There we visited China Camp State Park- a historic shrimp-fishing village
established in the 1880s by Chinese Americans, many of whom had moved from San
Francisco to escape racial prejudice and persecution. The population went from
about 500 to 10,000 in 1906 following the San Francisco earthquake.
Vicki in Front of Historic China Camp Poster Boards, 2022
On day 2 we drove to Jenner on the Pacific coast and the mouth of the Russian River- a long-time
tourist area. The river’s name comes from Russian settlements in the area around
1812.
We then headed up the Pacific Coast Highway to Fort Bragg. We found this
part of the PCH quiet and calm although slow going with less traffic and people.
There were old logging towns like Fort Bragg, redwood forests, and natural
beauty in every direction. The area has a laid-back, relaxed feeling, which may
be a real draw to people from high-stress areas like LA.
We stopped in Mendocino
for dinner. Lots of bed & breakfast places and New England-like architecture. We
walked a couple of miles on the Mendocino Headlands State Park. A lot of unreal
seaside bluffs, ocean views, and beaches.
Pete Above a Sea Arch, 2022
We spent the
night at Fort Bragg, a former Georgia-Pacific Company (my former company) lumber
mill town, home of the glass beach. The beach glass comes from household trash
glass disposed of in the ocean until the early 1960s and smoothed by the waves.
Kind of underwhelming to us though.
Fort Bragg Glass Beach, 2022
Next up on day 3
was a drive up a wild part of the PCH to Eureka. On the way, we stopped to see
the Chandelier Tree in Drive-Thru Tree Park. The tree is a 276-foot tall coast
redwood tree in Leggett, California.
Pete and Vicki at Chandelier Tree, Leggett, California, 2022
We
next went to Humboldt Redwoods State Park Visitor’s Center where we saw the
Charles Kellogg Travel-Log, a fully restored “Travel Log” on wheels, made from a
single redwood tree driven around the U.S. in 1917-21.
Pete at Travel-Log Truck, Redwoods State Park, 2022
Vicki in Front of Redwood Tree at Humboldt Redwoods State Park, 2022
Eureka wasn't the first real disappointment of the trip. Despite its Victorian architecture and history, we were stuck by the visible homelessness and a sense of economic decline. We stopped by Cal Poly Humboldt in
Arcata, CA which was described in some tourist literature as one of the most
liberal-minded Cal State schools. It seemed like a great college town. To get out of the house during the Covid Lockdowns, we drove out to and walked around a lot of college and university campuses so this was a very normal visit.
Entrance
to Cal Poly Humboldt, 2022
On day 4, we stopped in Trinidad CA, and visited the
Redwood National Park and saw a lot of elk.
Elk Near the Redwood National Park Visitor’s Center
We did a hike starting next to the Visitor’s Center and came across this big
redwood.
Pete in Front of Big Redwood at Redwood National Park, 2022
We then visited the Lady Bird Johnson
Grove (redwoods), dedicated to her by President Nixon in 1969.
Dedication
Plaque of Lady Bird Johnson Grove in Redwood National Park, 2022
We drove the Klamath Beach Rd Coastal Loop,
a beautiful drive including the big Klamath River, a World War II radar station
disguised as a farmhouse, and High Bluff Overlook.
WWII Disguised Radar Station, Klamath, California, 2022
We spent the night in Crescent City, our northernmost point, not much
to remember there. We continued the road trip with a night in Santa Cruz, CA,
then drove around UC Santa Cruz before returning to Cypress.
Looking back, the trip was more than a sightseeing vacation. It introduced us to a part of California that felt wild, historic, and largely untouched compared to the busy urban world we knew in Southern California. The towering redwoods, rugged coastline, and small towns reminded me how diverse California really is. It was six days of shared adventure with Vicki and another opportunity to create memories together.