Max and I decided to take a break from the heat and headed towards the coast. I haven't been this far up Northern California since I took a trip with my family in our wood paneled station wagon when I was 10 years old. It was my mom, brother, grandmother, grandfather, and father all packed into a car and headed to Canada. My mother and I sat in the reverse seat in the back and looked out the window to where we've been.
Since the temperatures were over 100 where we were, the coast temperatures are a welcome site. We left pretty late in the afternoon so we finally arrived to the Redwood Forest visitor center after hours. The nice ranger saw me and decided to come out and give me a map only to tell me that all sites were filled. He wished me luck in my search and gave me a tip that some hike in sites along the coastal dirt road might be available.
Max and I decided to take his advice and try to find the free hike in sites. We drove North and turned at the bridge before Klamath, just as the ranger said and came upon an unpaved road. We continued on the coastal trail and stopped when we saw a few cars parked outside. We arrived at the
Flint Ridge campsite. There were a few campers having dinner by their car so I talked to them about the availability at the site. They weren't sure so we decided to get everything out of the car and haul it up about a half a mile to the campsites. Lucky for us, there was a space available. It was a nice hike but the best part about it was that it's FREE!
We set up camp and headed down the hill to watch the sunset. It was a beautiful foggy sunset. After that, we called it a night.
Tomorrow we will be on the hunt for some tall trees.
Did I mention that I love this state? It was my last few days in town and I decided to make a trip up the coast. Highway One is a beautiful drive and you can make it even more interesting if you veer off course and drive off on the smaller roads that take you to several of the little towns and tourist destinations in the state. It's what I did when I came across Andy and his yard ship so you'll never know what you will find.
This drive took me to Boothbay harbor to walk around the area and be a tourist for a while. I walked into a gallery and spoke with one of the artists in the gallery, John Vander. He agreed for me to take his photograph while he told me about his current exhibit, "tourist season." For more on this exhibit, click HERE.
After the brief stop, I continued back to the main highway and traveled North through Camden and saw many other quaint towns while observing clammers and fishermen until I hit the main destination, Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. It was one of the foggiest days I've ever seen so it wasn't the best day to visit if you wanted a clear view of the park. It didn't matter to me, the park is beautiful. Bar Harbor is another tourist destination and after traveling to Boothbay, I grew tired of the shops selling everything you can think of with the city name in the item.
I drove up the Northern California coast, Oregon Coast up until mid Washington. This drive didn't disappoint. The only advice I would give is to take your time. Don't make it a day trip like I did. Enjoy it and take at least a few days wandering around and seeing the sights in all their glory.
