https://goo.gl/photos/wvibcXJXrThtTTfG6
Wednesday, May 17th
– Sunday, May 21st
Black Butte Lake,
Orland, California
The Army Corps campground at Black Butte Lake was remote,
quiet and beautiful. It reminded us of the last ACOE campground at Lake
Hensley, only prettier. It was nice to relax by the lakeside for a while. The
town of Orland was nearby and proved handy for shopping and fuel. There were
some decent mountain biking trails around the lake, which we did enjoy riding.
The first couple of days the weather was very nice, high temps in the 70’s;
however, the remainder of the days became very warm with highs in the upper 80’s.
It would not have been so bad, but the campground had no electric hookups. So
we depended on our generator to keep our battery charged, forget about any air
conditioning. We spent most of the day outside in the shade, which was
bearable. At least it cooled down at night. While we were there, our RV battery
went dead so Kurt had to go into Orland and purchase a new one. Thank God for
Tractor Supply! Since it was too warm to engage in many activities, we used our
time to take care of some maintenance issues and then relax. Kurt did take the
kayak out on the lake for paddling and fishing. After five days there, we were
ready to move back to the California coast.
Monday, May 22nd
– Sunday, May 28th
Mad River Rapids RV
Park, Arcata, California
Again, we had to cross back over the coastal mountains to
get to Arcata, which is just north of Eureka. This drive was on decent mountain
roads, but there were several delays due to road repairs and one major
landslide causing a one way lane. The drive took us about an hour longer than
normal. The first day we drove around the area to check out the beach and the
surrounding area. The dogs had a blast running on the beach again. We found
there was again a lot of agriculture along the coast. We found a nice
hiking/biking trail and the beaches were dog friendly. The Mad River passed
through town on its way to the Pacific.
The northern California coast is all about the redwood
trees. The RV park in Arcata was located midway between Humboldt Redwood State
Park to the south and the Redwoods National Park to the north. The weather was
chilly and cooler on the coast. We first went south to Humboldt to drive the
“Avenue of the Giants”. This part of the coast is not as rocky with cliffs as
some further south. This scenic drive is about 31 miles in length, driving a
two lane road among the giant redwood trees. There were several trails to get
back in the woods. The forest floor was covered in giant ferns and was very
green and moist. We took the dogs with us for the drive and on a few hikes. We
didn’t drive the complete length, but still spent most of the day on this tour.
On our way back to the campground, we drove through a small coastal town called
Ferndale. This was founded in the 1850’s and was built in Victorian style,
which was popular at that time. The well preserved homes and buildings are
beautiful.
Another day we headed north to the Redwoods National Park.
This was a huge coastal redwood forest with the biggest redwoods on earth.
There were a couple of amazing hikes among the trees and waterfalls. On the
drive back south, we drove the road that went right along the ocean. The views
and rocky formations were stunning. As usual during our time in this area the
skies were cloudy, and it was windy and chilly. The locals told us this time of
year is their rainy season, they call it “June and Gloom”. Wow, we had no idea.
The sun did peek out a little, but not every day.
On Memorial Day weekend each year, the city of Arcata hosts an
annual event called Kinetic Sculpture Race. Contestants have to build artistic
vehicles that must be driven on the road and also be able to float and navigate
in the water. Kurt went down to watch the crazy event. The town was packed for
this annual event to watch the amazing creations.
This was an amazing part of California which is filled with
diverse environments; from dry deserts, to high mountains, fertile valleys,
coastal mountains and amazing Pacific coastlines and beaches. After 7 ½ weeks
in California, it was exciting to move on to Oregon. Looking forward to some
different places to see there.
