May 21, 2010

Left Olema this A.M. and headed north. Lots of stops along the way to take pictures and to admire the scenery. At one overlook we saw a group of Harbor Seals basking on a sandbar. There were lots of quaint towns with not much in the way of services for the traveler pulling a tent camper.

Toured Pt. Arena lighthouse. This lighthouse was destroyed by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. It was built of brick and mortar, as was required of all Lighthouses of the time. The Light Keeper was in the tower when the quake struck. The only thing that kept the tower from collapsing was the steel staircase inside.
Brick and mortar does not stand up to earthquakes. Reinforced concrete and even wooden structures fare better. The lighthouse was rebuilt using reinforced concrete and will withstand the next earthquake better. The original staircase was used in the new lighthouse. Pt. Arena is the westernmost point in the lower 48 states. There is a cafe on the main road that says “Welcome to the first diner since Hawaii”.

The last time I was there the lighthouse was white and in my picture archives I have it as white with a low hanging cloud wreathing the top. It is now gray, due to repairs made to the outside and they are soliciting money to have it painted.

We stopped at Anchor Cove for lunch and then headed north again. We covered about 150 miles today and we are in the Russian Gulch State Park two miles north of Mendocino.

May 22, 2010

Today has been a day of changeable weather. From sunshine to rain to sunshine to rain. And it has been chilly all day. Last night we ran out of gas for the furnace so at 2:00 am I went outside and swapped the tanks over. As we were hooking up this morning I smelled Propane. Either the tank is defective or I did not tighten the connection properly. As we went thru Ft. Bragg I had the empty filled so we are good for a while. Good thing since there is a frost advisory for this area and temperatures could be at freezing or below.

We are in Fortuna Ca tonite at a very nice campground. Scenery today has been spectacular. Made several stops along the ocean and got nice pictures of waves, seabirds, and seals. Have not gotten to any accessible tide pools yet but there will be opportunity.

Had a late lunch in Garberville, CA and when we went back to car, the battery had been drained by the Refrigerator in the camper. A good Samaritan gave us a jump and we got back on the road. Pete Fink told me I needed to disconnect each time we stopped but I did not think the 45 minutes we spent for lunch should have drained the battery so quickly. Live and learn and listen to Pete.

Took an alternate route to Rt. 101 and drove 32 miles thru the Grove of Giants. A 53,000 acre preserve with some of the largest Redwoods in the world. There was a couple who lived in Eureka that when they heard that the Pacific Lumber Co. planned to log this site convinced them not to. They got the company to pay continue to pay taxes on the property and with the help of Save the Redwoods Foundation purchased the tract of land. I certainly am glad they did. It is a beautiful drive. Almost magical. Tomorrow we continue north. More later.