Day 9: Eureka to Garberville

Today’s Highlights:

Our day started under overcast skies and more comfortable low 50’s temperatures.  We wandered through the streets of Eureka for a few miles, then played on the interstate for another five miles.  So, the main objective for the first eight miles was just to get the heck out of there.  We reached a nice country road and enjoyed twelve miles through farm country and then had our first rest stop in the very nice town of Ferndale.  Its main street had interesting 1800’s Victorian architecture.

From Ferndale, we enjoyed many more miles of country roads with almost no traffic.  It was a very pleasant ride, although the road was rough in places.   We saw irrigation in progress, and the usual cows and sheep.  The most amazing thing we saw was a super sized sprinkler-like machine that was rotating in a circle shooting out something that looked like dirt.  As we rode by it and got downwind of it, the smell made us realize it was a manure canon!  I didn’t know something could throw poop that far.

For several mile we had some roller coaster steep hills just to add some challenge to the day.  After passing through the little town of Scotia and by their big sawmill, we played on the freeway (interstate 101) for another four miles.  Once off the freeway, the big fun of the day started.  We got on the Avenue of the Giants, which is a nice low-traffic road that winds through the Sequoia forest.  It is really too amazing to describe, seeing those tremendous trees in an almost mystical environment.  It was also very quite and peaceful and seems far from any civilization, except for the paved road.

We passed through the towns of Redcrest, Weott, Miranda and Phillipsville, all of which had populations around 250 to 350 people.  I don’t know where they all were though, as we only saw things like a gift shop, general store and restaurant in each town, and we were in and out of each in less than 1/4 mile.

We ended the day with a few big hills just to get us more hungry for dinner, then another three miles on the interstate before entering Garberville.  We enjoyed a huge Italian dinner at Sicilito in hopes that it will recharge our legs for another big day tomorrow.

They Might Be Giants

It was such a great day I don’t know where to start. How about with the boring weather. It started cold again but got warm in the end – nice sunny day. A lot of the roads today were really rough; about half way through the day everything on my bike was rattling. I had to tighten up the water bottle cages and my head set! That would have been fun, turning the handlebars and still going straight! Also, I was riding so fast that my Built 4 Speed fell off 🙁 I’ll have to find a way to get it back on.

It is interesting to watch the landscape go from farm to forest so quickly. We passed so many cool sites there was no way we could stop to take pictures of everything.

The first bit of the ride was pretty flat, so we rode in a group — not as a group, more of a mob really. There were no hills to separate the men from the boys, so to speak. Stayed like that until Ferndale. Ferndale was a quaint little town. I would have liked to explore it a little more, but the trees were calling.

We passed by Redwood College. This is were the trees go to get there Higher Ed. All the big trees know that without an education you can’t get a good job, without a good job you can’t make lots of money, without lots of money you can’t afford good healthcare, and without good healthcare you can’t live to be 1500 years old and grow to 300 feet tall. So as Mr. T(ree) says, “Don’t be a fool! Stay in school!”

There were numerous shops and touristy places selling redwood gifts and crafts. Many had creative carvings displayed out front, but we kept riding right by, until we hit…

The Avenue of the Giants!! You have to see it to believe it. I don’t know that the pictures do them justice. I would love to come back here and hike around for a week or so. We did stop for one touristy thing: We rode through a tree!! (pics 43-45) I guess I’ve done it all now. Time to go home.

Chris

Pictures Of The Day:

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Statistics:
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Chris: