Coos Bay to Eureka

Saturday 24th July

A day of long driving but with plenty of stops to stretch the legs and breathe in the air and now we are shrouded in mist at 9pm in Eureka and have made it to the north of California.

looking at the bay - it's MISTY

This is such a beautiful place driving down 101. On many occasions we were driving along the highway in brilliant sunshine and then suddenly we were covered in mist floating in from the sea.

Battle Rock, Port Orford

and of course we HAD to drive through this redwood tree along the way:

just fitted

Of course driving down the highway this time of year (summer vacation/holiday) also has other travellers including many bicyclists. (We chatted to one who is doing the same journey as us on pushbike over three weeks. They are catered for brilliantly in Oregon and what we have seen of California). Other travellers on 101 are the HUGE mobile homes (and RVs too) - these things are like huge bricks on wheels, often towing a car behind. So navigating 101's single lanes with these things in front can get a tad frustrating. Our solution ... pull off the road and enjoy the scenery! On some stretches there are more mobile homes than cars on the road. And with so many of these vehicles on the road there are also many RV parks to cater for them. We also spotted a few walkers trekking south (hope they have lots of shoes).

Our first assigned site was the magnificent redwoods. These trees are spectacularly HUGE and are really living relics, some thousands of years old!

the living tree over 3000 years old

the Trinity tree

a large trunk

the brotherhood tree - well at the base at least!

And as we do, we have found a glorious eating house here in downtown Eureka. We walked to downtown and squizzed in the windows of a few but we soon discovered and dined at Hurricane Kate's and just look at what we dined upon!

to begin

Enchanted forest pizza (artichoke, brie, morelle mushies and heaps more)

Pear and walnut salad with exquisite dressing

And to keep you entertained while waiting they provide diners with crayons and here is Bini at work - I told them that crayons were not my writing tool of choice!

so now to rest.