JULY 17 - 18, 2010 EUREKA OR BUST!

Ferndale is only 20 miles to our next destination, Eureka; but first we had to stop in at the Loleta Cheese Factory just one more time for more of their great cheese. Then on it didn’t take long to reach our destination at the Redwood Acres Fairground RV Campground which turned out to be an excellent, though basic, campground close to town and a very convenient place to stay on a visit to Eureka.

Our visit was primarily to visit with our financial planner’s assistant, Linda Moot. If it seems strange for her to be 500+ miles from her boss in Walnut Creek, CA, it is a sign of our times with people working on the other end of a computer terminal. Several years ago when we learned that Linda was leaving the Bay Area for a simpler life in Eureka we hardly noticed the difference in service; actually it improved with almost instant responses from her by email. We arranged to meet with Linda and her husband Jeff at a very nice sushi restaurant on the waterfront in the Old City of Eureka where we were able to chat and learn about life in a small town as we watched fishing and tourist boats sail by.

Eureka was once a major hub of shipping for the lumber industry but in today’s world there is little lumber business left in the Northwest and tourism has become the major business. Old Town now features quaint shops, art galleries and antiques as well as coffee houses and restaurants.

We managed to find a few huge murals covering the walls of some of the buildings in town; one had a beautiful musical mural featuring Louis Armstrong while another had a mural of a theater proscenium for the

“Arkley Center for the Performing Arts,” showing a lovely ballerina with a few musicians looking on.

On our return to the campground we noticed two unusual tree houses (It pays to look up!). Two houses were built quite high in two large adjacent trees with spiral steps leading up to them, quite an interesting construction job.

On Monday we will be off to Grant’s Pass in Oregon but for now that’s all. See ya!

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!

UKIAH AND THE BIRTHDAY GIRL!

Ukiah is a small town about 60 miles north of Santa Rosa and the destination for Monday’s drive. We pulled into the Elks Lodge, which had a number of sites available. This is Fran’s hometown, where she was born and raised, with a brief move to Fort Bragg on the Pacific Coast. With Fran’s birthday coming on Wednesday, July 14th, (Bastille Day) we were all preparing for her first birthday at home in over 40 years with a gathering of friends and relatives. That evening we were treated to dinner with Fran’s mom, Anna, and her husband John Paju, at their house on a hill with a magnificent view overlooking the city.


Tuesday we were able to have Brett and Diane Wolfe spend a couple of nights at the Elks campground as our guests and then we were all off to the Ruen Tong Thai Restaurant for an outstanding Thai dinner. Does that sound unusual for a small town like Ukiah?

Wednesday was the Big Birthday; and we all gathered at John and Anna’s house for lunch, topping it off with an ice cream cake emblazoned with “Happy Birthday Fran” in her favorite color; purple, and chatting around the pool while Rick and Lynda’s children cavorted in the water. Lynda’s dad Ken came up, too, and he, John and George had a good time, as they talked about the good ol’ days and solved the problems of the world. Gary and Gordon both called, as did Fran’s brother Fred from Maui, HI. We also called Kathy in Tucson, as both she and Fran share a birthday. The weather was generally getting warmer and was supposed to be in the high 90’s so the pool was a nice place to visit, chat and generally hang out.

Roseann and Gary sent a floral bouquet from Ohio that arrived just in time and the little nephews Andrew and Cameron brought up a beautiful purple orchid plant wrapped in purple tissue. Is there a theme here? We capped off the day with a delicious grilled steak and lamb chop dinner with all the fixins’, a tiny slice of leftover ice cream cake, and then it was time for goodbyes as Fran’s brother and his family departed back to Santa Rosa and we headed back to the motorhome.


Thursday we had mostly to ourselves with a very nice lunch at “Oco Time” Japanese Restaurant. This restaurant seems to be operated by leftover “hippies” from the 60’s which in a way describes much of Ukiah; former home of Jim Jones (remember him?) and Steven Staynor, the poor lad who spent 7 years of his youth here as a prisoner of a kidnapper before being rescued and finally came to a tragic end a few years later. Later we were off to (guess what) a dinner at the Ruen Tong Thai Restaurant again with Anna and John but with Jim Moriasu of Maui, HI, an old friend of the family.


Friday we are off to Ferndale, CA, where we will again meet up with the Wolfes.


So that is all for this leg of the journey, does it sound like eating is all we do?

SANTA ROSA, CHARLIE BROWN AND LUTHER!

It wasn’t far to Santa Rosa from Napa and on Saturday morning we arrived at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds which had a huge graveled parking area for RV’s. The host was very friendly and soon had us in a nice site with a friendly tree for afternoon shade. BTW, the hookups were excellent with 30 or 50 amps, sewer and water, all fairly recent and well laid out.

Not long after we set up, Brett and Dianne Wolfe arrived and we all enjoyed Fran’s Mexican Tortilla Soup (actually, she says to give credit to Connie Gridley for the recipe). Fran had guessed the Wolfes might be nearby; and sure enough they were staying in Forestville on the Russian River so it was easy to get together in Santa Rosa. We made plans to get together again in Ukiah in a few days. That evening Fran’s brother Rick and his wife Lynda joined us for dinner at “Sushi To Dai For” in Old Town; for a guy who didn’t like sushi, I’ve become addicted to it, you just have to know what to order.

Sunday we headed to the Charles Schulz Museum which opened in 2002, two years after his death in 2000. It is a grand structure commemorating the work of the Peanuts creator who lived most of his working life in Santa Rosa. The Peanuts comic strip was started in the early 1950’s and soon became one of the most popular cartoons in the world, translated into many different languages.

On entering the main room one sees the far wall with ceramic tiles that make up a two-story-high mural, Charlie Brown, Lucy and The Football, designed by Japanese artist Yoshiteru Otani. It's made of over 3,000 black-and-white Peanuts strips printed on two- by eight-inch ceramic tiles, arranged to recreate the classic scene with Charlie Brown running to kick the football held by Lucy and, of course, she always pulls the ball away at the last second sending Charlie into a backflip, landing flat on his back.  The museum has a number of his original cartoon drawings with descriptions of the life and times of the period. Schulz drew Peanuts (he apparently never liked the name of the strip) with an eye to current events in times of political and social change; and although Charlie Brown and his friends never aged, the world they lived in certainly did. Fran read through most of the strips, and it was hard not to laugh out loud, even decades after the strips were printed.

Upstairs, we wandered through a couple of rooms housing a re-creation of his workshop and a gallery chronicling his life through photos and memorabilia. Schulz was also an avid ice hockey player and fan and had an ice rink built along with the Warm Puppy Restaurant where he would often grab a bite to eat while watching the ice rink action. While we watched through the large windows there was a tournament of senior citizens playing a pretty rugged fast-moving game. These were players in their 60’s; we overheard a staff member talking about the 70-year-olds who had played the evening before. Many of the senior teams had clever names and we especially liked “The Seattle Seniles”. While we had passed here many times over the years, we finally stopped in and are certainly glad we did.

 Later that day we passed by the Luther Burbank Cottage and Garden which is on the Horticultural List of Landmarks. The Gardens are well kept and very beautiful. Burbank once said that Santa Rosa was the best place on earth and the local folks have loved him ever since. We agree that it is certainly among a handful of really neat places. Then we were off to eat again, this time to Rick and Lynda’s home for dinner.

Monday morning we were invited to a delicious breakfast with cousins “Niki” (Zaft) Dilles and her husband Frank, (Paul) Tommy Zaft and Debi Zaft who had all just returned from a family week at Yosemite National Park. Frank and Niki had recently completed an complete renovation of their kitchen which provided an excellent place to get together after a few years of separation. It is good to keep the family together from time to time but we were soon off to our next destination which was Ukiah, CA.

THE NAPA VALLEY WINE COUNTRY

It wasn’t a long trip from Gold Country to Wine Country but what a complete change in climate and countryside.

 We pulled in to the Elks Lodge here in Napa for the first time and were pleasantly pleased with the Lodge and the RV campground. While there are only 12 sites, they are all level with full hookups and the area is even nicely landscaped. It lies adjacent to the Napa River and a biking, jogging and walking path along the river bank. Very pleasant! Over the next few days we found their food service to be excellent and ate there a few times.


CHATEAU MONTELENA:

We headed north to see some of the famous wineries and started with the Chateau Montelena in Calistoga. This winery is in an old and very impressive “Chateau” built in 1882 and subsequently passed down through two owners until in the late 1960’s it was bought by Jim Barrett who was determined to make premium Chardonnay wine.

By 1976 an Englishman from France visited the Napa Valley and took samples of about twelve wines back to Paris where he conducted a “blind” tasting with a panel of prominent French judges. As luck would have it, the California wines won the day with Chateau Montelena placing first for the Chardonnay (white wine category) and Stag’s Leap taking first for the Cabernet (red wine category). That began the demand for Napa Valley wines until today there are over 200 wineries producing some two billion bottles each year. In 2008 Hollywood produced a wonderful film of the event called “Bottle Shock.”

On our return we stopped in to the CASTELLO DI AMOROSA in Saint Helena. This is a modern winery and hotel built to resemble an old Italian castle and is truly a magnificent structure that used many pieces of wood and stone imported from the original castle in Tuscany. Hollywood uses the castle as a backdrop for movies set in the

Tuscany region of Italy.

We then tried to find the “Falcon Crest” winery of TV fame and although we had visited there many years ago it is now only open to visitors by application only. It is really the Spring Mountain Winery but "Falcon Crest" sounded better on TV, I guess.

Thursday; we met with Anna Lee, an old friend from our Bechtel days. She and her friend Ken had driven an hour from Brentwood where they live to meet with us, it was nice catching up on our experiences over lunch and then out to sightsee the City of Napa. (Spelled: shopping!) The weather could not have been nicer as we strolled along the Napa River shops and restaurants.

We liked the Elks Lodge so much that we extended our stay until Saturday when we will head out for the Santa Rosa Fairgrounds.

So that's all for now, folks~~~~~~~~~~~Bye!

THE FOURTH OF JULY IN GOLD COUNTRY

What better place to celebrate the founding of our great country than Gold Country, where men and women of amazing courage and fortitude rushed to make their fortunes in California. All this activity led to populating the West and building one of the world’s great economies.

With the fire danger so high and temperatures in the 90’s no one was up to shooting off fireworks here but we did have an old washing machine tub to contain a fire, which we did nightly. Folks would walk by on their evening stroll with their pets and usually stop and chat in the cooling evenings. It was a pretty nice Independence Day even without the fireworks. It has been interesting watching RV’s coming into the park for the big weekend filling virtually all of the 136 sites and then pulling out again on Monday, leaving us diehards in peace and quiet once again.

On Saturday, Patti Hadfield came down to Folsom from Reno where we met for lunch and then saw a movie, “Knight and Day” (be sure to miss it if you can.) Patti is the widow of Jim Hadfield, one of my best buddies since the 1940’s. He passed on about five years ago, shortly after Greg died. Jim was also Greg’s godfather and now we try to see Patti each year to reminisce and keep up to date on her activities.

Sunday was our “day off” (it isn’t easy being retired) and we just watched hundreds of people cavorting in the river in rafts, kayaks and inner tubes, getting dumped into the water occasionally and just generally having fun while ducks and geese were cavorting in the water as well. One couple had their dog swimming alongside their raft. The dog never seemed to tire of swimming along and then sliding through the rapids -- some pooch. After Rick and his boys had tried fishing in the river with no success, they went home and the following day a young lad caught a 15+” trout in the same place, which he proudly showed off to everyone. His dad later told us they had it for dinner that night.

Monday we finally found the Red Hawk Casino that many folks had recommended as having excellent meals at reasonable prices. Well, they weren’t exaggerating; we are not into gambling except for an occasional dollar or two but it is worth the trip just for the food. It is located on Highway 50 at exit 140 just a few miles west (downhill) from Placerville.

So here we are for a few more days, we will spend Tuesday getting things cleaned up, packed up and ready to head out on Wednesday morning to the Napa Elks Lodge. We don’t often stay two weeks in one place but we are both feeling somewhat sorry to see our stay come to an end.

Now that we are down to the end of this blog let me ask you a big favor, please send a short comment at the end of the blog or at least an email since we have no way of knowing if any of you are reading this stuff! OK, we do get a few comments from friends who have generally signed on as “followers”. Never fear, you will not be bombarded with spam as we would never sell your email address to those bad guys, honest!

That’s all for now, folks!

WE'RE IN GOLD COUNTRY!

On Wednesday, Fran’s younger brother, Rick, with his two boys, Andrew and Cameron, joined us at Ponderosa for a few days, pitching their tent alongside our motorhome. They arrived with fishing poles, swim suits, and even prepared to pan for gold in the American River at our doorstep. We brought out our gas grill and were treated to one of Fran’s extra special outdoor dinners. Since the boys had never had S’mores, Rick brought up firewood and ingredients and we put together the marshmallows, graham crackers and chocolate for an after dinner dessert treat! Gooey, but good! One day we all went to the Sutter’s Mill Discovery Center to learn about the Great California Gold Rush of 1849.

On Thursday night, Andrew befriended a female duck, who came waddling down the road in search of a juicy tidbit. Andrew fed the duck little bits of bread and gave a piece to Cam to feed it, too. Well, to Cam’s surprise, the duck grabbed the whole piece out of his hand and gulped it down in one swallow!

News of the discovery of gold in January of 1848 at Sutter’s Mill in Coloma, CA (then no longer a part of Mexico) spread like wildfire throughout the country and then throughout the world as well, bringing hopes of easy riches to thousands of men who sold everything they had for a chance to make their fortunes in the Gold Country. Easy riches proved to be an exaggeration to all but a few astute businessmen who set up mercantile stores to sell supplies to the fevered miners. The riches to be had in California soon came to the attention of the U.S. Government who helped to spread the stories of “Mountains of Gold” to as far away as China. It is not a coincidence that California was taken from Mexico and welcomed into the United States in 1850. The State of California has built a Historic Park at the site of Sutter’s Mill with an excellent visitor’s center and many artifacts as well as equipment and buildings from the original town of Coloma. While Coloma was the site of the original gold discovery, the gold fields soon extended for over 200 miles along the Sierra-Nevada foothills along a route that is now marked by Highway 49, named for the miners who became known as 49’ers.

Placerville in El Dorado County, California, was probably the foremost town of the gold rush era of the mid 1800’s and also became known as “Hangtown” for reasons you will just have to imagine. The Bell Tower (shown here) is 150 years old and was built to call the fire fightwers in the event of one of the frequent disasterous fires of that time. (The tower is decorated here for the local BrewFest celebration) It lies in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe and was named for the placer mining procedure that became a popular method of gold mining of that day. Placer mining soon led to hydraulic mining which required huge volumes of water in monitors (canons) to wash down the gold bearing earth to then be examined through sluice boxes for the precious metal. Many small dams were built throughout the mountains to collect water which was then conducted to the various mine sites through wooden flumes, aqueducts, ditches and pipes where the force of gravity would create enough pressure to blast away at the mountains. Of course this method made quite a mess of the countryside and washed the silt and sand downstream, eventually clogging the Sacramento River. This procedure was eventually outlawed in 1884; however there are many sites of the devastation still visible today, over 120 years later.

And that should bring you up to date on our activities as well as providing your history lesson for today! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Bye