Go Big And Go Home - Day 5 - Smoke on the Water, Masked version

Last night we were doing our best to decide what our stop would be for tonight…exhaustion finally set in so we put everything away to look at again this morning.  Well the overall plan from the night before wasn’t a bad one but we definitely wanted to make some reservations ahead of time, given the number of people seeking relief from the smoke along the coast, including residents.  So we booked for Fortuna tonight and the wine valley for the following two nights.  This left us leaving a little later than we planned, just shortly after 9 am.  That was fine as we expected today would be a pretty straight ride with not many stops or photo opportunities……man we could not have been more wrong!

We stopped in Port Orford, OR to get gas and to check on the fire status.  Although we check it daily, both the night before and that morning, there is never any guarantee that a fire can start or the smoke can fall into the canyons or the coast.  We filled up with fuel and put some air in the tires all the while we have the slight linger of smoke in the air.  A gentleman who stopped (he was local) told us the smoke was from the Anvil fire and that it wouldn’t be long before we rode out of it.  We headed out expecting that the fog would be pushing the smoke east as it had indicated on the weather station this morning.  

As we road along the coast it wasn’t bad, however true to what we have been experiencing we suddenly turn eastward through the forest and up through the mountains.  A beautiful canyon but the smoke was getting heavier.  We opted to stop and mask up which was a good decision.  The ride through the valley was nice but the smoke was very prominent sometimes mixing with the fog.  That was nice as it seemed to push the smoke out or at least dilute it enough that it didn’t smell. 

We remembered that Teddy didn’t get to visit the beach with us last night so, Teddy needed a beach picture.  We stopped at Gold Beach to see some other rock formations and coastal area….and get Teddy’s picture before we left Oregon.  

He’s not much of a poser but he is very willing to pose for any picture you want him to pose for.

We finally rode out of the smoke in time to have lunch in Brookings which was good timing.  We got to take them off and ride the rest of the day enjoying the coast line again.  

It wasn’t but a few minutes after we left Brookings that we passed through the state line into California.

Generally a smooth ride through on the 101S, through small towns, watching the coast as we were in and out all the way to Crescent City.  While we saw lots of new really neat trees, the really amazing ones were yet go come.  Not long after passing Smith River, the 101S has another name…it is knows as the Redwood Highway.  At first it seemed to be just a highway name derived from what California is known for.  

This too is true, but what is truer is that the road started to move inland, and then it started to swing up quickly with sweeping turns. As we went up the fog hung in the trees above us….way above.  We were now flowing along tall strong redwoods as we climbed and climbed the hill…it had a magical feel to it, almost mysterious but in a good way.  Like the mystical fairies were slowly introducing us to these giants.  At that moment I said to Larry, how happy I was to see the fog as it really gave the trees a beautiful soft, magical feel…I was not disappointed that it was not sunny…..man was I wrong.  As we hit the top of the peak, the fog fell below us, and the sun shone through the base of these trees….they looked like legs on a million giants and the filtered light was stunning.  It didn’t last though as we started to descend a bit and we caught more of the fog.  This is when we got a chance to stop and take a couple of pictures.  We were blown away and yet we know that tomorrow will bring even bigger giants. 

The day ended with more small communities that were really kind of cool.  Our stop tonight at the BW in Fortuna, CA.  We walked to the local Italian restaurant and had an amazing meal and a glass of wine.  We are feeling truly blessed and grateful to be able to experience all of this in the way we chose to.  We hope that this inspires other to explore places in a different way.  Most people will ride the Interstate corridor through all three of the states we have travelled…they don’t know what they are missing on the roads less travelled.  We know them to be less travelled because the roads are perfection and we do not encounter a lot of traffic.  The Interstates and Highways have robbed people of real adventures and do nothing to inspire same….regardless of how you travel or where, try those roads.  The experiences could be very uplifting. 

Tomorrow night we hope to be uplifting some wine as we stay in the wine valley for two nights to rest up, for the next leg.