Travel Memories: Beautiful California Coast And We Find A Danish Town

November 01

It is our 2.day at the Olema Ranch Campground. Since there is wireless Internet I do my "homework" and update the web-site. Meanwhile Bea makes the run to the laundry. After 2 weeks on the road there is quite a bundle to wash. The morning is beautiful with bright sun, so I make plans for the afternoon to explore the surroundings. We drive to Point Reyes, the little village only a couple of miles away from Olema. The place has only one little main street but there are plenty of little stores and they have nice street fronts.

 

THE POINT REYES NATIONAL SEASHORE

We decide to follow the Sir Francis Drake Blvd on it's last leg, where it runs out to the Point Reyes National Seashore ending at the Lighthouse Visitor center. Again we get on a roller coaster, but without the trailer it is not much of a problem. By now the weather has changed completely and sea fog has come in over land.

The landscape is hilly and formed by the dunes. The road follows most it's narrow valleys. The sides are grown with myrtle trees, some willows and dogwood. When getting into the outer area the tree are more sparsely, and dairy farms are lying besides the road. The cows are grazing the hilly land and there are many of them. These farms are from the 1800's and they are numbered alphabetically. The grasslands with it's rocky coasts out here remind us of Scotland or even the Norwegian coast. Whipping winds keep vegetation low and into protected places. On a day like today with wallowing fog you might forget that you are in sunny California at all. But from the parking lot 4 miles from the Lighthouse we catch a view of the long beach far down under. We also check out the Chimney Rock Road. Here, on the south side of the peninsula, the coast is so steep, that you hesitate to approach the edge.

We find a beautiful spot of fall-colors on a cacti species when we drive down to south beach

Back home at the campground we download all the pictures we've taken and do some e-mails.

November 02.

Today we leave Olema and are heading farther south. We avoid the City of San Francisco and choose to drive the Richmond Oakland Bridge which leads us over to the Oakland side and onto Hwy 580. From Oakland we take Hwy 880 through Alameda until we come to San Jose. There we return to Hwy 101, which will be our main road connection all the way down to the Los Angeles Area.

On our way south we cruise through one of the biggest vegetable gardens and vineyards on earth, the Salina Valley and Monterey County. The fields seem endless as they stretch across the wide bottom of the valley.

Workers are to be seen on the fields and huge machinery is parked besides or in active use.

What we noticed in San Francisco is getting more and more obvious: We've come into the spanish speaking part of America. Mexican-style radio stations offer Mariachi music all day. It fits the landscape though and I feel on real holiday for the first time since leaving home.

We stop for the night at Pismo Beach and have to wait in a long line in front of the reception office.

When we finally got registered and drive through the gate we realize that this is the most luxurious upscale campground we've ever seen. And upscale is also the mixture of camp guests. The biggest and most expensive rigs up to the 500,000 Dollar mark can be seen in this ocean-front resort. For the overnight price they offer a complimentary WIFI and a heated pool. There is a store, laundry and washroom nearby. A security guard watches the entrance. All roads paved and full hookups on every site.

But the best here at Pismo Beach is --- the beach. It seems endless and huge waves are rolling ashore. But that we first get a chance to experience tomorrow morning.

November 03

After breakfast we do a beach walk. 

And it sure is gorgeous on that long wide beach. We throw off our jackets and shirts and are soon walking in our T-shirts in the bright morning sun and it is only 8.00am! The dogs enjoy it as much as we do. But we have to go on and so we pack up and hit the road at about 10.30am. Again we ride through a beautiful valley area where vegetables and wine for world export are grown. 

At noon we reach the town of Solvang in the Santa Ynez Valley. Since Solvang is known as the Danish town we turn off Hwy 101 and go the three miles on Hwy 246 into town, where they have an RV-Parking lot at the far east end of town. 

Already on the drive through we recognize the Danish construction style of the houses. The side walks are flanked with red brick. The houses have a typical Danish style frame construction. The names of the store owners ar mostly Danish or at least Scandinavian and there are several Bageri (bakery) and Danish flags are hanging out everywhere. 

On our stroll through town I enter the tourist information office and have a chat with the lady behind the counter. She directs us to the Bethanian Church which is behind the Danish-style school. 

It truly looks like a copy of any church in Denmark and is beautifully maintained. On our round I also buy a few cakes and a nice sourdough-bread.

After saying farewell to Solvang we are now heading towards Santa Barbara on the coast.

Reaching the Pacific again we discover Refugio Beach State Park down below. Spotting the huge Palm trees and a few RV's, make me change plans and spontaneously I decide to look for an overnight campground. And we are lucky, as the park is almost empty. We back the rig into a nice spot and settle in.

               REFUGIO BEACH STATE PARK

Travel Memories: And On To California

MENDOCINO, known from the days of the hippies, is west of us on the coast. We intend to take Highway 20 but probably because we are looking for a supermarket, we miss the turn-off at Willits. So we go on, on Hwy101. The road is a roller coaster. We climb and we descend on and on again.

Again our surroundings change significantly. The road leads through a dryer area where the grass is brown and spotted with old dry oak trees. We now also spot the first palm trees. Wineries are stretching out in every direction with the grapes still hanging on. And as if Falcon Crest becomes reality we make out some beautiful "Wine castles" on the properties.

We start looking for a campground but we are getting close to Santa Rosa and the traffic is increasing. We try to follow the sign to the California Welcome Center but end up downtown Santa Rosa and are choked in traffic. Narrow town roads make the maneuvering difficult and we get into a residential area. Somehow I manage to get through it and find back to the freeway. Just another experience as a full rig driver. Then we find the turn-off to Highway16 which leads on west towards the coast. At Sebastopol we turn towards Bodega Bay, a little village by the water. This road is partially very steep and very, very narrow. But we slide through here as well.

Here, at Bodega Bay we learn that angels guarded our safety today as well. As we read about Bodega Bay in the local tourist brochure we understand that Highway 1, which we would have taken, had we ever found the turn-off from Willits, contains a very dangerous steep stretch of 11 miles south of the village of Jenner, which lies just north of Bodega Bay. 

Bodega Bay is connected to Highway 1 which runs all along the California Coast. It was the backdrop of Alfred Hitchcock's "BIRDS" in 1962.

The bay is named after Don Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Cuadra, who took refuge in the natural harbor in October 1775. Bodega y Cuadrao is the first known European to have landed at Bodega Bay. The harbor was known for many years as Porto Bodega.

By 1874 it had two hotels, three stores and a livery stable.

Today the place lives of tourism coming west from Highway 101, from the close-by San Francisco and from the north over Highway 1. In 1976 the well-known Artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude chose Bodega Bay for putting up their "Running Fence". Both had become famous from their various projects of wrapping buildings. Needless to say that they met a lot of local resistance here in Sonoma County. Their art can still be seen as documentation at the Bodega Landmark Gallery.

The only RV-Park we can spot is the Bodega Bay RV Park. Here we have Wireless Internet and a full-service camp site.

October 30

We decide to leave Bodega Bay and proceed to the Olema Campground which is a little farther down the coast and close to San Francisco. Luckily we have no idea what the road to Olema is like. It goes up and down and by all means with this incredible traffic from behind us and meeting us it turns out as the big adventure. After reaching Point Reyes National Seashore we miss the entrance to the campground by the length of the rig. Since we cannot turn we have to back up against the traffic. Bea is stopping cars and I back up. Almost hitting a fire hydrant but no we come clear. 

The Olema Campground is beautifully treed and with 400 sites it is one of the bigger campgrounds. Howev

er it's only sparsely populated. We book in for 2 nights but decide to stay a 3rd night. There is plenty room for dogwalks too. A U.S. Postoffice and a grocery store is also available. Unfortunately, it is here we get some terrible news. My Dad in Germany had a heart attack and was flown to a hospital. He was 80 yrs. at the time, yet the docs fixed him up with a couple of stents over the next day. So he survived the ordeal.

October 31

Today we go to San Francisco. U.S.Highway #1 runs from Olema down the coast and joins up with the Hwy 101 north of the Golden Gate Bridge. We travel without the trailer but Bea gets the creeps, because this is the narrowest and most dangerous road i have ever seen in my life. DON"T DRIVE IT WITH A TRAILER!!! The lanes are smaller then our truck is wide and the curves way up on the high cliffs have no rails. A moment of missing attention and you'll find yourself down below the cliffs. Trouble is, this is also the most scenic road I have ever seen. A rolling landscape shaped of dunes, with Eucalyptus trees in between. Little farms for vegetables can be seen down the road. So keeping you attention on the road and NOT on the nice blue way-down Pacific Ocean is not easy. The locals seem to use this road as a test drive to show their chauffeur-skills to out-of-state-drivers. The entire part of Hwy 1 is one endless slalom-drive and roller coaster. Most curves follow directly after each other and many have only straight parts in between not longer than our vehicle.

                            Stinson Beach

Down by the water we come to Stinson Beach, a beautiful little place with a very scenic main street and a true bird watchers paradise. 

The smell of Eucalyptus trees are accompanying us along the roads


We are caught by a steady stream of traffic racing towards the Golden Gate Bridge. Before entering the bridge we turn out to the right and go up to the Golden Gate Bridge Recreational Area. 

From a couple of vista points we can overlook the entire San Francisco Bay. Here, we have been standing once before, back in 1997. The remains of old WW2 military batteries can be seen on top of Hawk Hill and down at the first turn-out directly over the bridge.

After having our lunch we go for the City. 

There is a $5.00 toll to pay when passing over the bridge. We enter the downtown over famous Lombard Street, then turn down to the water and the piers.

A beautiful park with palm trees attracts our attention. 

Through it we walk over to the piers. 

Looking over to Alcatraz, the known island where a U.S. penitentiary housed the most ruthless ciminals in history. Today Alcatraz is one of the big Touristattractions and you can ride over for a visit with one of the regular tourist shuttles. 

We recognize Fishermens Wharf from our 1997-stay. Fishermens Wharf is the other tourist attraction everyone has to visit when coming to San Francisco. We simply love to hang out in this mixture of a fairground, seaport and fishery harbor.

We had the pleasure to see the Sea Lions occupying a big part of the boat docks at Pier 39. However the stench coming from them is not very inviting. Though a big crowd of people is watching them.

                         Sea Lions at Pier 39

You can eat your way through Fishermens Wharf then visit the San Francisco Aquarium or linger in the park by Pier 39 and watch the proud cruise ships coming by. 

Down here you'll meet a breed of people marked by an incredible relaxation and friendliness. While waiting outside for me to come out of a market, Bea got into a conversation with a lady who was commenting on our nicely behaved dogs. Everybody is so open-minded as you'll hardly find people other places.

Speaking of our dogs, I must mention that they were attracting a lot of attention. Walking with us as if they never had been living a rural life in the back country they turned out to be perfectly fitted for the big city. Little kids stretched out their arms for petting Molly and Boomer, adults tried to touch Boomer when meeting us at the curb. We were mesmerized to watch it all.

But walking the big city is exhausting too, and Boomer was getting tired when we returned to our truck. After all it was a hot day under a deep blue sky.

Moving On - To Oregon

Next morning the rain had subsided and we got back onto I-5 south.

Passing Portland OR we went across the Columbia River.

Our destination for the day is the little town of Florence at the mouth of the Siuslaw-river, right on the shores of the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. At Coburg the Hwy 126 turns west down and away from the big Interstate 5. It leads down to Florence as a winding mountain road which, at times, appears to be pretty bumpy. But with cautious driving we make it all the way down. The landscape of this valley is beautiful in its fall colors and we enjoy the drive.

Florence is a typical coast town where everything is based upon tourism. Fast-food restaurants, and motels are lined up along main street, only interrupted by some notorious souvenir stores.

The happy surprise is the camp ground. Bordering to the Great Oregon Sand Dunes Recreational Area it is beautifully landscaped with spacious sites offering all amenities you'd expect at a campground.

After enjoying a coffee beak we make a walk up into the dunes. And boy, we are surprised by the enormous size of these dunes. Way to the west, about a mile from where we are we see the sparkling Pacific Ocean. Up to there the entire landscape is just dunes, made of the finest sand. Apparently this is the playground for ATV's as there are tracks all over the place.

I suggest we drive to a place where we can access the beach. The campground manager gives us the directions and off we go. We find a beautiful spot right at the shore from where we walk across the flat beach towards thundering waves rolling ashore. The sun is on its descent and we wait for the sunset.

Molly and Boomer were happy to being able to run around until the sun was ready to dive behind the horizon. 

The sunset above the Pacific was just beautiful. Full of happiness and content with our day we retired for the night behind the dunes. My late evening stroll brings me back again into the dunes. Above a thousand stars, in the distance the rolling thunder of the waves - surrounding me all but quietness.

We could have stayed for another day, but were also eager to see more of this beautiful coastline. We didn't go back to the I-5, wanted to avoid the Grants Pass and the climb over the Siskiyou Mts. So we continued the very beautiful drive along Hwy 101. I will never forget the stunning views up and down the coast. 

At Eureka we turned west onto a barrier peninsula which ended at Samoa Beach, where we found another great parking spot near the water.

Visiting The Site Of A Big 1980 Volcanic Eruption

We were eager to move on and so we finally hitched up. One of the reasons why we had been staying at Lake Ki, was that we had waited for some parts for our satellite dish. No, not the one for TV but the one for Internet. We already had the tripod, the dish but were missing the receiver part. In 2005 it wasn't so easy to find internet connections along the road so we wanted to be independent. It was very expensive but it allowed us to stay in contact with the world. 

Before we ventured into Oregon we visited the site of the Mt.Saint Helens May 1980 explosion. My first visit to the area was in 1984, only 4 years after the volcanic eruption. At the time the area was strewn with burned and fallen trees. Logging companies had already built roads into the area to salvage timber. In 1984 my visit happened in July and it was very hot. This time it was late October and unfortunately it was a rather cold dark-cloud day, so the pictures aren't too great. We also had a heck of a storm going on, so we couldn't stay long. Our trailer was parked in an RV Park in Castle Rock along the I-5. As soon as we were back in the trailer, a ferocious rain storm started. Glad to be safe, we prepared our supper and relaxed for the evening.

                          This picture from the internet