If you are a faithful reader, you probably know by now that Marcia and I are not early morning people. Today we got up at 5:25 am, I had been awake somewhat since 4:45…but I did fall back asleep for a bit. The alarm went off at 5:25, I told Marcia it was time to get up, and off we went from there.
The first 200 miles were easy peasy…a stop at the 49er Flying J to get coffee, a stop at a rest area to feed the dogs at 7:15, a stop at a rest area to empty our holding tanks, a stop at Pilot Flying J to get gas…we were moving right along.
The next 200 miles were grueling…with speeds varying from as low as 30 mph to the 50 mph range. Lots of twists, turns, and road construction spots. Marcia felt it was the hardest day of travel we ever partook in….I think it rates within the top 10 trips, but not necessarily the worse. However, it was a hard travel day, and when we arrived at Florence Keller County Park in Crescent City California, I was ready for a rest. Not only did we have construction along highway 299, which otherwise was fine except for the 3-4 miles of 8% downhill grade, highway 101 is still being reconstructed from damage that occurred 2-3 years ago.
I have not seen Whiskeytown Lake since 1971 when my brother Roger, cousin Bill and neighbor Harold along with his standard poodle and I hiked the Trinity Alps way back then. The poor dog got its pad cut on the granite, and thank goodness the hike came to an abrupt end. Unfortunately our pet dog which was back home had to be put down…she was around 10 years old, a cross between a Chihuahua and a Terrier, her name was snoopy, also known as snooper. I did not have another dog until Skruffy…don’t know which dog I like more…probably equally, but Skruffy is still with me. My thoughts were with my memories of her much of the day….
Don’t know who thinks that this is a nice place to have a picnic…but someone might think that. Doubt it would be full on a holiday weekend, that’s for sure.
Our longest delay of the day was right near Skunk Picnic Grounds…at least it did not smell…except for that fresh asphalt they put down on the road…it is enough to make me puke! The delay was for at least 20 minutes, and the pilot car guided us all safely through the 3-4 miles of construction. Some a-butt-orifice passed me after we started going…guess they did not know what it means to “follow the pilot car”. The “honk” and the “finger” we got was totally un-called for. Wish one of the ten CHP that we saw today was near us…but they were not.
After reaching the 3,500 or so summit, we started to see the Trinity River along the roadway. Saw a few rafters, but did not stop to get pictures…I knew it was going to be a long day, why make it any longer.
FINALLY we made to highway 101, and quickly saw the ocean. About 20 miles out from the ocean we saw the temps drop from low 80’s to 68 degrees….WOW that feels good. The overcast came and went all the way to Crescent City…where we have had fairly clear skies above the tall trees.
We found Keller Park last year in July. It was 80% full on that visit, but a lovely park surrounded by Redwood Trees and White Pine Trees. This time…it is only 20% filled. The pull-through spot I wanted was empty, and we did not unhook the car. The only drawback with this park is so full of trees that one cannot get the solar to work for very long…otherwise we would stay much longer than one night.
Tomorrow is a hop-skip-and-a-jump compared to today. Last time we were at Loeb we found that getting there around 10 am gives you a good chance of getting a spot. Since this park is not even busy, we hope we have no problem getting into Loeb tomorrow, where we plan to stay for 12 nights. You get electric and water for $24 per night…which means we will need to dump our tanks once while there. This time we have our car to hold our camping spot, so it should not be a problem…there is free dump station at the rest area just north of Brookings, and we can get gas at the Fred Meyer that we go by on the way to dump tanks.
We both look forward to the kick-back atmosphere, the cool temps, and just being lazy for a few weeks.
Oh my goodness. Wasn't 101 open along the coast? I only took 299 once. It was enough. Glad you made it. Time for some R & R.
ReplyDeleteWe will be using 101 going down to son's wedding when we leave. Last year we took an even harder route from Red Bluff last year, highway 36...it actually goes down to a 1 1/2 lane road for about 8 miles...but we did not tow the car last year. 299 was a piece of cake compared to 36!
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