Redwoods Northern CA

Our destination is the Redwoods and we will be staying in Eureka but the trip there is longer than we like to do in one day so we spent the night in Clear Lake Oaks at the Moose Lodge, again $10.00 for the night with 30amp service.

We stayed at the Moose Lodge in Eureka as well.  Again 30 amp for $10 a night in a campground setting with Redwood trees. 

Another great thing about staying at the Moose Lodges is they don't charge extra for another vehicle and there is usually lots of room for all of our stuff, plus the drinks are cheap and they serve food!  The folks are always friendly and full of information about the area.  If you are interested in joining the Royal Order of the Moose you can click on the link http://www.mooseintl.org/public/default.asp  to get more information, yearly dues are $60.00.  If you decided to join go to your local lodge to join.

The next day we headed north to get a closer look at these beautiful giant trees.  Our first stop was Lady Bird Johnson Grove off Hwy 101 where we drove through beautiful tree lined roads

                                                and then took a hike to the dedication site.  The realization that old-growth redwood forests were disappearing far-too-rapidly led to the establishment of three redwood state parks in the 1920's and Redwood National Park in 1968.  Lady Bird Johnson was very active in preserving the redwoods.  We continued on taking the scenic Newton B. Drury Parkway which is the original hwy 101.  Words nor pictures can not describe these giant trees, this is truly a trip everyone should take.

This is a hikers Paradise with trails leading you into lush fern groves transporting you into another world.

These gentle giants can reach heights of 350' or more.  Coastal redwoods live longer than almost any plants on our planet. 

Next stop was Fern Canyon which is a must see.  But first you pass a meadow where you might be lucky enough to spot an Elk grazing, we were lucky.

You will travel down a 10 mile single lane road to reach it, glad we didn't take the motorcycle.

 

On your left you will see the coast line, much different then what we are accustom too back home.  It was a bright sunny day but once on the coast it is different, kind of grey.

Now Fern Canyon.  Jurassic Park 2 was filmed here.

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The next day we did some exploring in Eureka. 

This is the former home of William Carson a Pioneer Lumberman.  It is known as the castle on the hill which over looks the town and the seaport.

Eureka is known for artists, there are over 23 murals painted through out the town.  They also have a great brewery which we of course checked out.

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Day 3 we loaded up on the bike and headed south to the Avenue of the Giants.

Did you know that a very large redwood can release up to 500 gallons of water into the air a day!

It must be something when these giants fall.

And of course we had to go to Myers Flat so we could drive through the tree.

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Day 4 was spent in the town of Ferndale which is south of Eureka.  Ferndale is known for it's well preserved Victorian stores and home fronts.  It is also the home town of Guy Fieri, he hosts the show Diners, Drive ins and Dives.

I must also mention that Eureka has wonderful old preserved Victorian homes as well.  Next stop was a very small town called Loleta which has a cheese factory.  Actually there wasn't much else there but boy the cheese was excellent, we brought home several blocks.  Once back home we started packing up as the Caravan is moving North.

                                              Thanks again for following our adventures.

You can find my handmade jewelry on my Etsy store at www.etsy.com/shop/WanderingDesigns

AxleCrutch Moving Billboard

With Mill City in our rear view mirror we headed to Sacramento CA to visit friends and take care of business.  We spent some time here last summer visiting our friends Gaye and Yancy who we met through the PMD (Prospecting and Metal Detecting) group through the Escapees club.  Our other purpose to come back was to meet with “Axle” who we met in Quartzite while we were working the big tent show.  He , Richard Armstrong, was a vendor at the show that was launching a new product the Axle Crutch, made in the USA.  His father invented the AxleCrutch 10 years ago, it sat on a shelf collecting dust, sad to say his father passed.  His son Richard dusted it off and made it his goal to bring it to the market as his father intended.  Quartzite was the big launch for the AxleCrutch.  They had a display on the midway (outside of the big tent) and one inside the tent.  As we drove around the midway in our golf cart collecting trash, every time we came by “Axle’s” display we would shout out “Get your AxleCrutch right here”.  Needless to say we became friends sporting “AxleCrutch” bumper stickers on our golf cart.  To make a long story short we told him about the trailer that I tow.  It is 16’ long and plain white just ready for some advertising!  We told him we would be in Sacramento this spring so we agreed to stay in contact.  Well we ironed everything out and the trailer is now a moving billboard for AxleCrutch.

Now you may ask “What is the Axle Crutch?”

The AxleCrutch is a temporary support device for multiple axle trailers with leaf spring suspensions. The AxleCrutch is easy to install and permits you to drive to a repair facility on your own.The AxleCrutch provides temporary towing capabilities to a trailer that would otherwise be immobile due to axle, suspension, tire failure including: bearings, hubs, leafspring, u-bolt, lug nuts, spindle, and wheel.

There is no other product on the market that can do what the AxleCrutch can do.

The AxleCrutch can be used on:

Travel Trailers

5th Wheels

Boat Trailers

Horse Trailers

Flatbed Trailers

Construction Trailers

ATV/Sport Trailers

Utility Trailers

And other multi-axle Trailers

Go to www.AxleCrutch.com for more information and their online store, be sure to let them know that you found out about the “AxleCrutch” from my blog.  We are also a representitive for this fine American made product.  Look for the AxleCrutch trailer on the road and be sure to become a fan on facebook.

                                              A proud sponsor of the AxleCrutch team is:

We carried the trailer to his shop to have it wrapped and enjoyed a tour of BMR while we were there.  You could eat off of the shop floor!  Bill McAnally Racing is one of the most respected race teams on the west coast.

While we were in Sacramento we stayed at the South Sacramento Moose Lodge #255.  We have stayed at several Moose Lodges along the way and have always been welcomed with open arms.
 

We paid $10 a night for electric (20 amp) and water.  The weather was just perfect with 70-80’s during the day and 50’s at night.  We weren’t able to run the A/C but really didn’t need it. 

During our stay we addressed several little things that needed to be done, spent time with our friends Gaye and Yancy.  Went metal detecting with Gaye at local parks and schools hunting lost treasures. 

                                             We had a great time and thank you both!

                               Our next stop is Northern California to see the Redwoods.

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Don't forget to stop by my Etsy store and check out my hand made jewelry.

 

 

 

Just click on the link here or the side banner at the top of the blog.

www.etsy.com/shop/WanderingDesigns

 

Thanks for following and have a great day!