Jeff vs. The West Coast day 2 - Hwy 1
The default google map directions from San Francisco to most major points north puts people on 101, which may be the most direct route but by all accounts meanders through some mountains and dusty plains and doesn't offer that much of interest. I left going down Highway 1, which runs along the coast of California for almost its entire duration before linking up with 101 not too far south of the Oregon border.
John Muir's words and deeds have been of great admiration to me for some time and I wanted to visit the forest or beach that holds his namesake, but as Robert Frost put it, I had miles to go before I sleep. There was time to make a brief stop at the
which provided the first of many stunning vistas. The previous evening in San Francisco was bereft of fog, but a small bank was rolling in shortly after I departed in the morning and was hovering at the edge of the coast. The sound of the breakers was more distant, but somehow made itself a bigger part of the ambient background that way. Not too long after wandering around out there, I spotted a hawk or some other sort of raptor. On numerous other occasions throughout my trip I would spot one of these (or in the case of San Francisco, two, as I saw Huginn and Muninn sitting on a fence) soaring about, almost like it was a type of mascot or watcher of my journey.
I traveled north for a few hours, stopping off at the odd spot of interest. Being along the coast I was more or less obligated to ingest
at some point, and did so at a small family restaurant in a place along the coast that was a bit less than a hamlet. Once I got past
the road became as spindly and twisty as an arthritic snake. This made for some white knuckled driving but the scenery became exponentially more incredible. Had I stopped at each viewpoint that caught my eye, I would likely still be on the road now. I've driven along the mountains here in the Appalachians many times but this road was but two lanes and not as steep, but still required much more conservative driving.
The next roadside attraction to catch my eye was the spire of a Russian Orthodox church poking behind some trees and decided to
Fort Ross was a settlement of Russians who came down from the Alaskan territory and began a small colony and intermingled with the Kashaya tribe. I'd not known there was a Russian presence in this area of the country and it was not only an incredibly scenic location but a spot to learn some non-mainstream history of the area.
Around the same time it started to get dark, a few tendrils of fog began creeping in off the ocean and for one of the few times on my journey it got overcast and misty. This continued until I pulled into Fort Bragg with the intention of having dinner at one of my favorite breweries.
has been one of my favorite beers for the better part of a decade now and I was finally able to enjoy one straight from the source. The place was fast beginning to fill up and I still had an hour and a half to go before reaching my hotel, so I headed out after downing only one.
It was dark by the time I left, and the last 80 or so miles I had to go to get to Garberville were done in darkness along a stretch of road perhaps even more harrowing than the route I had been on previously. I had to drive very slowly and carefully to get up the mountain and it was a great relief to finally make it to the hotel. This place was a bit older and had shit wifi, but the shower worked and it gave me a chance to rest up before fulfilling one of my long term goals of visiting the redwoods in the morning.
Muir Beach pictures
Misc Hwy 1 pictures
Fort Ross pictures
John Muir's words and deeds have been of great admiration to me for some time and I wanted to visit the forest or beach that holds his namesake, but as Robert Frost put it, I had miles to go before I sleep. There was time to make a brief stop at the
which provided the first of many stunning vistas. The previous evening in San Francisco was bereft of fog, but a small bank was rolling in shortly after I departed in the morning and was hovering at the edge of the coast. The sound of the breakers was more distant, but somehow made itself a bigger part of the ambient background that way. Not too long after wandering around out there, I spotted a hawk or some other sort of raptor. On numerous other occasions throughout my trip I would spot one of these (or in the case of San Francisco, two, as I saw Huginn and Muninn sitting on a fence) soaring about, almost like it was a type of mascot or watcher of my journey.
I traveled north for a few hours, stopping off at the odd spot of interest. Being along the coast I was more or less obligated to ingest
at some point, and did so at a small family restaurant in a place along the coast that was a bit less than a hamlet. Once I got past
the road became as spindly and twisty as an arthritic snake. This made for some white knuckled driving but the scenery became exponentially more incredible. Had I stopped at each viewpoint that caught my eye, I would likely still be on the road now. I've driven along the mountains here in the Appalachians many times but this road was but two lanes and not as steep, but still required much more conservative driving.
The next roadside attraction to catch my eye was the spire of a Russian Orthodox church poking behind some trees and decided to
Fort Ross was a settlement of Russians who came down from the Alaskan territory and began a small colony and intermingled with the Kashaya tribe. I'd not known there was a Russian presence in this area of the country and it was not only an incredibly scenic location but a spot to learn some non-mainstream history of the area.
Around the same time it started to get dark, a few tendrils of fog began creeping in off the ocean and for one of the few times on my journey it got overcast and misty. This continued until I pulled into Fort Bragg with the intention of having dinner at one of my favorite breweries.
has been one of my favorite beers for the better part of a decade now and I was finally able to enjoy one straight from the source. The place was fast beginning to fill up and I still had an hour and a half to go before reaching my hotel, so I headed out after downing only one.
It was dark by the time I left, and the last 80 or so miles I had to go to get to Garberville were done in darkness along a stretch of road perhaps even more harrowing than the route I had been on previously. I had to drive very slowly and carefully to get up the mountain and it was a great relief to finally make it to the hotel. This place was a bit older and had shit wifi, but the shower worked and it gave me a chance to rest up before fulfilling one of my long term goals of visiting the redwoods in the morning.
Muir Beach pictures
Misc Hwy 1 pictures
Fort Ross pictures