Day 11: The Scenic Route

Day 11: Manchester State Park, Hwy 1, California coast

Distance for the day: 322.0 km

Cumulative distance: 2,184.8 km

Top speed: 115 kph

Moving average: 63 kph

Temperature: 16.0 - 28.2

This was an absolutely stunning day today. 

I have talked about this before but for the benefit of new readers, I'll just tell this story again. We use a Garmin GPS for navigation. The procedure is to enter a destination either by entering the address, just the city name or the name of the destination and usually the GPS can find the destination. Sometimes not and it is necessary to enter the GPS coordinates. Then there are two settings: either shortest distance or fasted route. Lastly, It is possible to identify "avoidances" like toll roads, ferries, gravel roads, U-turns, and also "highways". I like this last setting because it keeps us off the interstate highways, which are multi-laned high-speed highways for getting long distances fast. Speeds are often 130 kph or 150 kph and also frequently bumper to bumper. I understand that if you are trying to get somewhere and don't want to be delayed, that this may be the way to go. But not for us.  Now that we are getting deep into California, highways are getting to be much more of the "freeway" variety - four or even six lanes and major thoroughfares. So, it is not always pssible to know how the GPS will interpret "highway". Scenic Highway 101, which runs down the coast of Washington and Oregon offering spectacular views and encourages slow moving motorhomes and vehicles pulling city-block sized trailers, in California turns into a multi-laned racetrack and thus, not worthy of our travel, in the eyes of Garmin. The end result is that it tries to find all the little back roads that will steer us clear of the multi-laned highways, even if it is (intuitively) a far more practical route or right next door. Occasionally, it will guide us down a slip road which runs parallel or adjacent to a highway (or interstate). It would be much more helpful if it could just understand what I understand. 

I set the GPS to guide us to Manchester. In my mind, the logical solution would be to just take us from Arcata back to Highway 101, about 10 km away, which we had used the day before to get to Arcata, then follow the coast down south until it swings inland and then deliver us to HIGHWAY 1 which would take us to Manchester. For the record, HIGHWAY 1 is the tighest, twistiest, gnarliest stretch of switchbacks in the Western U.S. 

Anyway, I failed to anticipate the Garmin had had enough of Highway 101 and off we went on our way to Manchester. As we set out, not far from the motel, Nan comments to me that the road sign says this way to Eureka, which I had expected we would be passing through on the way south. But of course, not according to Garmin. We turned left, while Eureka was right. We ended up riding through a twisty little series of side roads that led us by farms and acreages - very pretty and quite fun in its own right, but at that rate would have taken us a week to get to Manchester. If you are monitoring our route, you will see a little loop at the top of today's trek. (click on the dots to see the time, speed, direction etcetera that we are traveling at that moment). That little loop is Garmin's sense of humour having its way with us. I think it was taking us down Maple Creek Road, which looks super fun from the map but would end up taking directly into the heart of hillbilly country. Or worse.

So I have to confess to Nan that this isn't going according to plan and I have to stop and turn off the "avoidances" on the GPS and insert a waypoint (intermediary destination) to get us on track. To her credit, Nan has been extremely patient with me in this regard because I frequently don't know what I am doing.

Once the parametres of travel are reset, we are back on track and have to go back to Arcata to get onto Highway 101. Hence, the loop. Fortunately, it didn't really take that long and once we were on the highway, travel was fast.

Bombing down Highway 101 is fast but it is four lanes of travel this morning and busy with truck traffic as it is the primary route to San Francisco from these parts. We see a sign pointing to a slip road where we are promised we will learn about the Avenue of Giants, which is pending just a short way south of our location. Avenue of the Giants is the former Highway 101 re-Christened State Highway 254 and runs through Humboldt Redwoods (not squids) State Park. It receives an immediate endorsement from the navigator so when we get to the intersection, we make the appropriate turn. 

Off of four lanes and onto two. Two narrow, twisty lanes that are overgrown with 300 foot high, twenty foot diametre trees, in some cases, where the pavement is right up to the base of the tree and occasionally has to go around. It is stunningly spectacular riding through the forest with these towering behemoths all around us. Sometimes, we see trees that have fallen or were cut down a hundred years ago and it is possible to see their girth from end-on. While we got to see most of the scenic road, sadly, there is road construction happening along the route and we have to return to Highway 101 before we are really ready.  This is one day that I really should have had the GoPro camera set up.

At Legget, we get off 101 and get on 1. I was on Highway 1 last September and it is as gnarly as they come and is a famed road for motorcyclists. In some places, turns are so sharp that I think Nan could reach out and touch the inside cliff walls as we navigate the curves and frequently, we are riding in the opposite direction of the traffic because the turns are literal switch-backs; we just happen to be looking up or looking down on the cars going in the opposite direction. It is quite unnerving, really.

Big Foot appears to be on The Team.

Ed. note: You will notice on the route tracker that there are large gaps between pings this day. This is because the tree cover is so dense that the traking device cannot get a signal through to the satellites.

Back on the coast again, it is pretty much clear sailing down to Manchester State Park and we enjoy incredible vistas of waves crashing expansive beaches. Until we get there. There really isn't much to the campground. It is off the highway a few kilometres and is very Spartan. There are fire pits, pit toilets, and taps every few campspots so easy walking distance. There are a lot of camp sites but only two are occupied: one by the "camp host" a person, usually a senior, who commits to living in their trailer in state parks all summer for free in exchance for looking after a certain number of chores pertaining to keeping the campsite tidy. There is one other camper, I think a guy on his own because within minutes of our having picked a campsite he is over on his bicycle checking out our set up. He tells us that "this used to be his favourite" . We weren't entirely sure if he meant "Site 24" (our spot) or if he meant "Manchester". However, we had arrived into the campground fairly late and we were focused on getting the tent set up in the howling winds.

Before we actually committed, there is a KOA campground adjacent to this campground so we actually go over and take a look. We have never stayed in a KOA but they do have a reputation. They have a little convenience store which proves to be handy and we enquire about the rate. U.S. $67 plus tax per night. And the place is packed. There are a lot of kids running around, too. The attendent tells us there is running water and showers and a pool. I mention that I showered this morning.  We opt for the bare-bones $33 state park campground. Two extremes, at opposite ends of the spectrum. They do nail us for some groceries though: canned stew, canned bean dip, corn chips, and two beers. Twenty bucks. Bon appetite!

We set up our tent with the make-shift pole hack and arrange our payment into the little box while we listen to the first two periods of the hockey game. Once we are all set and have eaten dinner, we crawl into the tent to escape the wind and manage to watch the third period and see the Oilers turn the tables on the Stars in the same fashion that they have been experiencing to this point.

I am only going to post a few pictures tonight because it is late (10:30 pm) and it usually takes about a half hour to upload the photos. We have a short day tomorrow so I'll send them up in the morning.

Day 10: Crossed the state line. To the place you oughta be.

Day 10:  Arcata, California

Distance for the day: 312.0 km

Cumulative distance: 1,862.8 km

Top speed: 117 kph

Moving average:  73 kph

Temperature: 14.4 - 23.0

I know you must be thinking that riding footloose and fancy free going wherever we want, doing whatever we want... drinking lattes, stopping at fabulous restaurants, the very best campgrounds, visiting places most people can only dream about must seem pretty exotic. You would not be wrong. But Arcata is none of that. 

We are just a few kilometres from the beach, a kilometre off the famed Highway 101, a mere 30 kilometres from Agate Campground, where I had a fabulous stay last September and tonight staying in a reasonable Best Western motel. We had initially set out this morning with a view to camping again but I was tired riding today and it seemed a good rest would go further than anything else. The motel is in a little "motel community" on a nice street not directly adjacent to the highway nor too close to a strip mall but close enough that it is walking distance if we want it to be and where we had a good Turkish meal tonight. What surprised us was the large homeless population around the hotels. When we were checking into the motel, a couple came in just ahead of us on a tandem touring bicycle and they wanted to know where they could safely stow their bike. The fellow at the front desk said they should keep it in their room due to the "transients who would love to get their hands on it". I had read online that Eureka, just to the south, had a problematic homeless population and an exposed bike can be a target, so I didn't really want to stop there. Not sure that there is much security here but it is at least sheltered. Nan asked if we could keep our bike inside the room, too.

We were seen off from the campground this morning by a friendly Canadian with whom we had vistied while we all stayed at Bullards State Park and by two turkeys (not related).

Our hearts wept as we rode by the Bandon Coffee House, wanting to stop in and get a latte but our usual M.O. is to be on the road for at least an hour or more before stopping for food or coffee. In retrospect, judging by the way I felt this afternoon, a coffee would probably have helped me. Even when we did stop an hour or so later I eschewed coffee because I didn't think I wanted yet another thing to make me want to stop and ended up regretting that decision. The greater of two evils.

We were treated to endless displays of dramatic coastline and a couple of times we 

stopped the bike just so we could get a good look, especially for me since I need to keep both eyes on the road when riding and gazing off to see the view can cause problems. 

The only gas bar in the town of Orick.

We stopped in Orick to get gas - there wern't many choices - and we saw this notice on the bulletin board at the gas station/grocery store/ handicrafts store. By the "industrious" Will Will. It was not clear how long his Post-It note had been on the board by I had a sneaking suspicion it could be there a while. It was not clear to us whether the last line was indeed an anxious prospective employer hoping to beat the onslaught of other employers expecting to claim the engaging Will Will. Or if it was some qualification of the type of work Will Will might be willing to accept. 

Day 9: Last day at Bullards State Park

Day 9:  Bullards Beach State Park, near Bandon, Oregon

Distance for the day: 65.1 km

Cumulative distance: 1,550.8 km

Top speed: 104 kph

Moving average:  63  kph

Temperature: 11.8 - 23.0

Heartbreaking loss for the Oil tonight, after being up 2-0 at the end of one. 

Once again, the local kids had us awake by 6:30. It is hard to be upset with them though because they are all so sweet and it really has been quite pleasant having them around, riding their bikes through the tent site and visiting with us. One little guy gave Nan and me each a hug when he was saying goodbye. I told him "hugs are good, as long as your dad is around!" Can't be too careful nowadays.

There really wasn't any point in staying in bed so we were up.  We had a little visit with the next door neighbours and they gave us a bunch of wood for a fire tonight, including splitting it and stacking it by our fire pit. It has been serving us well as we watched the hockey game and especially now as I write this since the temparture has dropped to 12. at 8:30 pm.

The lineup at Bandon Cafe
goes out the door, as per usual.

Into Bandon for lattes and breakfast. They make a mean breakfast sandwhich of ham, an egg, cheese and avocado on toasted whole wheat bread. Can't beat it and it is portioned a good size for people my age! While we are sitting there in the cafe finishing our coffees (and Nan contemplates another) I spot a gal come in and get in line that I had met in line yesterday. We had talked about riding as her husband had a history of it. Plus, she told me what a good wife she is by going out to get milk and responding to his request to bring him a coffee. We call out to each other and she says she brought her husband in today and since we are sitting at the window, I easily spot him seating  himself at a

Always busy.

picnic table outside with their Blue Healer. Since I practically know him already, I wave to him and he sees me and gives a friendly wave back. He practically knows me already, too! Nan clears our breakfast plates and I take my remaining coffee outside and ask if I can join him and we introduce ourselves. Jennifer and Randy. We are then joined by two friends of theirs, Sherri and Ara, who are their next door neighbours. They are all a wealth of knowledge about the routes we are considering and have helpful tips which in fact did lead to our game plan for the next three days. This fun group would have been great to get to know better. 

Getting the low-down on getting down low (in CA.)

After we bolted from Bandon Cafe, we stopped up at the grocery store to get some dinner for tonight. Since we had just finished breakfast, we underestimated what we would really need to have a decent meal and ended up a little light. That's ok since we are still working off the Mexican food from the first day.

On a lark, rather than head straight back to camp, we rode up to a nearby town called Coquille because of its enticing set of roads. The route follows the Coquille River, which actually exits very close to our campground and typically, roads that follow rivers are twisty and these are no exception. The road is curvy but not gnarly and not too busy, which is great for a day that many people are heading home after the long weekend. We pass by a weigh scale and weigh in after our first full week on the road and the picture is not pretty. Somehow, Nan avoided having her picture on the blog at this point. Don't worry Sweetie, your secret is not safe with me!

On the scale.

That must be because of my gear.

Back at the camp, while Nan busied herself I went for a stroll over to see the Bullards

Family Bone Yard, which is just off the edge of the campground. The Bullards were a prominent family in the area at the turn of the 19th century and were instrumental in lobbying for a bridge to cross the river here. I am a great fan of graveyards because they hold so much history and it seemed this one was in an odd place since there was nothing around but a campground. The grave stones ranged in age from about 90 years to to 150. There was about a dozen up there and visible; there may well have been a few more graves that were no longer marked, though I noted that at least two of the grave stones were not original, being made of freshly carved granite. Apparently, the Bullards' family home was approximately at the location of the entrance to the park so, in fact the graveyard is not really out in the middle of nowhere, at least, at the time it was initiated.

When that was done, we went for a walk out to the beach, then along the beach and back along the road, the same route we did yesterday and a loop of about 5 ot 6 km. Nan has long been a great fan of walking the beach and collecting shells and stones and this is a great beach for that. There is a myriad of coloured stones with every colour of the rainbow represented. Many of the stones have striations giving them the appearance of Jovian planets. Others are deep red, deep blue, translucent yellow and green, marbled, purple, just about anything you can imagine. On a bike, though, it is tough to collect such things.

After our walk, we have our meagre rations, build a nice fire and settle in to watch the hockey game. It actually streams pretty well - much better than on Saturday night. The turkeys stop by to check out the action.

While the Oilers were still leading.

Looking forward to heading out Tuesday and seeing some new territory.