CALIFORNIA: FROM THE REDWOODS TO THE SEQUOIAS

 August 9-10, 2020

After a few days in Redwood National and State Parks, our plan was to spend the night in Fortuna and then head south to Sequoia National Park. 

On our way to our hotel, we stopped for dinner in Eureka, the seat of Humboldt County. With a population of about 27,000, it is a tiny town by California standards, but a metropolis by Humboldt County standards.

I've always associated Eureka with the Gold Rush ("Eureka" = "I have found it!" = the California State motto), but the city really grew during the late 19th century when the lumber industry exploded. Hundreds of ornate Victorian homes were built during this period, and many have not only survived, but have been reborn through restoration.

The most famous of the houses is the Carson Mansion, a QueenAnne-style Victorian home built in 1886 for William Carson, one of California's first lumber barons. It is supposedly the most-photographed Victorian home in America. It has over 16,000 square feet on three floors. These days it is occupied by a private club.

This is "The Pink Lady," built in 1889 by the aforementioned William Carson for his son as a wedding gift. 

There are a lot of smaller houses around town that have also been meticulously restored. I would have loved to see more of them, but Bob and Sam had a lot less interest in the houses than I did.

We made it to Fortuna, had a good night's sleep, then got on the road for the 400-mile drive to our next hotel in Madera. 

On the way we took a farewell drive through the Humboldt Redwoods State Park

The road through the park is a Blue Star Memorial Highway, one of the many U.S. highways that are part of a program begun in 1945 after World War II to pay tribute to the U.S. Armed Forces. Currently, 34 states have Blue Star Highways, and 7 highway sections in California are so designated.

We stopped for about 20 minutes to walk a trail that meandered through the trees. This is the stuff fairytales are made of--or at least their settings.

Some of the knots, bumps, and other deformities on the shaggy tree bark look like forest trolls or gnomes that had been frozen or petrified in place, perhaps to be awakened every full moon.

Well, we couldn't wait for the next full moon. We still had miles to go, and so we got back on the road.

Before long we were getting hungry, so the next major stopping place was Ukiah, population 16,000. Yelp helped us find a vegetarian/Jamaican restaurant called Taste Budz--quite a unique restaurant for a small town. It wasn't the best vegan meal we'd ever had, but it sure beat McDonald's.

We crossed the Richmond Bridge north of San Francisco . . . 

. . . and then passed through Berkeley and Oakland, eventually arriving in Madera to check into our hotel.