1st Stop - Avenue of the Giants

June 18-20, 2019

Richardson Grove RV Park, Garberville, California

Day 4-6

After leaving Petaluma (Day 1-4) on Tuesday, I headed up to Garberville in Humboldt County. The drive up 101 was easy, gorgeous, and hardly any traffic. The road was in great condition and recently paved and striped too. In some cases, the road was just 2 lanes - my favorite type of drive. The trip was about 165 miles and took about 4 hours with a stop or two to stretch our legs. It was sunny and hot - I loved it, but it's honestly, it's too hot for Sparky.

We checked into the Richardson Grove RV park which was really basic. It has a good location across from the Grandfather Tree tourist stop and was pretty much empty, other than a few residents. It's so dry and hot here. I'm amongst the trees, but no redwoods; it's all eucalyptus. What this camp lacks in visual appeal, they make up for in heart. The staff was very friendly and helpful. The person before me shorted my electrical circuit outlet, but fortunately I was able to extended the cord with an adapter and go from 50 amp to 30 amp. I didn’t want to have to repark, I was tired.

We changed and headed out for some exploring including a trip down the Avenue of the Giants, which is one of my favorite drives. I have done this a few times and it never gets old. The first time I took it was over 20 years ago in my 65 New Yorker! (That was fun; I even drove thru one of those trees!) The road was also recently paved and striped which made the easy gentle drive even better. It's amazing how some of the trees are so close to the road, you could almost reach out and touch them. The road is so tight in some places, I am sure most passengers are holding on for dear life - but it's fun for the driver though!

We were lucky enough to find some fresh water to cool off in, along the Eel River in Benbow. You can easily see the river, and people swimming, from the highway but getting there was not. GPS had me taking a short narrow dirt road along a small cliff to connect to the paved road. I don't know what I would have done if another truck came along. It was worth the adventure though. I think this was Sparky's first time in fresh water because he didn't know how to react at first. Lord know he doesn't like baths, but he loved this! It was pretty hot - about 85, and the river was cool and as clear as glass. It was so refreshing. The shore and bottom were lined with smooth rocks, so shoes are recommended. Parking is limited on road but it's only a short walk.

After, we stopped in Garberville to do phone calls and check-in. Went back to camp and met my neighbor - husband and wife traveling the coast - very nice. He helped me extending my awning. They said to make sure I stop at the Visitors Center on the Avenue of the Giants (which I did, and it was worth the stop). Made dinner and went to bed early. Driving/towing is very exhausting. Besides, there was no cell service or tv reception.

The next day we drove to Shelter Cove, part of the Lost Coast. It's a sleepy 600-person town about 20 miles north of camp, but takes 1 hour to drive because of the windy, hilly and sometimes scary drive to this secluded coastal down. It has a great dog beach that you can drive your truck onto. We stayed about 20 minutes until bigger trucks with bigger dogs arrived. On the way out, we stopped to look at the BLM beach (Bureau of Land Management). Absolutely stunning.

Drove back to Weotts (halfway point of the Avenue of the Giants) to the Visitors Center. It has a little screening room with short videos and a lot of historical photos of the groves, along with history of the 1964 flood which wiped out a few towns up here. Most interestingly, there was a log truck carved out of one piece of a redwood log by Charlie Kellogg, a naturalist and noted bird whistler. He helped save this redwood grove.

I didn't stay in the museum long because Sparky was not allowed in. It wasn't as hot as yesterday but I found another great place to cool off about 1 mile up the road (Gould River Bar Access). It was the same river as yesterday but only 4-wheel drive accessible - which was no problem for us! The water here was more shallow, but just as clear and refreshing.

On the way back, we stopped into the Richardson Grove Visitors Center near camp. It closes at 4pm, so we just got to see the building which used to be a dining hall. But, we were able to explore some of the campsites and put our toes in the river to cool off again. I would stay at this State park next time; it's nestled under redwoods and really charming.

Before calling it a day, I needed to make some calls and pickup grill cleaning supplies, so I ventured back to Redway, near Garberville. I'm told I need to clean my grill, so the bears don't attack my truck! Again, hardly any tourist traffic. But what did strike me was the dozen or so homeless in both Garberville and Redway. A little unsettling, but kept my doors locked.

The only culinary comment on this stop was a pretty good burger at the liquor store in Redway. The guy at the hardware store suggested it over the burger restaurant across the street. They even did it protein style. Yum.

Next stop Klamath!