Rednecks and Redwoods

Northern California/Southern Oregon,

 June 8 - 12, 2009

After leaving the refinements of southern California, we set out again along Highway 101 to continue our northbound journey. While this portion of the highway is set inland from the coast, it continues to be bucolic and beautiful. We are excited to be traveling through the part of California where the mighty redwoods grow, as well!

Along the way, we came across the Institute for Solar Living. This is a fascinating establishment where off-the-grid living is studied and practiced. Set in a beautiful part of the state, this would be a neat place to return to take one of the courses they offer in low-impact living, primitive skills and solar power.

A trip through California would not be complete without a visit to the Drive-Through Tree! Unfortunately, the van was too big to actually drive through it, but we were able to watch other vehicles inch their way through. We found out as our travels continued that this is not the only such tree, though they all advertise themselves as being the "famous and historical" one.

We stopped in  a small community called Richardson Grove and registered at the local private RV park. It is right across the street from the "famous and historical" One-Log Tree House, as well as the Grandfather Tree. We had access to wifi and a comfortable cafe so we elected to spend a couple of days. The nearby woods made for ideal Airsoft terrain so the boys and dad had fun, recruiting a couple of other local boys to join in with the extra guns. Fun, that is, until GI Bowen squared off with his brother in a shootout and while baring his teeth in a grimace, took a shot to one of his lower incisors. While Dad had always insisted on eye protection while the boys played, the need for tooth protection against the tiny plastic pellets had never occurred to him. The errant shot snapped half of Bowen's tooth off cleanly and ended Airsoft play until full facial protection can be organized. Bowen's smile now drops off to the left.

We soon found out that Bowen's snaggle-toothed grin would help him fit in as we proceeded north. We took all the scenic byways that we could through the redwoods, never tiring of their massive presence. The towns we passed through, though, became more hillbilly as we went, the height of things being in Willits, where we witnessed a number of aggressive confrontations just on the way from the van into the grocery store, with more inside. The boys were afraid to leave the van.

We spent one more night in the redwoods after seeing Paul Bunyan and Babe, the Blue Ox. Liz remembers the same statues from her own childhood travels through here with the family. It would make an interesting tour to just travel from one over-sized monument to another.

Another long day's travel, during which we met an itinerant olive vendor from Calgary who knows all the same Italians that Liz does, saw us pass through into southern Oregon under a cloud- literally. The weather has taken a turn for the gloomier as we have headed north. We are missing the sun! A rest stop at a beachfront park allowed the boys to hit each other with sticks while Liz picked wild-growing calla lilies to take to our friends in Portland.

 We pulled into Coos Bay and checked out the local RV parks. At one, we were informed by the park regulations that we were not welcome because our vehicle fell outside the "1992 or newer" requirement. We finally ended up at the local casino, where an RV park was provided or we could dry camp in their massive parking lot for free. Of course, because we intended to only spend the night, we opted for the free option! We had access to wifi in the casino,  The sparkling bathrooms had granite countertops and the coffee was always on! ( Remy snuck over to the RV park to plug in the toaster for breakfast the next morning but that's way better than using the plug  in the bathroom.) Now if only we were gamblers we could have called the shuttle to our van to take us for a ride across the MASSIVE parking lot to the front doors of the casino!

-Remy