Saturday, August 14, 2010

Hiouchi, CA to Manteca, CA

The word of the day for Friday was SLOW..... VERY SLOW! We traveled well over 400 miles but the first 324 miles were the most interesting. We finished Hwy 199, then South on Hwy 101 for over 235 miles and then Hwy 20 for about 80 miles. The whole distance was steep mountains, sharp curves and narrow passes. I rarely reached 50 mph until I reached the interstate after almost 9 hours. Here are the stats on the first 324 miles. It took us between 8 1/2 and 9 hours for an average of 37.8 mph. Like I said, the word of the day was SLOW.
We took it slow and easy and watched the scenery go by and enjoyed seeing the things our God has made. We saw miles and miles of Redwoods, mountains, the Pacific Ocean, fog, sunshine, cliffs and sandy beaches. It was another beautiful drive. I am trying to embed a map of today's drive. Let me know if that works. If it does I may do that on travels day when I have access to the internet.

These first two curves were within 3 miles our campground this morning.... These were followed by several hundred more curves....


Reckon this tree has been hit a few times by folks just like us trying to get around this curve without getting in the oncoming lane? I was prepared...I drove in the oncoming lane....


The fog was very thick for an hour or so as it rolled off the ocean and over the road.


We stopped for a few quick pictures several miles South of Crescent City. It would have been a great time for a swim since there was nobody else there but Kelly Jo doesn't believe in swimming when you have to wear a hat, coat and gloves to do it...

I am sure the BoggsMobile has been to the Pacific Ocean before (The first owner lived in southern California) but today was the first time we brought her to the ocean. I asked her to pose for a picture in front of the waves. She didn't want to since we have been on the road for days without a washing but she posed anyway!

The rest of the day was pretty much more of the same (Pictures below) and worth every mile of it. We did drive past Clear Lake for several miles on Hwy 20 but no pictures... It was gorgeous though.

We are in a RV Park in Manteca. We arrived just at dark and it took us about 20 minutes to unhook the jeep, pull into the site and level up. In the process I was accosted and cussed by a very dissatisfied neighbor from a few sites down because I was a "rich guy idling my diesel so everybody in the campground knows I have a diesel." That is not an exact quote because he kept using the same curse word for a filler every three or four syllables. I tried being kind but that just welcomed him right into my face so I ask him where he went to school. That kind of knocked him back on his heals as it always does. He told me he went to school all over and I told him he didn't get a very good education because he only learned one word and it was vulgar. He slowed for a bit then kept repeating himself. Our immediate neighbors were as appalled as we were and they told me I shut the engine off over an hour before quiet time.

Well, we meet some interesting characters out here on the road. We rarely cross paths with folks who refuse to get along but tonight was an exception. Maybe I'll get a chance to talk with him in the morning before we leave.

We are only about 60 miles from our destination and we are ready.....
God bless you all.

Davy









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Friday, August 13, 2010

Hiking the Stout Grove Trail

Kelly Jo and I drove back to the beautiful road through the redwoods to do some hiking on Thursday....

But first we needed some KFC for a picnic under the majestic trees. It was finger licking good!


We headed for the trail that leads down to the Stout Memorial Grove.

We stocked up on water before we picked up the chicken. If a fat boy is going to hike he needs huge amounts of water! No sense in getting dehydrated out in the redwood wilderness...


Full of chicken and stocked up on H2O we hit the trail!


This particular grove was donated as a memorial in 1929 by the widow of Frank D. Stout who made several fortunes in the timber industry.







Here is Kelly Jo standing by the roots of a tree that fell many years ago.

This place is awesome! We can't get enough of all these massive trees!

Anyway, we had a great day.

Davy

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Jedediah Smith State and National Parks (Redwoods)


The most beautiful Redwoods that we have seen are in Jedediah Smith State and National Park near Crescent City, California. We came through here in June of 2005 on our way to some of the same churches we will be preaching in the next several weeks. We found a campground in the evening and ask about pretty drives in the area. A ranger directed us to a gravel road that runs through the Stout Grove. He said we would like it and we did. It is a 6 mile drive right though the heart of a fabulous grove of Redwoods. In 2005 Kelly Jo and Odie road in the back of the truck so they could take it all in. Kelly Jo thought about climbing on the luggage rack on Mr. Cheap Jeep this time but we forgot the bungee straps and it was pretty chilly!

After five years of dreaming we made this drive again Wednesday evening and it was just as great as we remembered it. We love it so well we will probably drive it again before we leave. Please enjoy the pictures and let us know what you think.

Hope you all had a great day as well...

Davy