3000Mi Loop Down Into Ca

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(This is going to be a long on going post with about 100pics, it’ll come in segments as I get time to post it up).

Well technically the trip ended with the odometer showing 2989mi… Time for an oil change (and brake inspection)! About 237gal of fuel we consumed with a trip average of 12.6mpg (worst tank = 11.6, best tank =14.2).

Anyways, general overview was 2 weeks on the road to head down from WA to southern CA and back up. A couple years back we dipped into northern CA near the redwoods and rolled the coast back up through OR so this time be picked up there and headed south.

We left on a sat morning around 10am and hauled straight through WA and OR down I5 till we hit Grants Pass, OR where we shot towards the coast and the redwoods on 199.

Rolling through OR:

Hitting CA above the redwoods after many miles the road was starting to feel like this picture looks so we decided to call it good when we hit the campgrounds on the north side of the redwoods:

We had a hankering for some ice cream so we grabbed some right before the campground, ended up having eyes bigger than stomachs when selecting the container size to that was dinner! Opps, healthier eating occurred on the trip:

We camped at Jedediah Smith Campground, which we’d walked through before to get to a large redwood grove but have never camped there. This time of year much of the campground was closed and the bridge to the redwood grove was down. The facilities were quite dirty and run down and yet they were still charging the same rate of $35 as in the summer. Not too impressed if you ask me. We went for a quick stroll along the river will having some morning beverages before continuing on.

Then we started rolling down through the redwoods, seeing as we’ve toured them before and planned to hit the sequoias on the trip we did not dedicate much time to them this trip. Here is one of the first coastal views of the trip.

We continued on to Arcata where we hit up a local co-op for some food supplies. They had some great dried pastas, veggies, etc. in the bulk section that came in handy later on the trip. Also picked up some awesome hummus to get into for lunch overlooking the bay. Ideally I would have liked to get down into the lost coast for a night but we wanted to be near San Fran tonight so we could get into the city at a reasonable hour the next day. So the lost coast shall have to wait for me. We continued on 101 around this area till 1 broke off towards the coast again above fort bragg. This is a windy stretch of road, the wife gets some motion sickness and was not loving it… however traffic was low and I was able to take it slow so it was not all bad. We passed someone with I believe an eagle model FWC on his way out. Once hitting the coast we were rewarded for our patience:

 

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Then it was onto Fort Bragg, CA. There is a nice little meat shop in down town across from the Lost Coast Brewery. We scored some bacon, jerky, and cheese. Just above Fort Bragg were some cool trees in the communities we were heading through:

I knew heading down 1 was going to be slow going but it was a bit slower than we intended for this section of the trip (idea was 2 days down to san fran) and the windy road was taking some toll on the little lady. So after Fort Bragg we hit Hwy 20 (also curvy) back to 101 and rolled down to Santa Rosa because I wanted to hit Russian River brewing. We got there around 5:35pm but also wanted to catch the sunset at Bodega Bay on the coast 35min away at 7pm… it was going to be tight. Anyways for a Sunday night I was surprised to see how packed Russian River was. I inquired about a sampler and was informed they did a sampler of all 13 beers they currently had on tap, SOLD! Some really good beers, many are likely familiar with “Phliny the Elder”. But I must say the barrel aged (and soured) “Consecration” was awesome. I would have loved a pint or two of just that but time was burning and I had to call it good after the sampler. Onto Bodega Bay area. While fueling we were accosted by a lady smelling of sunscreen and obviously in an altered mind state who was running around the gas station and telling us to look at some gospels before being herded back into the truck she arrived in by the driver… Well with that out of the way we hit the coast a few minutes after the sun dropped below the horizon but still got some colors.

We camped at wrights beach CG right on the water. No showers here but you can use the ones south at Bodega Bay Dunes CG. Decent place but there were some obviously delinquent dog owners that utilize this CG as well which was irritating the say the least (esp. when walking around after dark!).

 

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Onward! We hit up showers at the other campground then rolled south on 101 for the bay area. Bridge was cloaked in fog, who would have though!

The wife had not seen Alcatraz before and was very interested in going, no tours were available the day we arrived so we booked on for the next morning:

Instead we wandered around the fisherman’s wharf some:

The hit our friends house in La Fayette for the night, not a bad view:

 

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Next morning we were off to Alcatraz and many pics:

 

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More Alcatraz:

And some seals hanging out on the piers:

 

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The next morning we bailed on the Bay Area and rolled for big sur. One of the scenic vantages along 1:

Pfieffer beach:

 

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Julia Pfieffer Burns SP:

Scenic vantage:

 

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Then thanks to a tip from Sunman we headed up into the national forest to scope a site overlooking Sandollar Beach. Its about 12mi in and took 30-40min to casually get there and not hammer on the truck. First 7mi is steep/curves but paved, last 5mi is dirt road along a ridge that is general grated but has bumps, curves, overhangs, etc. Through is area we went through some burn zones and had to share the road in some tights spaces with some large forest service fire rigs. Eventually we made it but were bummed when it appeared someone was in the site we wanted. We went to a different area but then as I looked down I saw the site we really wanted down the hill but didn’t know how to get to it. I hiked the hill through the burs and then walked the road back to figure it out. Turns out it went right past the other site but I didn’t notice since we didn’t encroach on their space. All it all we had it to ourselves and a great view. Bugs were a bit strong and no fires allowed currently so we admired the view from the rig while cooking.

Caught a good sunset but then the wind kicked up and hammered all night. The wife didn’t like the rocking of the truck while sleeping so we hopped down to the lower bed and dropped the top for the night. On the way out in the morning the guys we passed who were tent camping were long gone:

And sand dollar beach which was seen from the ridge:

 

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After strolling on sand dollar beach (which was not aptly named as only a couple partial sand dollars were found, not sure if you need to go after storms or what) for a while soaking in some rays we continued onward south on 1. In the distance on the beach it appeared there was a bunch of driftwood but as it got closer it became apparent that there were seals sunning rather than driftwood. These are a bunch of adolescent elephant seals, thus there were not any of the really huge males with the snout thing going on. Apparently they have only started showing up to this beach in the last 10years or so, previously sticking to the islands farther out. Elephant seals are constantly migrating up and down the coast twice a year (or so the dude at this beach told me) and will only come onto land that is connected to the open sea, thus no bays and such. They were entertaining to watch for a bit.

Farther down 1 we came upon the Hearst Castle. We didn’t know what to expect and if we would be willing to buck up for the tour as we came upon it but figured we would check things out and make a decision from there. The pictures and such in the lobby convinced us to check it out. The whole place is amazingly huge and extravagant. If you can afford the tour cost and time its worth checking out if the building interests you. We did tour 1, which covers some of the grounds, one of the guesthouses, and some of the main floor areas. (Tour 2 does some of the upper rooms, Tour 3 & 4 do the other guest houses, kitchen area, etc.). We would have jumped right on Tour 2 if we had got there earlier in the day but decided to depart instead. My recommendation is plan to do Tours 1 & 2 if you are interested (~2hr per tour and $24 per person, so half day and $100 for a couple to do the two).

Entrance stair area:

With a great view:

This was one of the guest houses….

 

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The “Outdoor Pool”:

The main castle:

The front lobby area complete with multi-century old tapestries, church pews on the walls, etc:

The dining hall:

 

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A sitting room (we didn’t grab pics of the billiards room, theater, etc):

The “Indoor pool”:

After the Hearst Castle we continued south on 1 down to Pismo beach. We could have either rolled the rig out onto the beach to camp or hit the campground right before the off road entrance. I was interested in the beach camping until I heard they let the ATV’s run all night long right so there would be that going on all night right outside the camper. With that in mind we decided to back track 1/2mi to the campground and take advantage of a shower as well. In the morning I was interested in looking into a two seat dune buggy to cruise around the sand with the little lady but all they had was quads to rent so we passed on it.

Sunset:

Remember that peppered bacon we picked up in Fort Bragg? Bacon, avocado, tomato, and cheese sammiches were in order:

 

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From Pismo Beach we hit up Santa Barbara to visit a friend. Reviewing the camper we seem to not have taken any pics, go figure. Overview though we rolled into town, hit up a coast side restaurant for some tasty fish tacos. Then out to a gathering for the evening. The next day we rented some kayaks and did a short paddle down the beach before beaching and enjoying lunch on the sand and sun. Spent a low key evening chilling at my buddies pad.

Then we went to visit my sister in Santa Clarita for a couple nights. Mainly hung out and visited more than touring around. Did go see Venice beach for an hour or so but that is about it.

They made us some ribs so I contributed some stuffed peppers to the meal:

After saying goodbye we rolled north to Sequoia national park. We entered the south side and made our way to Lodgepole where they were doing road construction. It was a 40min delay and was getting into the evening so we decided to crash there for the night. Reasonable camp area that wasn’t too crowed but the showers didn’t open up till 10am and we wanted to get an early start so we settled for a cup of tea and baby wipe face wash to wake ourselves and hit the road in the morning. Made our way to the grant grove to check out the grant tree before rolling out of the park towards Yosemite.

One of the large trees:

This burned out log was used as a cabin back in the day, pretty cool:

 

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A tree that was hollowed in the center by fire:

More tree perspective, this one had an oval slot you could step through and stand it:

General Sherman tree, the largest tree in the world by volume:

A large log you can walk through, I found it entertaining:

Another tree I was able to climb inside:

 

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In general for anyone wondering if your main goal for going to Sequoias national park is the big trees you can really see a ton in a good solid day. However the park also has a TON of back country so gauge accordingly on what you want to see. Just my opinion.

We rolled out of the park on 180, I was able to drive about 12mi without touching the gas pedal once, kinda entertaining to me. We headed up 41 into the south entrance of Yosemite, generally tranquil area but you don’t get the known jar dropping views till getting up towards the valley. As you enter you are greeted by this:

We hit the valley floor around 4ish and being a weekday in mid October I figured we’d be able to camp in the valley floor but that was a poor assumption on my part. Everything was booked out, guess you still need reservations even at this late in the year. Instead we scooted out to crane flat campground, which was the closest available, before it got dark on us. There was another FWC, grandby, who were out on their madden voyage. They were eating so I only briefly chatted with them so they could finish up their meal. As we were setting up about 5 deer just wandered along our campsite:

The next morning we rolled into the valley floor before the crowds hit. Most of the falls are dried up this time of year but Bridal Veil Falls had some flow going:

Sun rising on El Cap:

More valley views:

 

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I have a bunch of interest in the great lodges of the national parks. I’ve read of the Ahwahnee which looked awesome but is a bit cost prohibitive in terms of staying there so we’ll save that for a later date in time:

Half dome on the right:

Some of the baskets in the Indian village exhibit:

 

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Time was starting to wind down on our trip but I would have loved to spend multiple more days bumming around the valley plus getting some hiking and climbing in. Its definitely on my return to list. I found it pretty amazing that with everything that was tucked into the valley floor that everything seemed to disappear into the trees and surroundings pretty well so it didn’t take much to find a remote area with just a bit of walking. The winding river through the valley, etc. its hard to described the place, it’s a must see.

We headed out on Tioga Pass to exit the east side of the park. Looking back into the valley from the north side you can see half dome here:

The effects of glacial polishing:

The rig & views:

Onward to Tuolumne Meadows where the snow was already starting up in the woods along the road:

 

[SunMan]

Enjoying the report...glad you were able to find "the spot". Some amazing sunsets happen up there.

 

[The Saints]

beautiful pictures. I am going to have to learn how to take better pictures, and learn to stop more often for these pictures. Very nice report. All these awesome trips gets me in the mood for some of my own now.

 

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We poked out the east site of Yosemite and started rolling 395 north. We detoured over to see Bodie a state historic site which is a ghost town. Good little detour provide a neat place to wander around and take some pictures and such. Its an old gold town:

 

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After Bodie we rolled north for Lake Tahoe:

We rolled into Tahoe near dusk. Not having a shower in two days meant that was something we were looking for when checking out camping locations. We rolled into a state forest site on the south of the lake during the off season to observe a $28camping fee along with $1/3min showers. Considering we only planned to shower and sleep without exploring the grounds we decided to give the camper a break for the day and backtrack 3mi to a Motel 6 we passed where warms showers were enjoyed without time limits! Haha, it’s the little things sometimes.

It was decided to turn and burn for home at this point so we’d have a bit of down time before heading back to work. Went and observed the lake for a bit in the morning before rolling 50 east.

That ends the pictures for the trip. From 50 we shot up 99 north to Chico, CA where we stopped into Sierra Nevada Brewery for lunch and a limited amount of beer. I tried a couple that aren’t available on the home front, a harvest ale and taproom ale. Both tasty and relaxing while enjoying the sun on the outdoor patio. Nice place overall. From there we rolled north on 99 and linked up with I5 at Red Bluff, CA to roll hard north. Went to around Eugene, OR before having enough of the road for the day (really night now). Didn’t see any camping close to the highway (not going to an RV park) so we just rolled into a rest stop and parked way away from everyone. After making some dinner we dropped the top and slept on the lower bed to avoid drawing attention. Took a few moments to get drowsy with some car noise but after that we crashed hard till the light came up and we continued our venture home. We were able to pull back into our pad around noon on Saturday (2 weeks and 2hrs from when we left) which gave us a general weekend to unpack, wash up, and wind down before heading back for the office…

Now its back to reality until the next adventure.