Apr 11, 2015 Yosemite and North, west to the coast

April 11  Yosemite and north

Slept in till 8:45 this morning!   It was 42 degrees and didn’t get much colder than that last night.  We decide to go do the Lower Yosemite Falls trail first thing, before it gets too crowded.  There are already many folks up and about but we find parking easily enough and the walk to the Falls is pretty quiet.  We had to stop on the way here to let a herd of mule deer cross the road and we find another group resting and grazing along the trail.  Lots of bright blue mountain jays weaving among the tall pines and other trees.

The falls are beautiful and after another quarter mile or so we can see both the upper and lower falls.  So sad to think that they will be dry before Summer arrives!

We have breakfast in the trek and get cleaned up a bit before heading out of the park on 120.  There are beautiful vistas but most pull-outs are already packed so we continue on… climbing again to over 6200’, where there is a good bit of snow on the ground.  There is a huge burn area near Rim of the World Vista, from a fire in 2013.   

As we get to lower elevations the trees and flowers become more frequent and in Groveland we see our first lilacs of the trip!  We decide to take 49N instead of the interstate.  It winds through hilly country which was home to the Gold Rush era.  There are about as many mine tours as there are vineyards with wine tastings!

We pass Angel’s Camp which is in Calaveras county, home to Mark Twain’s story of the Celebrated Jumping frog of Calaveras County.  The area is quick to claim Twain(and frogs), as well as Brett Hart, as “native sons”. 

The next Jumping Frog contest will be in early May. 

We then stop at Sutters  Creek and walk a bit, though the museum we were going to go to is closed.  Many of these small towns have remade themselves into tourist areas complete with requisite shops, restaurants, bed and breakfasts, etc.

 Just north of Sacramento we get back into agriculture and cattle.  Goats, cows, sheep – even a few llamas.  We notice one gal wearing a Sheep Growers Association shirt which commands “eat lamb; wear wool”.

Back on California 5 which runs the length of the state and is a good highway.   We stop for the night and supplies in Willows at a nice Walmart  across from a citrus orchard.  I call them all oranges but they have quite a variety of citrus and I can't tell them apart unless there is fruit on the tree.

 

April 12  Across Coastal Range to  Eureka!

We checked on Lassen Volcanic National Park to the northeast and find that most of the roads are  still closed for snow, so change our plans and decide to head for the coast. So we will go north to Red Bluff, then take 36 across the coastal range. (No snow there, we checked!)

Highway five continues through  rolling hills with farms and cattle.  We have seen quite a few signs regarding conserving water,  No Water, No Jobs,  Farmer’s Feed America, and the town of Red Bluff brags “We use recycled water”.  This is a major issue for California and we understand there is quite a fight brewing over water rights and overallocation of available water.

Highway 36  warns at the start it is not recommended for RV’s and trucks over 28’  because of sharp grades and curves. It is 150 miles to Coastal road 101.  It is an extremely windy road but a very beautiful mix of grasslands and woodlands.  We see lots of cattle, horses, goats, and sheep.   For a while, there are bee boxes every 5 miles or so.

We come over one hill and around a curve and hear a commotion of bawling cattle. There is  a group of cowboys (one cowgirl I later see) about to separate the calves from the cows in a large corral.  Greg pulls over and we get out to watch the show.  I notice one of the cowboys watching us, so I wave and he waves back so I assume we are ok to watch. We get out of the Trek but keep our distance.

The skill in handling their horses is evident as they cut off and move selected cattle.  The mommas are putting up quite a racket, especially once they have been separated and moved to another corral.

Greg talks with a “hand” who has just arrived a verifies what we thought – they are getting ready to brand and inoculate the little ones.(60 of them!)  Cool to see them in action and visions of Roy Rogers and other “California Cowboys” dance in my head for much of the ride afterwards.

We begin a steady climb from 2000’.  The term “gulch” seems to have replaced “canyon” as we pass Sunday Gulch, Harrison Gulch, etc.  The main difference seems to be that this area is less rocky. No towns, just occasional ranches.

Not sure how high we go, but at one point we are above some clouds. 

The temperature has dropped to 42 and there is a large snow-covered mountain to our north (part of the Trinity Alps, I believe).  We see a few more deer, a coyote and rabbits.  Just before the town of Mad River, we spot a tree that has a hundred or more pairs of shoes hanging in it!  Lots of barefoot folks in Mad River, I guess!

We begin to reach foothills again and civilization.  We stop at Grizzly Creek State Park for a short rest and picnic lunch along the VanDuzen River, where native americans used to set up fish camps to catch the salmon and steelheads.  The river fills about half of its bed, with beautiful aqua water like the glacial  streams in Alaska. The rest of the bed is large gravel, also reminiscent of Alaska.

We reach 101 and stop at a Wildlife Refuge on Humboldt Bay (more like marsh) to chat with the ranger.  This is a migratory birding area with many Aleutian Geese which we can hear from the station.  The most helpful ranger gives us some maps and literature and we continue to Eureka where we catch our first view of the mighty Pacific!

We see a large herd of Roosevelt Elk at Elk Crossing but they seem pretty tame and nonchalant about folks snapping photos.

We thought we would camp in Redwoods National Park, but discover that there are no campgrounds in the park, just lots of California State Parks tucked in here and there.  Nice enough, but more expensive.  We do one more Walmart at Crescent City this night.   We see some Tsunami Area signs and learn later that Crescent City as well as some other areas were devastated by tsunamis after the big Alaskan quake in the early 1960's.