Thursday - September 16
As promised, it was a foggy day with sprinkles of rain. Bruce did laundry while Geri did some vacuuming, worked on the trip report and the website for Bruce's 50th high school reunion. We spent the afternoon relaxing and enjoying the peace and quiet.
Friday - September 17
Today reminded us of why we don't like the ocean. We woke to fog and rain, but we had an objective to accomplish. So we took off to Crescent City to collect a stamp for Geri's NP Passport book from Redwoods NP. We've been there on more than one occasion, but that was before we started collecting stamps. It rained so hard, we had the wipers on high speed and still had difficulty seeing the road at times. Had it been a nice day, we would have driven through the park. Redwoods NP is stunning and a place we remember fondly.
Remember the story earlier in this report about how we got soaked in the tent? Well, we rode down I-5 from Roseburg to Redding and back across the mountains at the Trinity river canyon to Eureka. We could smell the wild blackberries as we rode and couldn't wait to get to town for fresh blackberry pie ala mode. Dang! No blackberry pie! We settled for cherry. Bummer. Anyway, we rode the bike through Redwoods NP. Fantastic way to see that park or anything else for that matter. Everything is right there! The smells, the sea air, the feeling of freedom. We loved our bike!
On our way north, we stayed in a motel right on the ocean at Gold Beach and camped at Honeyman SP in Florence. One of Geri's favorite memories there is of Bruce reclining on the motorcycle with a cigarette in his face. He was so relaxed on that bike. Of course, he hasn't smoked now for over 25 years, which is a very good thing. Fun memories is what it's all about.
The forecasters say rain is supposed to continue through the weekend here and inland. We'll be cutting our trip short and heading for home tomorrow. We've had a fantastic time, got relaxed again and are ready to go home. It's time to get things settled, spend time with everyone in our family that we can and batten down the hatches before leaving for the winter on November 1. It's time to take the boat out of the water and get it serviced, put away the water toys and tables & chairs, blow out the sprinkler system, and so on. Lots to do before we leave.
We took Hwy 199 east from Crescent City to I-5. Beautiful drive! It'd be a blast on a bike or in a sports car. It was a little tricky in places for our rig between Crescent and O'Brien, though. The road is very winding and narrow in that stretch.Still, there are old-growth cedars and firs in there. Stunning trees!
Gosh, the summer has flown by. Can't believe it's almost time to head south again. The next trip report from us will be from the desert southwest or while we're on the road if something fun happens. Have a great fall everyone, and thanks for taking the time to read our little epistle.
The End
