Northern California
We headed west on I-80 over the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The path that I-80 takes is near to some of the original trails that settlers and 49ers used to get into California. An example is Emigrant Pass which can be seen from I-80. It's not as high as passes in Colorado but still very rough (ask the Donner Party).
We got off of I-80 and onto California Route 20 heading west through the Central Valley then up into the east side of the Coastal Range. The hills were typical of Northern California this time of year - dry as tinder. The wild grasses are all dry. Looking at this you can understand why California has so many wild fires.
As a matter of fact, as we were approaching Clearlake Oaks, we passed a large collection of fire-fighting equipment that we learned later had been involved in fighting the Pawnee fire the weekend before we passed through. It later started up again. The wind was hot and dry and over 20mph the whole time we were in the area. The lake itself was very pretty.
We stayed on Route 20 going through Willits until we got to Ft. Bragg descending the west side of the Coastal Range. Talk about a winding road. We didn't get any good pictures of the road. In the Central Valley and in Willits the temperature was in the high 80s and low 90s. By the time we got to Ft. Bragg it was in the middle 60s. This is typical of the coast in summer. The temperature is driven by the cold air coming off the sea. As Mark Twain famously said "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco." It was a welcome relief from what we had been experiencing in Utah and Nevada for the past few weeks.
The RV park we were in is across the street from a public beach, Caspar Beach,
and it is just beautiful. The water is chilly though - 55 to 58 degrees. We did not get in the water.
Not far down the road is a state park that is a lighthouse complex, Point Cabrillo. We walked to the lighthouse and along the trail we encountered a turkey and some of her chicks.
They have preserved the lighthouse and the houses the keepers lived in. You can even rent one of the keepers houses for a getaway.
We got off of I-80 and onto California Route 20 heading west through the Central Valley then up into the east side of the Coastal Range. The hills were typical of Northern California this time of year - dry as tinder. The wild grasses are all dry. Looking at this you can understand why California has so many wild fires.
As a matter of fact, as we were approaching Clearlake Oaks, we passed a large collection of fire-fighting equipment that we learned later had been involved in fighting the Pawnee fire the weekend before we passed through. It later started up again. The wind was hot and dry and over 20mph the whole time we were in the area. The lake itself was very pretty.
We stayed on Route 20 going through Willits until we got to Ft. Bragg descending the west side of the Coastal Range. Talk about a winding road. We didn't get any good pictures of the road. In the Central Valley and in Willits the temperature was in the high 80s and low 90s. By the time we got to Ft. Bragg it was in the middle 60s. This is typical of the coast in summer. The temperature is driven by the cold air coming off the sea. As Mark Twain famously said "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco." It was a welcome relief from what we had been experiencing in Utah and Nevada for the past few weeks.
The RV park we were in is across the street from a public beach, Caspar Beach,
and it is just beautiful. The water is chilly though - 55 to 58 degrees. We did not get in the water.
Not far down the road is a state park that is a lighthouse complex, Point Cabrillo. We walked to the lighthouse and along the trail we encountered a turkey and some of her chicks.
They have preserved the lighthouse and the houses the keepers lived in. You can even rent one of the keepers houses for a getaway.
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