Friday, October 21, 2016

Avoiding the Bulk of the Rain in Fortuna, CA

We beat a hasty retreat out of Brookings, OR just ahead of several days and several inches of rain, bypassing some stops we'd been considering in the redwoods. Riverwalk RV Park in Fortuna, CA was nothing special, but it had paved roads and sites and was in an area where we'd be able to get decent internet if we were stuck inside for several days.

We ended up with a couple of inches of rain off and on over four days...much less rain (and wind) than we'd have experienced in Brookings or other points north of Fortuna. Once free of rain we did some exploring...

The "Victorian Village of Ferndale, CA" sits just five miles west of Fortuna and is a fun place to stroll and admire some wonderfully preserved old buildings. In the late 1800's Ferndale was an agricultural and transportation hub, today it is a sweet tourist destination and an historic landmark.

The Old Steeple/Music Store in Ferndale is owned by Paul and Sherry, friends of Hans.
We'll return later in the week for a concert in this wonderful old venue.
Let's take a stroll down main street Ferndale...







The cemetery on the edge of town was as interesting as the buildings.

We found the hiking around Fortuna to be pretty mild, but interesting enough to get us outside. Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge lies a few miles north of Fortuna and is an Important Bird Area, though the prime birding season is November through May. There are several Refuge units located around this huge bay and we visited two: Hookton Slough and Salmon Creek.

Lovely fall foliage covered Hookton Slough.

We watched several large flocks of Marbled Godwits fly past...the sound of hundreds of birds wings was mesmerizing!

Egret in Salmon Creek.

A fresh water pond at Salmon Creek Unit.

Many flocks of a hundred or more Canada Geese flew overhead during our three mile walk at Salmon Creek Unit.

Headwaters Forest Reserve, located just south of Eureka, CA, protects the headwaters of the Elk River and an intact, old-growth redwood forest. We hiked the first three miles of the 5.5 mile Elk River Trail.

The first mile is paved and signs along the way describe the turn of the century mining town. Falk, that used to thrive here. Beyond the pavement the gravel trail continues through lush second growth redwood forest along the babbling Elk River, which was more of a stream in mid October. Had we continued to the end of the trail we would have seen the old-growth forest the Reserve is protecting.

Morning dew enhances a spiderweb in deep, dark, damp redwood forest.

A large leaf maple is fully engulfed in moss along the Elk River.



Banana slugs.

Hans played pickleball several times at Fortuna's Rohner Park, meeting some lovely folks who invited us to dinner...thanks Karen and Joe for your wonderful hospitality! Rohner Park also has a couple of miles of trails that we walked one afternoon.

An old-growth redwood stump towers over Hans in Rohner Park.

Karen and Joe gifted us some beautiful leeks and shallots from their garden.

We stayed an extra night in order to see Sierra Hull in concert at the Old Steeple in Ferndale. Thanks to Paul for introducing us to his lovely venue...a magical, intimate setting for live music!


Stained glass windows in the Old Steeple, Ferndale, CA.

On Thursday we continued our slow meander towards San Diego, with a curvy drive (that was hard on Rosie) through redwood country. Lets see what kind of fun we can find in Ukiah, CA...


23 comments:

  1. Glad you got out of OR before the heavy rains.
    Poor Rosie. Our cats hated travel days. Sophie would howl when we were on curvy roads or high elevations so she's probably happy she doesn't live with us anymore.

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    1. We keep a beach towel on the back seat because she throws up after about an hour of curvy roads. Fortunately once she's got it out she is fine to continue the ride!

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  2. Ah, the beauty of being able to escape the bad weather. Good thing the storm wasn't "the worst storm in history", as one of the weather media sources predicted.

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    1. Yeah, it could have been a lot worse. I actually wouldn't have minded seeing the heavy rain that fell in Brookings...better to be safe than sorry though!

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  3. You picked a fabulous place architecturally to get your paved sites and good internet while waiting out the weather. Great plan. As you know I'm a lover of beautiful buildings, usually meaning old ones, and especially their tops and beautiful architecture. Great pictures. I'd love to see that fantastic main street in Ferndale. Love your angles. And a NWR right there too. Sweet! One of the best spider web photographs ever.

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    1. Oh yes, Sherry, I am sure you would enjoy walking around Ferndale! It's definitely got the highest concentration of victorians I've ever seen!

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  4. So glad you were able to get away from the worst of the storms. They didn't sound inviting for RVs! You found a great little area to wait out the weather. The building architecture and colors are beautiful! I love the details and colors in the painting. Love the egret reflection photo! It is hard to believe that that is one stump Hans is walking by unless you've been there to see how massive these trees are. Beautiful photos along the trails:)

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    1. We did manage to find a variety of things to do around Fortuna, didn't we?!

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  5. Such beautiful details on those old buildings - love the colors! Your web and moss-covered branch are really wonderful. Such a magical looking place. So far Ukiah, CA was our least favorite stop with little redeeming value other than a spot to park for our day trip to Fort Bragg, and a visit from family. Hope to hear you found something to enjoy about it!!

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    1. I do think redwood forests are magical! Especially when they are dripping wet!

      Ukiah really is just a convenient place to stop, but we're managing to find a few things of merit!

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  6. The array of detailed paint and colors on those old buildings is very cool!
    mark

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  7. Beautiful buildings! Although the storm turned out to be not as bad as predicted, you're still lucky to have avoided it. I liked the spiderweb shot.

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    1. We were fortunate...you never know how bad it's really gonna be.

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  8. When I read the title, I thought the place sounds familiar. Sure enough those Victorian buildings up northern Ca caught our attention a long time ago.

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    1. Yep, If you live in Nor Cal, you've likely visited Ferndale!

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  9. What a nice visit in spite of rains and winds! The colors and shapes of the old buildings is striking. But I love the photo of the spider web...gorgeous Lisa!

    We hope to see you in January!

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  10. My husband and I bought pie at the Ferndale Pie Company, delicious! Fortuna was our first stop on Hwy 101 after coming over the winding and LONG Hwy 36 from Red Bluff in the Central Valley. Refreshingly cool after the 105 degree heat of the Valley in summer. Enjoy your fall travels.

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    1. It is amazing the temp difference between the big valley and the coastal strip! I've heard that 36 is really curvy!

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  11. We've never spent time in Ferndale, but have always meant to head inland a bit and explore. We definitely need to check it out next time we're heading that direction—the music venue looks delightful!

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    1. I think you two would have enjoyed the concert...and Ferndale!

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  12. Hi, we were staying at a Koa when our indoor cat got outside. She's a rescue who's terrified of outside and was too scared to let us get close enough to catch her. After the second night out we bought a trap, set it with her favorite toy and some food. In the morning the trap was tripped, and empty of food, cat and toy. We think she may have been taken by a lady who 'helped' us look for her. She has been full timing with her construction working husband. The site was in St Mary's, Georgia but they're home base is elsewhere. We're desperate to get our cat back. We can prove ownership and loving care but we need the RV communities help to find her. Can you help get our story out? I can be reached for more information on twitter @RckyMntLuv

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