World United States California Sacramento

Kathy and Bryan's Sabbatical Journey

California Nov 3, 2009

October 27 – 30

As we crossed the border into California, we were greeted by a border crossing similar to that of the USA/Canada border. They were apparently searching for “alien” produce and larvae-infested firewood. They took our supply of wood, spit a few pieces, said it was OK and after refusing to split the rest, we were on our way. Another greeting from “Arnold” was the increase (almost double) of the state campground fees as of October. In the fall, most states are lowering their off-season prices. Not a welcoming message to any camper.

Leaving the beaches of Oregon, we were quite confident in seeing more beaches in California. Although not as many as Kathy would have liked, we did find one last beach in Humboldt Bay that we shared with a couple of horses and riders. In fact, bikinis were replaced with warm fleece jackets, and beaches were replaced by branches; branches of some of the most magnificent redwoods to be found anywhere.

Humboldt State Park has a thirty seven mile alternate highway, called the Avenue of the Giants. After being reassured that the “giants” were actually only trees, we decided to take the challenge. I say challenge because in order to preserve the giant redwoods, the road was built around the trees. This of course makes it very windy and often extremely close to very large trees especially on corners.

Rather than take on the larger cities to the south, we decided to head for Salt Lake City, Utah from northern California. Our last night found us at a quaint little RV campground; Island RV Park is situated on Clear Lake, the Bass fishing capital of “the world” according to the owner. Next morning we stopped in Sacramento to replenish supplies, and felt as if we had just been transported to a much more southern area. Palm trees lined the lane into the shopping area, the weather was balmy and beautiful, and it was almost a good enough reason to stay in California. I say almost, because we were now well on our way to the “canyon lands” of Utah and Arizona. So, “see you” in the Canyons…