California (Part 2)
We awoke to the air thick with smoke as the fire was growing and moving towards Yosemite, the smokey air created an interesting atmosphere amongst the trees, the shade and smoke cover welcome as it meant a cooler van.
Due to the poor visibility and advisories not to spend too long outside in the smoke we didn't spend too long in Yosemite.
Our first stop was Bridalveil Falls, an impressive sight at over 175 meters!
The drive to Yosemite Village has many fantastic views, unfortunately we had to pass them all by due to the smoke, we stopped in the village for lunch and a tour of the Visitor Center before continuing through the park along highway 120 to try and escape the smoke (and approaching fires!).
Happily for us the drive out of Yosemite along highway 120 took us above the smoke and we enjoyed fantastic scenery, especially around Tuolomne meadows.
We took a quick peek at Mono lake's hat-shaped island then headed off towards the local hot springs were we heard there was free camping. The road was in a much worse state than we had thought and so we had to resort to plan B, a campsite up in the hills. An hour of so of wiggly dark roads and we found the campsite and chose a spot near a river under the trees. It turned out we had managed to find the best spot in the campsite and the next morning people arrived keen to have it the second we left!
So after a start which was slightly more rushed than usual we headed on to see lake Tahoe, not before quick grocery shop. As we drove around this HUGE lake we noted the houses seemed very big and expensive looking, there was even a castle designed to resemble an alpine chalet! There were some lovely views of the fjord-like inlets, complete with a paddle steamer in the distance.
Our plan for the next day was to head up to Lassen Volcanic National Park, we expected the drive to take all day and as the temperatures were climbing we decided to stop by a secret swimming spot at one of the many beautiful rivers. The place was so beautiful we decided to stay the night there as well, thus making far less progress then originally planned.
We had heard many people rave about the beauty of Lassen and it certainly lived up to the hype! The geothermal features coupled with pristine alpine lakes was stunningly gorgeous and Mike simply couldn't resist a swim in the emerald waters of Lake Helen.
Contemplating more unbearably hot nights in the van we discussed our plans and decided to head straight for the coast and avoid the mount Shasta area.
We drove long into the night and were rewarded with much cooler temperatures when we eventually stopped at a rest area. We only had a short drive to reach the coast, both of us sighing with relief at being near the sea (with its cooling breeze) again. Northern California is also famous for its sea mists, they roll in each evening and tend not to clear until well into the afternoon, shading and cooling the whole area.
Our first stop in Redwood National Park was a stroll around Ladybird Johnson Memorial
Grove, marvelling at the size and tenacity of these giant trees. A redwood tree can have a huge hollow burned away from its heart and still keep growing!
As we headed North along the coast we saw many more beautiful trees, the trees were especially huge along the well-named Big-Trees trail.
A quick walk along the Ah-Pah trail to observe the area regenerating after logging rounded off our day and we headed towards Florence Keller park to camp. The campsite was truly magical and felt like being in a fairy tale and the pitches are in amongst the giant redwoods.
The next day we decided to head along one of the scenic drives around the area, this would take us past a famous trail at Stout Grove. When we eventually found it we had a great time admiring yet more ginormous trees and Mike tried to remember his stone-skimming technique down at the river.
We headed back towards civilisation for the evening and after spending far longer than we expected chatting in a coffee shop we decided to spend another night in the same area. Unfortunately it was full when we arrived so we ended up in the group overflow area, still beautiful but not as magical a setting as the previous night.
It was time to start heading South again and so our first stop on the way to Patrick's Point was at the Klamath river viewpoint. The incoming fog made it feel we were above the clouds, the view before the fog did not disappoint either, a great place for lunch!
At Patrick's Point we tried to find agates on Agate beach, and failed miserably despite digging several holes the dogs would be proud of. That said we had a laugh finding perfect skimming rocks and "musical driftwood".
Our destination the following day was Mattole River Beach, as we were now following a route promising secret beaches. Despite it being off the beaten track (more like beaten up, never maintained, horribly bumpy, back-of-nowhere road) it was clearly very popular and the campsite was full. Not wishing to do the drive again we waited and patience paid off as some people checked out late in the evening.
To celebrate our camping success we had a big fry up for breakfast, this was also the first meat we had cooked in the van, neither of us fancying the extra difficulties with washing up and storage that it entailed for the rest of the trip. This also marked the start of us really taking it slow and travelling at a much more relaxed pace.
So after a paddle in the lagoon and more beach exploring we apologised to the van and began the horrific journey back to civilisation and decent roads. We would prefer to remember as little of the journey back as possible due to the trauma it inflicted upon us and the van. Examples for this are the single track ENTIRELY WOODEN bridge we had to cross and the road surface abandoning us on a stupidly steep hairpin bend. This was signed as a paved 2 lane highway - clearly the sign maker had never driven it! The beautiful new road in Humbolt Redwoods state park was a welcome relief, especially as it meant we could visit the Giant Tree, famous for being 363ft tall and one of the tallest in the world. (For the curious, the current tallest tree is Hyperion, located in Redwood NP, who stands at 380ft)
The Avenue of Giants was an incredible drive, made even better as it led to an amazing pizza place. The CA-1 is famous for being a wiggly road, in the dark it seemed even more-so. Continuing our drive in the daylight we enjoyed many a beautiful ocean vista, the fog began to creep in before we reached Mendocino but it was still staggeringly beautiful.
After a couple of wrong turns we finally made our way down to the famous "Bowling ball beach". The tide was higher than we hoped but the spherical boulders remained clearly visible and we both had fun with the cameras.
We camped near a lighthouse in the drizzle (!) so made the most of the location with a morning walk along the cliffs watching seals playing in the waves and huge flocks of pelicans resting on a sea stack.
As the next couple of days were to be our last in the van we slowly made our way towards San Francisco, whilst completing essential van cleaning-chores and putting some effort into planning the New Zealand leg of our grand adventure. Our chosen camp spot was at a vista point from which we captured a truly magnificent sunset.
Our penultimate morning in the van also happened to be the first where we were woken by the police! The signs saying no-camping kept being stolen apparently, they were very nice about the whole thing and given the body armour and weapons on display so were we! After one final pack of the van (and a leisurely lunch stop) we headed down the wiggliest and steepest coastal road south to San Francisco. A small navigational error meant we crossed the Golden Gate bridge twice in the dark, blustery fog, trying to find somewhere free to camp.
Next up: San Francisco, daytime edition
Due to the poor visibility and advisories not to spend too long outside in the smoke we didn't spend too long in Yosemite.
Our first stop was Bridalveil Falls, an impressive sight at over 175 meters!
The drive to Yosemite Village has many fantastic views, unfortunately we had to pass them all by due to the smoke, we stopped in the village for lunch and a tour of the Visitor Center before continuing through the park along highway 120 to try and escape the smoke (and approaching fires!).
Happily for us the drive out of Yosemite along highway 120 took us above the smoke and we enjoyed fantastic scenery, especially around Tuolomne meadows.
We took a quick peek at Mono lake's hat-shaped island then headed off towards the local hot springs were we heard there was free camping. The road was in a much worse state than we had thought and so we had to resort to plan B, a campsite up in the hills. An hour of so of wiggly dark roads and we found the campsite and chose a spot near a river under the trees. It turned out we had managed to find the best spot in the campsite and the next morning people arrived keen to have it the second we left!
So after a start which was slightly more rushed than usual we headed on to see lake Tahoe, not before quick grocery shop. As we drove around this HUGE lake we noted the houses seemed very big and expensive looking, there was even a castle designed to resemble an alpine chalet! There were some lovely views of the fjord-like inlets, complete with a paddle steamer in the distance.
Our plan for the next day was to head up to Lassen Volcanic National Park, we expected the drive to take all day and as the temperatures were climbing we decided to stop by a secret swimming spot at one of the many beautiful rivers. The place was so beautiful we decided to stay the night there as well, thus making far less progress then originally planned.
We had heard many people rave about the beauty of Lassen and it certainly lived up to the hype! The geothermal features coupled with pristine alpine lakes was stunningly gorgeous and Mike simply couldn't resist a swim in the emerald waters of Lake Helen.
Contemplating more unbearably hot nights in the van we discussed our plans and decided to head straight for the coast and avoid the mount Shasta area.
We drove long into the night and were rewarded with much cooler temperatures when we eventually stopped at a rest area. We only had a short drive to reach the coast, both of us sighing with relief at being near the sea (with its cooling breeze) again. Northern California is also famous for its sea mists, they roll in each evening and tend not to clear until well into the afternoon, shading and cooling the whole area.
Our first stop in Redwood National Park was a stroll around Ladybird Johnson Memorial
Grove, marvelling at the size and tenacity of these giant trees. A redwood tree can have a huge hollow burned away from its heart and still keep growing!
As we headed North along the coast we saw many more beautiful trees, the trees were especially huge along the well-named Big-Trees trail.
A quick walk along the Ah-Pah trail to observe the area regenerating after logging rounded off our day and we headed towards Florence Keller park to camp. The campsite was truly magical and felt like being in a fairy tale and the pitches are in amongst the giant redwoods.
The next day we decided to head along one of the scenic drives around the area, this would take us past a famous trail at Stout Grove. When we eventually found it we had a great time admiring yet more ginormous trees and Mike tried to remember his stone-skimming technique down at the river.
We headed back towards civilisation for the evening and after spending far longer than we expected chatting in a coffee shop we decided to spend another night in the same area. Unfortunately it was full when we arrived so we ended up in the group overflow area, still beautiful but not as magical a setting as the previous night.
It was time to start heading South again and so our first stop on the way to Patrick's Point was at the Klamath river viewpoint. The incoming fog made it feel we were above the clouds, the view before the fog did not disappoint either, a great place for lunch!
At Patrick's Point we tried to find agates on Agate beach, and failed miserably despite digging several holes the dogs would be proud of. That said we had a laugh finding perfect skimming rocks and "musical driftwood".
Our destination the following day was Mattole River Beach, as we were now following a route promising secret beaches. Despite it being off the beaten track (more like beaten up, never maintained, horribly bumpy, back-of-nowhere road) it was clearly very popular and the campsite was full. Not wishing to do the drive again we waited and patience paid off as some people checked out late in the evening.
To celebrate our camping success we had a big fry up for breakfast, this was also the first meat we had cooked in the van, neither of us fancying the extra difficulties with washing up and storage that it entailed for the rest of the trip. This also marked the start of us really taking it slow and travelling at a much more relaxed pace.
So after a paddle in the lagoon and more beach exploring we apologised to the van and began the horrific journey back to civilisation and decent roads. We would prefer to remember as little of the journey back as possible due to the trauma it inflicted upon us and the van. Examples for this are the single track ENTIRELY WOODEN bridge we had to cross and the road surface abandoning us on a stupidly steep hairpin bend. This was signed as a paved 2 lane highway - clearly the sign maker had never driven it! The beautiful new road in Humbolt Redwoods state park was a welcome relief, especially as it meant we could visit the Giant Tree, famous for being 363ft tall and one of the tallest in the world. (For the curious, the current tallest tree is Hyperion, located in Redwood NP, who stands at 380ft)
The Avenue of Giants was an incredible drive, made even better as it led to an amazing pizza place. The CA-1 is famous for being a wiggly road, in the dark it seemed even more-so. Continuing our drive in the daylight we enjoyed many a beautiful ocean vista, the fog began to creep in before we reached Mendocino but it was still staggeringly beautiful.
After a couple of wrong turns we finally made our way down to the famous "Bowling ball beach". The tide was higher than we hoped but the spherical boulders remained clearly visible and we both had fun with the cameras.
We camped near a lighthouse in the drizzle (!) so made the most of the location with a morning walk along the cliffs watching seals playing in the waves and huge flocks of pelicans resting on a sea stack.
As the next couple of days were to be our last in the van we slowly made our way towards San Francisco, whilst completing essential van cleaning-chores and putting some effort into planning the New Zealand leg of our grand adventure. Our chosen camp spot was at a vista point from which we captured a truly magnificent sunset.
Our penultimate morning in the van also happened to be the first where we were woken by the police! The signs saying no-camping kept being stolen apparently, they were very nice about the whole thing and given the body armour and weapons on display so were we! After one final pack of the van (and a leisurely lunch stop) we headed down the wiggliest and steepest coastal road south to San Francisco. A small navigational error meant we crossed the Golden Gate bridge twice in the dark, blustery fog, trying to find somewhere free to camp.
Next up: San Francisco, daytime edition
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