Redwood Forests GIve Way to the City by the Bay

From the Redwood Forest to the Gulf Stream Waters…you know the rest and the beauty of the song can’t compare to the beauty of our nation.

Giant is not enough of a word. Gargantuan is more like it coupled with towering and majestic.  Add skyscrapers and finish off with a soaring adjective. Sunlight blinks through the thickness of the groves, dappling the roadway and landscape. Redwood sequoia is the tallest species in the sequoia family.

We traveled the Redwood Highway (101 S) and happened upon our first sighting on Walker Road. An immediate pullover was available which we grabbed.

Hopping out of the truck with cameras at the ready, we could not get enough of these trees’ spectacular beauty.  Along the Avenue of the Giants to Founder’s Grove and then the Drive Thru Tree, we traveled the length of California’s Redwood Forest.

We then drove on south for many miles thru Eureka, CA, a Victorian town with the iconic Carson Mansion.  We tried to speed on, but 65 MPH is max along these highways. We arrived at Windsor, CA for an overnight stay before adventuring in SF, the City by the Bay.

We have 5 or 6 iconic landmarks on our check sheet:  #1 – Drive Across the Golden Gate Bridge.  #2  See Pacific Ocean on Hwy 1 with surfers.  #3 Drive down Lombard Street. #4  Experience Pier 39 at Fisherman’s Warf.  #5  Ride the Cable Cars.

We did all those things AND saw Nob Hill, Golden Gate Park, Alcatraz (several escapees were wandering around), Coit Tower, Sir Frances Drake Hotel, and we drove across the SF Bay Bridge, eastbound, on the lower deck.

The breeze off the bay kept temps in the mid to high 60’s and as we were leaving, the fog was rolling in, providing a chill to the air.

Knocking on wood at numerous times, and after negotiating Houston Traffic with 8 lanes and ramps with speeding vehicles exiting and entering, toll roads everywhere, SF was not nearly what either of us were expecting, especially when compared to Houston’s congestion. SF highways  has five lanes max and relatively even speed coming into town. Exiting town, driving over to Highway 99 was not quite so easy with much stop and go traffic and one car throwing out a fireball onto the highway.

Motorcycles dart in and out of interstate traffic and rev their engines if you don’t yield to them fast enough. I nearly jumped out of my skin.

SF is a pretty city, but my heart rides along with me.  I didn’t leave it in SF.

Louise and Clark Find the Pacific Ocean

Thomas said it,  “You will be surprised by the vastness; the distances are not what you are accustomed to.” OK, so my brother was right for once! My trusty Rand-McNally and Road Trip Book of the Ages indicates destinations are but a whistle-stop apart. Each is at least 20 miles from the other. In fact, we ran out of daylight and time (even with 2 hours on Pacific Time) making our way to the Pacific Ocean.

Another piece of truth:  to see what is advertised about the Pacific and its glorious essence, head for Lincoln City, not Tillamook. We finally found Cape Lookout and Meyers Scenic Viewpoint, but they are not close to each other. In fact, the roads split and there’s a choice, Robert Frost. We chose Cape Lookout.

It was there that I felt Lewis and Clark’s exhaustion and disappointment. Not only were we beat to our socks, but we were off the 101 highway by many miles to get to the lookout point. There, the Pacific just meekly washes onto shoreline, a brown beach with driftwood and rocks askew.

However, on down the road, we saw mist rising and we pulled over on a turnout. VOILA’! There! This was what we’d expected! Roaring, rumbling, raucous Pacific pounding the shoreline!

We were burning daylight by the second and Highway 101 did not, at this point, hug the coastline. When it did, beginning more at Lincoln City, it was late and dark and we were behaving like two exhausted travelers. We should have turned back at Pacific City and driven the 50 miles over to Salem rather than driving the road to Florence and then over to Eugene.

As it turned out, we decided to take the day and go back in the gorgeous sunshine to Florence and Cape Perpetua, enjoy the scenery, take pictures, and ride along on a Dune Buggy Adventure. More on that FUN next time.

Road to the Sun

Are there words to describe the Going to the Sun Road? Glacier National Park did not occupy a slot on our itinerary, but then Nancy said, “Oh, you can’t come to Montana and not see Glacier!” How glad we are that we took her advice.

The majesty of the mountains, glaciers, and road to get to the top had us playing a word game. Here are some paltry descriptors: astounding, breathtaking, towering, timeless, staggering, gargantuan!

The 150 mile drive on Hwy 93 from Missoula, MT to Whitefish and Kalispell terrible, though, after going 80 on fantastic interstate highways. The varying speed limits ranging from 60 to 25 with no seeming rhyme or reason for the variance was a nightmare to drive. But, we did it. So glad we did and incredibly glad we saw Glacier NP with its splendor and the fall colors.

We got back to Missoula and then whisked over  through Idaho on a bobsled ride down the mountains into the Bitterroot Range with the forested blankets on either side of the highway. Our dash-cam has captured the thrill-rides along with the beauty.

We’re in Spokane Valley, WA, preparing for another adventure following 90 and then 84 along the Lewis and Clark Route to the Pacific Ocean. We’ll follow the Columbia and Snake Rivers as they did!

Have a Montastic Day

“Have a Montastic day,” is printed on literature. 

Aspens and other trees have turned their luxuriant fall color. Vast is an understatement. "Unless you see it with your own eyes, you can't believe what anyone tells you," said Marvin as we navigated the ribboned road. Montana is a huge state with highways twisting through the Rocky Mountains, the drive made easy because of the expanse of the landscape, the grades being long and gradual and the speed limit having been raised to 80 MPH this past week.

“We were in the neighborhood and thought we’d drop by,”said Jane to Nancy Thompson, friend from Memphis, Covenant UMC, David-Ben-Justin (the Three Wise Guys) days. This is the Nancy who now lives in Columbia Falls, MT. Nancy was amazed to know we were in the state. “You can’t come to Montana and not see Glacier National Park.” The short of it is that we decided to do just that, and perhaps drive into Canada since we’re so close. 

Got to visit briefly with Nancy and see her fabulous home. None of us could believe that she had company from Memphis this very week!

Tomorrow, Saturday, we’ll see what the day will bring for this one, Friday, has given our flexibility a stretch.

One Amazement After Another!

           “One amazement after another,” Marvin said as we looked at the video from our dash-cam last night. I had truly lucked up on a brand new hotel outside of Billings, MT. Billings is home to quite a few refineries of various description, so we stayed on the outskirts of Billings and had a wonderful night’s rest.

            The landscape, the vastness of the fields and wide open spaces is hard to fathom or explain. Over 2 miles of sunflowers, and hundreds of acres of prairie land with corn, wheat, sugar beets, etc.

Then, out of nowhere: Badlands.

The Teddy Roosevelt National Park, South with a stop at Painted Canyon Visitor Center. While we had seen the South Dakota Badlands on our 2013 adventure to Yellowstone, seeing it again and in a bordering state has been magnificent.

Honeybee hives and oil dereks, aspens and Big Sky make for gorgeous sights. One Amazement after another!

I love traveling with my buddy – it’s great to share life, share our thrills, “see the USA in …” our FORD truck! 

BTW: I'm riding down I-90 with my computer hooked to the Mobile Hot-Spot on my Phone. How cool is that!!

Surprises Galore!

               The greatest thing about vacations is they are full of surprises.

               Like this one: SURPRISE!  KNOCK!KNOCK!KNOCK! EVACUATE THE BUILDING.

               Some idiot on the 3^rd floor smoked in a Non-Smoking facility and set off the smoke alarm.

Firemen in big suits and hats, with trucks, and the two of us throwing on clothes at 4:30 AM. Now, that’s a surprise.

               No Fire. Early breakfast. On the road! From outside Madison, WI, northwestward, Ho! (The Cheese House with the Mouse was right across the street from the hotel.)

              

Wisconsin Cheese is deliciously creamy. Nobody moved anybody’s Cheese – it’s everywhere in Wisconsin – and worth the dollars I paid for a circle of 4 different cheeses.

               Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, famous American poet, never set foot in Minnesota but set his famous Song of Hiawatha at the Falls near the Mississippi River at Minneapolis. Minnehaha Falls, Nokomis Lake, Hiawatha Avenue.  

By the shore of Gitche Gumee,
By the shining Big-Sea-Water,
At the doorway of his wigwam,
In the pleasant Summer morning,

  A Mall is a Mall is a Mall, though Mall of America is beyond large and has a theme park inside plus every store imaginable. American Girl! – Brighton – Pandora – Kate Spade, etc. Glad I got to see it!

              

  Corn is grown in abundance throughout Wisconsin, Minnesota, and into North Dakota. The fields are expansive and the hills roll on and on, until they don’t roll at all: North Dakota is flat as a pancake. Fargo passed in a blink and “You Betcha” we drove on past to Jamestown, ND.

               

Onward, Upward, Westward Bound

Should you wish to follow along with the adventures of our ultimate western US road trip, this will be the place to do so. A general comment or two  may appear on FB so folks will not think I've fallen off the earth, but the nitty-gritty of our Lewis and Clark (Griswold) expedition will appear in stories on this blog, More Than A Bracelet. You can follow this Blog and receive updates through your email account; you can also comment on the Blog Posts if you have a Google account, or email me at ellajane.jg@gmail.com.

I hope you'll ride along, sharing the experiences with me beginning Tuesday, October 6, 2015.