FERNDALE AND THE REDWOOD HIGHWAY

We head north from Ukiah on Hwy-101, also known as the “Redwood Highway,” which heads for over 100 miles through the amazing stands of the huge and very old Redwood trees. We soon pass through Willits, the eastern terminus of the famed Skunk Train that runs over the mountain to Fort Bragg on the Pacific Coast. This was originally built to get logs out of the back country but since there is no logging in this area now, tourism is the only revenue for the train. Rail cars are sometimes hauled by a steam engine with the terrific sounds and smoke, but most often by the more modern Diesel-Electric engines. Along the way you may have bandits stop the train and come through with guns blazing. Some fun!

The highway is about 100 years old; and it is remarkable how it winds through these behemoths which, in many places, require navigating within inches of the trees that are now marked with yellow and black markers. Of course the trees didn’t stop growing just because of the road so they are even wider now than they were when the road was built. As difficult as it is for an 8 1/2 foot wide motorhome, it must be a real challenge for the even larger 18-wheel truck and trailer rigs. In places where the terrain will allow, the roadway has been improved to freeway standards for a few miles but soon goes back to the narrow forest road again. The AVENUE OF THE GIANTS is a 31-mile scenic drive roughly paralleling Hwy-101 from Phillipsville to Pepperwood on the northern end. It basically uses the original highway alignment along the Eel River passing through many of the old logging towns, some of which were washed away in the great floods of 1955 and again in 1964. This area is really worth a few weeks time to explore but since we did just that a few years ago we just passed through on our way to Ferndale.

We would not have known about the little town of Ferndale had it not been for Brett and Dianne Wolfe so we arranged to meet them at the Humboldt County Fairgrounds RV campground. Our first order was to visit the little town of Loleta (yes with an “e”) and

the Loleta Cheese Factory which has built a reputation for making excellent cheese; they have four basic cheeses with 38 variations. We did not try them all but those we did try were very good. They make over two million pounds each year with 80% going to a distributor in the S.F. Bay area who packages it into many different brands, some of which you may be buying.

The little town of Ferndale is noted for its restored Victorian houses and buildings, most of which are included in the National Register of Historic Buildings. It was settled by Danish farmers along the Eel River bottom lands close to the ocean and became known as the “Cream City” due to all the dairy farms.

The local Museum features a gallery with many of the “Kinetic” racers. These are odd-ball pedal powered “sculptures” that compete every Memorial Day over a 42-mile course in a three-day event starting in Arcata and ending in Ferndale. You have to see them to believe them.

There is a cemetery just off the main street that extends up a very steep hillside for some reason although it seems there is plenty of flat land available. For some reason it seems we would see the local police car at least twice an hour, but Brett thought he wasn’t really stalking us; it’s just a very small town.

Tomorrow we are off to Eureka just up the road.~~~~~~~~Bye!