Day-04: And Then Came The Rain

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Woke up this morning to a rainy day. With many miles to travel to get back on track, we departed Fort Bragg around 8:30 bound for Coos Bay, OR. 

This morning we realized that the AAA books and maps we had for the trip were safely stored in the cabinet of our San Francisco hotel, just where I left them. Oh well, we'll find another AAA store somewhere and blaze the trail north as did the pioneers of old. Well not exactly, we will follow the highways and we do have GPS and iPhones to help navigate and provide location info. 

En-route we stopped in at the Redwoods National Park north of Eureka, CA. After donning rain gear we took a 1-hour trail walk to the exact location where stood Lady Bird Johnson during the dedication of the Redwoods National Park, which includes what is now officially known as the Lady Bird Johnson Grove. After a brief stop in at the park visitor center for stamps and cards we were back on the road headed north. Did I mention the rain?

Lady Bird Johnson Grove

If the diameter is 7',
what is the circumferenc

Just as we transitioned from highway CA-1 to US-101 we came upon a sign for the "Drive-Thru Tree", who could pass up the chance. This is a private ownership thing, no national or state park would ever permit such a gimmicky attraction. 

As can be seen from the pictures when the tree trunk was carved-out they didn't have large SUV type vehicles in mind. With the mirrors folded-in we drove through the tree. Not until later when looking at pictures did I notice that the vertical clearance was probably closer than the side clearance. Did I mention the heavy rain? How about the wind?

As if the heavy rain wasn't enough, the high wind gusting to 30-40, proved challenging. Not so bad for a car or SUV but hauling a trailer would have been tough on the coastal road especially on the bridges. several places had tree limbs down on the road and the general tree debris added a slippery slope to the challenge on the downhills and curves. So, heavy rain, gusty wind, temps in the 50's, why are we here?

We arrived in Coos Bay around 7 PM and rushed into the room, the warm DRY room! Did I mention the HEAVY RAIN?

Venturing out during a lull in the storm we found a restaurant with the Falcons vs Patriots game playing. Though we were the last two guests in the restaurant the hospitality was good and the waitress was a Niners fan, a big time Niners fan. After a burger and salmon sandwich we headed back to the hotel. 

The day is done.

Did I mention the VERY HEAVY RAIN?