Day 1: GP to Arcata = 158 miles
En route from Grants Pass OR via 199 to Arcata CA via El Camino Real -Rt. 101 immortalized by Herb Alpert.Yes, bad burns along road from wildfires.
Note: Abby's Pizza box on dash --
At CA ag. checkpt. The Ag Cop asked "Are you carrying any pizza?" --in that official no nonsense coplike way.
I looked very guilty, for in fact, I was. "Yes..." I admitted. "I was just heating it up." He waved me on my way down the road. Good to be back in NorCal.
Day 1 Crescent City ... aahhh...the coast is COOL!
Pt. Reyes Lighthouse
And, back on the Kings Highway... 101 ....all the way to Arcata. . . . . . . . .Day 2: Arcata to Ft. Bragg via 101 = 142 miles.
Taking my time down the coast. Nice and cool. Feels very Keroacy and Snyderish. I almost feel a haiku coming on, but no, that's just my stomach growling...
At the Los Gallitos - 233 Franklin - I found the best grande Garlic Prawns! Truly yummy. Came w/small green salad, big fresh crunchy chips made from tortillas, a good salsa and ok rice 'n beans. Prawns were done just right and tender yet w/a bit of good crunch. Nicely garlicked, and they weren't stingy w/them either. Muy bueno. Not sure about the rest of menu, but the prawns I could crow about. Reasonably priced, quick service.
Stayed at Best Western Vista, north of town. Had stayed there before with my sister and her husband. Nice view of bridge and beach. Friendly concierge, free grab & go breakfast but get there early.
. . . . . . .
Day 3: Ft. Bragg to Palermo CA - 270 miles
Flew down 101 past Mendocino, Mendocino...made popular by that Texas band: The Sir Douglas Quintet. T'was early daze of the Beatles and one must be English. Must note here that ALL along the coast, towns were suffering effects of drought and had water rationing ongoing. Sadly necessary.
Took a left and headed east at Albion (speaking of the English: Perfidious) onto Rt. 128 which was lovely. Hit the Jedediah Smith Redwoods in short order...no sign of Sasquatch, who would have been very put out to see all the wretched refuse left by clueless turistas who must go in the woods but unlike the bear, leave crap along with their crap. I covered up as much as I could of the miscreants messes and offered an apology on behalf of my fellow homosaps to Mr. Foot.
Yes, it is still cool here. Wearing longsleeved Bigfoot Ale shirt and hoodie also.Hadn't been on 128 before, but although a winding hilly road with some hairy hairpin turns, it was lovely. Redwoods, then wineries, then more redwoods and more wineries. Was a bit peckish having had only OJ before hit the road, so when I saw 'BARBEQUE!! All Day! Everyday!' and even on today, a Sunday, I followed my nose inside...
Though only 10.30, still had the Breakfast Barbeque on menu, and again hit gold. The barbequed pulled chicken, w/potatoes (skins on) sourdough toast (w/marmalade) made a hit with me. I opted out of the two eggs offered. Hit the spot just fine. Good service, reasonable prices, cute place and popular although not too crowded.
Cloverdale Hamburger Ranch & BBQ:
Welcome to the World Famous Hamburger Ranch
& BBQ! This legendary restaurant has long been a favorite stopping
point for travelers along Hwys. 101 and 128, as well as local loggers
and ranchers.
Back on the road, I couldn't help but note the burn scars behind the many wineries. A sad time for California farmers and vintners. I kept the PTC chugging on down the road (great on gas, btw, and Brunhilda proved her mettle on hills and turns.), but stopped not til I hit St. Francis Winery where I knew I'd find a statue of the good saint of animals and ecology along with his wolf: The Wolf of Gubbio.
“That was just it, son. He didn’t say anything. He just looked at me for
a long time, and the expression on his face, well, I don’t have words
to describe it. And then he looked up at the high altar. And I saw he
was looking at the statue of St. Francis and the Wolf of Gubbio." From Anne Rice's excellent novel: The Wolves of Midwinter
About:" In Anne Rice's surprising and compelling best-selling novel, the
first of her strange and mythic imagining of the world of wolfen powers,
readers and listeners were spellbound as Rice conjured up a daring new
world set against the wild and beckoning California coast.
Now
in her new novel, as lush and romantic in detail and atmosphere as it is
sleek and steely in storytelling, Anne Rice takes us once again to the
rugged coastline of Northern California, to the grand mansion at Nideck
Point, and further explores the unearthly education of her transformed
Man Wolf.
The novel opens on a cold, gray landscape. It is the
beginning of December. Oak fires are burning in the stately flickering
hearths of Nideck Point. It is Yuletide. For Reuben Golding, now infused
with the Wolf Gift and under the loving tutelage of the Morphenkinder,
this promises to be a Christmas like no other...
The Yuletide
season, sacred to much of the human race, has been equally sacred to the
Man Wolves, and Reuben soon becomes aware that they, too, steeped in
their own profound rituals, will celebrate the ancient Midwinter
festival deep within the verdant richness of Nideck forest. "
-- Random House
Truly one of my favorite books. I read every midwinter. Deeply atmospheric and despite the odd characters and their traits, it somehow bestows an older, deeper atavistic memory of Yuletide and how the Ancients may have celebrated.
But...
No time for wining, alas. (w/miles to go cannot be Asleep At the Wheel).Had been a grand time to travel, although a weekend, the roads were all fairly lonesome. (Except for the rockslide/landslide on 101 near Klamath with sheer cliff above where Cats etc. were perched precariously, a l-lane dirt track Hilda could barely squeeze down, and a sheer drop off to right...and a 30 min. standstill whilst cars heading other direction had their turn. When I mentioned this to the hotel clerk he said, 'You were lucky. I've heard of folk being stuck there 3 hours.')
However, traffic picked up by time I was on 12 and heading for Sonoma. Past the Charles Schultz airport (Santa Rosa has a Charlie Brown statue), and stopped for a wee break.
Below: Sonoma City Hall in the cool shady park across from Solano Mission/Barracks. For more information on the true story behind California Missions, a good source can be found at Coyote Network News hosted by Carolin Casey. Podcast link follows for the following show:
Hosting Matthew Fox; Valentin Lopez, Chairman of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band; and Elias Castillo, author of great book A Cross of Thorns – The Enslavement of California’s Indians by the Spanish Missions.
The tale of Junipero Serra goes to the Plutonic roots of colonialism’s intrinsic brutality. (What was Francis thinking?) Click for show below:
https://coyotenetworknews.com/radioshow/hosting-matthew-fox-valentin-lopez-and-elias-castillo/
I recall hearing the Smothers Brothers mention they owned a winery in Sonoma. Not Napa, they emphasized..."because we all know what Napa is famous for -- auto parts."
Closed now, I heard, and for sale in the Valley of the Moon for $13 million. So goes some wineries, now -- due to drought, a major concern. Coastal concerns over climate change, lack of drinking water (w/rising salt water) and so much, too much more.
Onward past Santa Rosa and Jack London's Wolf House near Glen Ellen...finally hit 80 and real traffic. Slowdowns....was getting tired by then and right calf was cramped. Just get us home, Hilda...
Dixon at last (home of the Scottish Games) and could turn onto 113 north to Oroville and from there, onward to Palermo. Nice old highway with eucalyptus lining the sides and a bit of shade.
A good trip. And Ft. Bragg to Palermo = 270 looooong miles. Total miles GP - Palermo = 570
Herb Alpert - Highway 101 - tres' 60s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GCLdCu2vm4
addendum: Whilst on vacation (1st in about 10 yrs or so) although usually vegetarian/bordering on vegan, I turn flexitarian when confronted with holiday foods. A treat, therefore, and not diet.
