Our base for this past week was in the Northern coastal city of Fortuna California. It is in the heart of the giant redwood forests. We drove the scenic Avenue of the Giants in Humbolt Redwoods State Park, which has the largest trees in the world. As you can see from the pictures below they tower above the road. For my buddy Hutch, this really is where they filmed some the scenes of the Ewok Forest in Star Wars. We then drove over the King Mountains to the King Range National Conservation Area. It is the largest undeveloped section of coast line in the United States. It is over 100 miles long. Except for the five miles of road at its northern tip the only way to access the area is by hiking. That is why they call it the Lost Coast. I searched the tidal pools for starfish but found none, maybe the water was too cold.
Five miles to the west of Fortuna is the small town of Ferndale. It is known for its many restored businesses and homes. The Jim Carey movie "The Majestic" was filmed there because the town is so beautiful. Josie and I attended a very funny and entertaining play at their restored theater on Saturday night, "The Dixie Swim Club."
The towns of Fortuna and Ferndale both are located in the Eel River delta. It is a very fertile valley because of the cool but sunny climate. Almost every day the " marine layer" a bank of mist and fog will descend in the late evening and then burn off and retreat back out into the Pacific Ocean around 10 in the morning. You can see the marine layer in a few of my pictures of the ocean below. Because of the marine layer they give two weather forecasts, one for the coast and one for inland where it will be 20 to 30 degrees warmer. This climate along with the river delta soil makes for good farming and there are many dairy and cattle farms along with orchards and berry farms on the surrounding hillsides. The local Loleta cheese factory makes over 30 different types of cheese and Jo ate lunch there just sampling most of them. I was able to fill my growler with one of the local brews from the Eel River Brewing company, which was conveniently within walking distance of the RV Park. We also had a very good Tri-Trip sandwich (a Western cut of beef similar to a flank steak in the east) at the Lost Coast Brewery in Eureka.
I was able to join the Northern Redwoods Audubon Society field trip on Saturday and picked up many year birds. It was funny to see how excited this group got when they found a Chipping Sparrow, a very common bird back east but rare here. I am sure they felt the same way when I was excited to see a White Headed Woodpecker a common bird for them. The trip was led by Rob Fowler a very good local bird guide. If you are ever birding in this area you should look him up at www.fowleropebirding.com
Tomorrow we leave California and drive north into Oregon.
Five miles to the west of Fortuna is the small town of Ferndale. It is known for its many restored businesses and homes. The Jim Carey movie "The Majestic" was filmed there because the town is so beautiful. Josie and I attended a very funny and entertaining play at their restored theater on Saturday night, "The Dixie Swim Club."
The towns of Fortuna and Ferndale both are located in the Eel River delta. It is a very fertile valley because of the cool but sunny climate. Almost every day the " marine layer" a bank of mist and fog will descend in the late evening and then burn off and retreat back out into the Pacific Ocean around 10 in the morning. You can see the marine layer in a few of my pictures of the ocean below. Because of the marine layer they give two weather forecasts, one for the coast and one for inland where it will be 20 to 30 degrees warmer. This climate along with the river delta soil makes for good farming and there are many dairy and cattle farms along with orchards and berry farms on the surrounding hillsides. The local Loleta cheese factory makes over 30 different types of cheese and Jo ate lunch there just sampling most of them. I was able to fill my growler with one of the local brews from the Eel River Brewing company, which was conveniently within walking distance of the RV Park. We also had a very good Tri-Trip sandwich (a Western cut of beef similar to a flank steak in the east) at the Lost Coast Brewery in Eureka.
I was able to join the Northern Redwoods Audubon Society field trip on Saturday and picked up many year birds. It was funny to see how excited this group got when they found a Chipping Sparrow, a very common bird back east but rare here. I am sure they felt the same way when I was excited to see a White Headed Woodpecker a common bird for them. The trip was led by Rob Fowler a very good local bird guide. If you are ever birding in this area you should look him up at www.fowleropebirding.com
Tomorrow we leave California and drive north into Oregon.
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