Eureka to Redcrest to Garberville to Fort Bragg to Mendocino...158.3 miles
From Eureka, California we rode 54 miles to Redcrest, located in Humbolt County, settled right into the Avenue of the Giants. Does "Avenue of the Giants" sound awesome...because it IS! We took this tiny road that swerved and curved in between massive Redwood trees. It was a thick, moist, green, and almost chilly forest. I remember my lungs feeling fuller then they have ever felt, the air there was crisp and clean, just as it should be. You feel so small in the middle of these ancient, gigantic trees towering stories above you. We ran into a hippie touring group in Arcata while riding through the Giants. I remember being conflicted inside about my way of travel, watching these hippie girls in skirts and no shoes riding their bikes down the coast. They were only going to San Francisco, but I remember being torn and almost embarassed about my ride. Looking back today, it doesn't even matter. I had reasons to do what I did and am 100% sure that we would not have made it as far as we did if I had rode a bike, and also that it would have taken double the amount of time... I'm secure enough to admit I am not a biking champion. (Maybe the next adventure.) But that is where we decided we could switch off riding the bike and moped, Blake could have a rest and I could get a feel for riding far with heavy bags.
The campsite we stayed at in Redcrest only had one attraction to stop tourists, the treehouse in the Eternal Living Tree. As most tourist traps seem cooler then they actually are, this one was the same, though still interesting. We ducked our heads under the doorway and were standing in the hollow of a huge tree. After signing the book we walked out and into the only cafe for miles. At breakfast the next day we met a girl named Alix. She was also touring to San Francisco, but she was from Canada. We ate pancakes together and agreed to meet in San Fran.
Redcrest to Garberville was 28 miles. We stopped at a large RV park. It was clean and quiet. We did laundry and swam in the pool. I fixed my flat tire and we ate lunch at a great organic jFrom Garberville we rode 76 miles to Mendocino, in Mendocino County. This town was the perfect cloudy, quiet, vintage community. There were a few shops and great little places to eat and it sits on a cliff that looks out at a bay, so beautiful. Once we were there Blake's friend from Colorado (who had moved to Fort Bragg) wanted to grab some dinner with her friends, who were also camping in the area. We couldn't find any sort of camping or RV Park or hostel even close to Mendocino and we didn't want to ride any further that day so we lived a night of luxury at the Mendocino Hotel (recommended for anyone visiting the area.) When we met up with Beth she had a bag of survival goodies for us to take on our trip, it was so sweet {thank you for having open arms towards us, Beth!} After we showered and got ready for a night out (finally with other people!) we walked to the cute, coastal restaurant and enjoyed the company of being able to talk about what we were doing for the first time in detail since we started in Seattle.
Because we didn't find any camping spots in Mendocino we headed back up north about seven miles into Fort Bragg. We opened our minds up to finding some possible work and looking for a more permanant place to stay. Fort Bragg is about half way down the coast from Seattle. Getting to hang out with Beth and her friends gave us a little "in" on the town and surrounding areas. I loved Fort Bragg. We found a cool co-op to go grocery shopping, a friendly bike shop, fresh fruit at the farmer's market, welcoming friends, and a much needed yoga studio that was quiet and perfect for centering our bodies and minds during our two week stay {thanks again, Justine, for being so friendly!} We got a couple of tickets from the hotel to go on an art tour around the area. Of course I was so in! It was fun meeting these artists in Mendocino County who are making their living out of their workshops at their homes. We met a jeweler, a glass blower wife and carpenter husband, sculpturs, and a painter (who showed us his skills by water color painting Blake.)
While we had no schedule and no plans yet on where we wanted to go from Fort Bragg, we offered to help Beth get to the Sacramento airport and pick her up after her visit back home for a week. Our week in San Fransisco was awesome. (I wrote about it in my post San Francisco, California.)
The frusterating part of our stay in FB was not knowing what we were doing on a day to day basis, so we packed and unpacked a lot at different camp sites, RV parks, and motels. We both also got sick. Being sick in a wet tent and in a wet, sunless climate is pretty miserable actually. As we were looking for an apartment and finding no luck we both started to think about the accumulating costs while not putting any miles behind us, and which decission was best for us. Blake thinks inside his own head; battles the options quietly. I am the opposite; I want to talk about it, this way and that way and write everything out on paper. We did this one day at one of coffee shops were were frequenting. I was making a list of the pros and cons to stopping our travels and staying in this tiny, coastal town for who knows how long.
Dream Big, Ride Far!!!
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