You've brought back some wonderful memories of my husband's and my first camping vacation together. We also went to Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park and to the Stout Grove on that trip. Those trees ARE breathtaking!
Donna
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You've brought back some wonderful memories of my husband's and my first camping vacation together. We also went to Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park and to the Stout Grove on that trip. Those trees ARE breathtaking!
Donna
Heavy driving today, as there were no landmarks or attractions on the roster for this leg. We left Eureka and used the 101 to race down the state of California.
However we did stop in Napa, CA to visit one of mom's childhood friends (from 70 years ago!). He and his wife own a winery and we last visited them on Roadtrip #2 five years ago. We met them at the Olive Tree Inn for a few hours to catch up on life.
We did try and stop at the Bale Grist Mill State Park off Hwy 29 before reaching Napa, just to take pics of the mill, but unfortunately it was one of the many parks that had fallen victim to the state's budget cuts and has been closed indefinitely. Poops.
We left the restaurant just after 4:00pm, and looking at the map I knew we were in trouble. Being a Friday afternoon there was no doubt we'd hit some traffic. I-680 was our best bet for avoiding Silicon Valley, but we still got delayed a good 30-45 minutes hitting pockets of brake lights. Even detouring on Hwy 12 to start us off did no good. And I thought SoCal was bad...
We are in Hollister, CA tonight. Good thing we reserved 12 hours earlier, because this place was sold out due to local events starting up. We may finish up and be home by tomorrow evening, but if my proposed plan takes up a lot of time, we may bunk one more night. Playing it by ear to the very end...
Did you go through the Avenue of the Giants?Quote:
We left Eureka and used the 101 to race down the state of California.
Today turned out to be a little more fulfilling than anticipated, but it was a worthy experience.
From our hotel in Hollister, CA, we continued off southward using Hwy 25 for about 45 minutes until we hit our final hurrah, Pinnacles National Monument.
I honestly didn't know what to expect from this particular excursion. I knew it was popular with hikers, climbers, campers, and cavers, but I really didn't know if it was a worthwhile experience to bring my folks here. The shortest trail was a 1.8-mile loop and it was a moderate (read for seniors: strenuous) pace with a 500-foot elevation gain.
After waiting a few minutes for the Visitor's Center to open at 9:30am, I saw that the 1.8-mile loop was going to be the only thing worth doing. *sigh* OK then, we drove to the very end where the trailhead began, and decided we'll go as far as everyone could stand.
Well color me surprised, my folks were real troopers, despite their ages, with accompanied aches and pains, they ascended the steep trails, maneuvered their way over an abundance of rocks of all shapes and sizes, rounded the massive boulders, and traversed through the lower caves of Bear Gulch with only a single flashlight to help guide our way. There were a couple challenging areas, and by the end our feet/ankles/hips/knees/[insert weak body part here] were depleted, but overall it was an excellent hike. If you're ever in the central valley south of San Francisco, stop here. We happened to hit the caves when they were completely open (they have a schedule of being open/closed depending on if the Townsend big-eared bats are hanging out there, March and October is your best bet for going through all of it).
We left close to 1:00pm and continued south on Hwy 25 and found a shortcut road that led back to the 101, which we would use for the rest of the day. We were thinking of finding a place to stay near Solvang, CA, but being a Saturday, and at the last minute, our choice of hotels were either booked or too expensive. After several failed attempts, we decided just to blow through Solvang (buying some candy in the process) and continue on...to home. We fueled up once more and had our final dinner in Calabasas, CA.
A few hours later, we arrived in San Juan Capistrano, CA at 8:55pm. Sitting down in a sofa chair never felt so good.
Stats, conclusion and pics are to come. Not sure when, but I've got that Cushion Day we never used, so that'll be my time to re-organize. What a trip. :)
Yeah, you guys really did an amazing trip this year.Quote:
What a trip. :)
Mark
Enjoyed reading the daily journal and appreciate the time it took you to put it all online. Thanks.
All made me breathless at the speed of the trip – looking at the way I operate I must never get out of 1st gear. Horses for courses and it just shows there is no one way to undertake a trip.
Just do your way.
Eris,
Will you be doing another trip this year? I love your photographic sense in your field reports. Did I miss the report from the Pacific NW this year?
Mark
Mark,
This year my side trip while visiting the grand kids was two weeks around the Pacific NW (Washington and Oregon). As many travellers will testify the weather can be iffy on the pacific coast but I was blessed with good weather. The images I saw were memorable and makes travelling in such a glorious place a tonic for life.
The reason for my short reference was down to me being a novice with an ipad - as a granddad trying to keep up with the younger generation I took the plunge. Without the push would probably not have gone there but as time went on it turned out to be a very good piece of kit for a traveller.
As a senior traveller ( mid seventies) my priories have changed – still like covering reasonable distances and out of the way places but I now like to dwell in places, see its soul, and look forward to a good hotel at night with a good meal high on my list. I sometimes worry my sons with what I get up to. Good.
Eris
Well, taking a break from roadtripping for 2 years definitely gives you that "catch up" feeling. Excluding the 48-state journey in 2005, this was the longest roadtrip I've taken, and certainly the parent's as well. I had planned on around 3,400 miles total, but even with staying in one place for 4 out of the 16 days, we broke the 4,000 mark and spent nearly 100 hours in the van. We managed to squeeze in some extra destinations, but unfortunately had a few busts to offset the gains. The trip overall, however, was excellent. Definitely more full than in roadtrips past, but still satisfying.
Behind the desert southwest, this stretch of the country is one of my favorite places to visit. Between the mountain ranges and rocky ocean beaches, you can just feel the slowed pace of life around you, compared to the hustle bustle in the big cities and urban areas. If my career wasn't so focused on technology and web development, I'd definitely leave SoCal behind and hit up something more relaxed. But who knows what will happen in the distant future...
Favorite Places: There wasn't really any one thing that stood out in my mind. Most of it was quality stuff. I appreciated the long and towering stretches of the Eastern Sierra Nevada and of course the 101's Oregon Coastline. Driving the Columbia Gorge and visiting the Redwoods were also top-notch, but I had done both of these before. I'm sure I would have enjoyed Olympic National Park more had it not been for the rain (but luckily the only day out of the entire trip that interfered with our plans, not bad at all for the northwest).
Least desirables: The only thing that really stands out in my mind is the blasted road closures. I can understand 1-lane highways (and we had plenty of those) but to close the entire roads... GRRR! There weren't that many, and it's most likely caused by Mother Nature, but having no other option but to turn around and go back the way you came (even 15+ miles) really irks me like nothing else. It stunk because there were multiple roads to get into southern Mount Rainier NP, but only one was available, and too far out of the way to keep on our schedule. The same with the lighthouse trek. I wouldn't have even visited the first lighthouse had I known we couldn't drive through, and could have saved extra time. The delay caused us to miss climbing to the top of Yaquina Head Lighthouse. I'm still seeing red when I see the orange construction signs.
Also, as nice as Victoria was, it's just a little too touristy for me. It's also very expensive. ($50CAD for a 15-minute horse ride? Really???) There may be some hidden gems we missed, but for those just wanting a taste of the capitol city, Butchard Gardens and the Royal Museum should satisfy you.
What's Next? There are several things on the potential map. 1) I still need to do Alaska, we might take a cruise up to Anchorage, but I'd have to find one that docked long enough for us to take 2-3 days to go to Denali (if that's even possible). 2) Still have to go to Hawaii as well. My folks were there 30 years ago but I'd still like to see some active volcano action. 3) Another possibility is the Great Lakes area (Michigan, Wisconsin). 4) Something else of possible interest would be the deep south (Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, etc.)
Whatever we decide, I hope it's not strenuous. I about killed my folks on some of these last few hikes. I forget their ages and abilities sometimes, but I also want to try and do as much as physically possible while it's still feasible. These (semi-)annual family roadtrips won't last forever.
Statistics:
Total Miles: 4,013 (Not including ferry mileage)
Total Stops: 31
Total Elapsed Time: 15 days, 15 hours, 35 minutes
Total U.S. States: 4 (California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington)
Total National Parks: 5 (Lassen Volcanic, Crater Lake, North Cascades, Olympic, Redwoods)
Total National Monuments: 3 (Lava Beds, Mt. Saint Helens Volcanic, Pinnacles)
Total Capitol Buildings: 3 (including the parliament in Victoria, BC)
Type of rental vehicle: 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan (fully loaded!)
Gallons of fuel: 182.22 (22.45 MPG)
Total cost of trip: $1,650 (includes my share of lodging, rental, gas, and food, as well as entry fees and souvenirs)
Pictures:
My shutter got a workout, registering 1,200+ clicks. After weeding out the bad/blurry ones, I kept 838 that were satisfactory. Of those, I filtered down to the top 100 that I think gives you an overall summary of our roadtrip. You can find them either in my Roadtrip album, or Facebook in better quality if you're on there.
That's all, folks!
If I can ever catch up with life, I hope to show up on RTA a little more often. Last year was hard because of the job change and buying/moving into my first home. I also have to slowly build back up the roadtrip fund, which may be a little harder to do now, but hey that's what budgets are for. Thanks everyone for watching!
Your Alaska dilemma.
A year or so back I wished to visit Alaska and looked at different ways of doing the trip. Decided, after looking at the options, to fly to Anchorage and take an organised trip around Alaska and the Yukon for about two weeks. The trip could have easily have been done in a rental car.
Picked late June for the daylight and good weather conditions.
The trip included travelling to Anchorage, Tok, Whitehourse – Yukon, side trip to Skagway on the Yukon/White Pass railway, Dawson, Bonanza Creek ( all that gold), Top of the World Hwy, Chicken, Fairbanks, Alaskan train to Denali, got close up with Mount McKinley, Iditarod dog station, boat trip around Ice fields, and down to Seward to board ship.
If you take the option of renting a vehicle at Anchorage Airport there is a drop off point (or was) at Seward with certain firms.
Recommend the one-way cruise ship trip (used Holland & America – took a week) from Seward to Vancouver as it stops off almost daily at very interesting places that are hard/ impossible to reach by vehicle. And unlike cruises from Vancouver you are not doubling back on yourselves. Dining and watching whales dive past the ship window is an unforgettable experience.
Good luck with your future travels.