Through the Trees
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Day 8: August 9, 2008 Through the Trees |
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I almost didn't include my visit with Curan Wright. Our conversation was
far from upbeat and left me feeling a bit uncomfortable. It was a foggy
morning on the coast and Curan had spent the night in the pull-off with a
bad toothache. He said the toothache was almost gone and that he was
feeling good but he seemed dispirited. I've since found some related
information, including some recent video, on the web
here and think I may have misinterpreted things. The
fog, the early hour, and the not-quite-gone toothache made things seem
more depressing than they really were. Curan has accomplished a lot. He
has essentially ridden across the United States and back and plans to do
more. In the end, maybe a little discomfort on my part isn't a bad thing.
ADDENDUM: Dec 13, 2024 - The video (at grindtv.com) I originally linked to from this post has gone missing and I have replaced it with an AP video on YouTube that was made around the same time. Concurrent with that change, I located a Flickr account for Curan that indicates he was still biking backwards as late as July, 2011. I have found nothing more recent. |
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Welcome to California. I had no rain at all in Washington and only a few drops in Oregon. The first
real rain hit shortly after I crossed the California line and then they removed
the pavement. The unpaved (it was being repaired.) section didn't last long
and neither did the rain but both surprised me.
I'd seen plenty of trees, including big trees, in Washington and Oregon but the Redwoods as a group are bigger. The car sized trunk in the picture is just a typical specimen. |
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At the Trees of
Mystery I strolled through the gift shop and the rather nice Native American
Museum but I didn't spring for the full experience. Perhaps I should have
but I'm sure I'm not the first to take the photo and run.
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Things seemed to clear up quite a it beyond the Trees of Mystery so that I could
see both farther down the road and deeper into the forest. These pictures
are from the Newton B Drury Scenic Parkway.
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I stopped in Eureka because this theater caught my eye but the mural directly
across from it is pretty cool, too. The stop in Fortuna served to refuel
both car and driver. At Eel River Brewing, I tried the Triple Exultation
and liked it.
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The Avenue of the
Giants certainly lives up to its
name. Seeing tree after massive tree really is awe inspiring.
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Some All-American roadside attractions. I happily contributed a buck to walk through
the One Log House
and begrudgingly handed over a fiver to drive through a tree. It seems not that long ago that
this was reported to cost $3. Of course, the "well, we've come this
far" rule applies so I got my picture. In between I made a free stop
a the World Famous Tree House. It's unclear if this attraction is even in
operation currently. It was closed when I stopped about 4:00 and another
traveler reported it closed when he came by on a recent Sunday afternoon.
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After driving through a tree, I left US-101 for the twists and turns of CA-1.
Signs warn drivers of the road's many curves and for the first fifteen miles
or so that's all there is to it. It's lined with (normal sized) trees so there
are no particularly scenic views. In fact, it reminded me of North Carolina's
Tail of the Dragon whose claim to fame is the number of curves it contains.
They can be fun to drive but they're not much to look at. Of course, all thoughts
of North Carolina evaporate when the road emerges from the trees to run along the
Pacific coast. More awe was inspired here.
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My home in Fort Bragg was the
Columbi Motel. This
motel was built in 1955 and is still operated by the Columbi family.
Across the street, the Columbi Market, which serves as the motel's
"front desk", was opened in 1933.
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