:30. Felt good to be off the road again.

Saturday morning’s sunshine woke us up bright and early. After breakfast we rode our bikes around the park, and met up with Elizabeth and Ray (friends whom we met here last year). So good to see them again.  They’ll be here for another 5 weeks so we’ll be seeing a lot of them. We also met their park neighbor, Marsha. It was another down day for us, as we sat outside for a good portion of the day to read.

Dinner that night was at a local Mexican restaurant: El Charro Avitia, voted the best family-owned Mexican food in the area. The food and ambiance is authentic Mexican, and the wait staff was more than accommodating. Our dinners were a Fiesta Salad with chipotle chicken, and a Chalupa with beef and chicken. We plan to go back! Yum-yum!

California wildfires obscure our view of  the mountains

The California wildfires obscured the mountain views on Sunday morning (we sure could use some rain, Lord…), but by noon the smoke had cleared and the day was just another sunshiny and warm day. 

Dick’s sister Susie and her husband David are camping just south of South Lake Tahoe at the KOA campground in Meyer, CA. We picked them up at 2:30 to drive to Incline Village (North Lake Tahoe) for dinner with our daughter Hollee, her husband David, and our 20-month old granddaughter Anastasia. Dinner was takeout from T’s Mesquite Rotisserie and I supplied rhubarb crisp & ice cream for dessert (rhubarb from my mom’s rhubarb patch back in Minnesota). We had a wonderful time catching up on their lives since we last saw them a year ago. And…my, how Anastasia has grown! She’s grown from a baby to a little girl with her own personality! So fun to interact with! Here's a video of Anastasia having fun with her "jump-jump."

Clockwise from top: Anastasia;Anastasia with her daddy lovin' on Maxie and Grapejuice;
Anastasia with the "Counterpillar" I made for her; Susie reading to an attentive Anastasia;
Hollee and David

About 7:30 we decided to call it a day and head back to the KOA campground (about 45 minutes away) so we could head home (another 45 minutes away). It was a wonderful day, and we’re looking forward to spending more time with family.

Until next week, stay safe and healthy. Drop us a line; we’d love to hear from you!

Hugs,

RJ and Gail