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Started the day at the Battery Point Lighthouse and city park wandering about and taking photos.

Then moved on to Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park.  Took a six mile hike up Howland Hills road through the Redwoods, then moved over the creek and hiked back to the trailhead on Mill Creek Trail.  A nice even climb, beautiful wilderness and some fantastic views of first and second growth Redwoods.  Got all of that done before lunch.

Battery Point Lighthouse

Skimming the Surf, the Smith River, and another fine engineering marvel.
by the way, this river will crest at 10 feet during a storm.

Second growth Redwoods, Insignificant Me and a fallen giant.

Continued to hug the coast on US-101 north into the Redwood National Forest and State Park system.  The park here is managed by both state and federal staff and they are doing a bang-up job.

The Redwoods, in a word, are spectacular.  The pictures don’t even come close to doing them justice.  Over 300 feet high, from 1000 – 2000 years old.  And unfortunately, only a small percentage of what once existed are left due to logging, climate change, etc.  The Giant Redwoods of northern California are all that is left on earth.

A few tidbits about the redwoods.  They are a direct relation to the Sequoias in and around Yosemite.  They are so tall, that they support their own ecosystems at treetop much like the rain-forest.  The branches are so big that they collect leaf litter and other debris.  The moisture from the rainy season in winter, and the fog and mist off of the coast in the summer helps to decompose this organic material to form fertile soil high up in the treetops.  Plants begin to form and animals that live their entire lives in this environment and never touch the ground.  The Redwoods retain so much moisture, and their bark is so thick, that ground fires have to be extremely hot before it will penetrate and burn the tree.  Quite possibly the biggest fire threat comes from lightning strikes and did see several examples of this.

Moved on through the park north to Crescent City for the night.

Redwoods (realize that I am about 75 feet up already).  Try counting the rings.

That’s my hat, and I have a BIG head.  This meadow was recovered from an old logging operation and now supports a heard of Roosevelt Elk.  Paul and Babe.

Travel day today.  Left San Francisco behind and headed up and over the Golden Gate one last time.

I must say, San Francisco was everything I expected and then some.  I got to see all of the highlights and some of the low, but a very picturesque city as you can see by the pictures I have posted.  I stayed quite busy all seven days and probably could have done more, but it’s time to move on.

Hugged the coast on US-101 north through Sonoma Valley, Eureka and on towards the Redwood National Forest and State Park system.

Spent the night in Redcrest CA at a small little RV Resort.  The whole town consists of the RV park, two souvenir stands and a post office.  Did get to walk through a tree though, and that was different.

Today I took a wine tour into Napa Valley.  The great part about taking this tour was that I was able to ride just about everywhere and partake in as much ‘tasting’ as I wanted.

The tour picks you up in front of the Ferry building, whisks you across the bay for a quick tour of four different wineries.  You drink, you eat, you make whatever purchases you like and then a jet boat ferry ride back across the bay.  All in less than nine hours which is pretty good when you consider that the vineyards are about 75 miles from downtown San Francisco.

I took the tour on the recommendation of Tracey, who came to Wyoming to hike and backpack with me earlier in the trip.  The idea being that I could learn something, which I certainly did.  And get to tour Napa Valley without having to bother with a map or worry about finding my way.  I am by no means a wine expert, but I do have a much better idea of what is going on.

So, what did I learn?  Wines in the states are named after the grape, whereas in Europe they are named for the region where the grapes are grown.  (I kinda of knew this already but had not really put it all together in one statement before now).  Roses are grown at the end of each row of grapes and are used as a bellwether for the grower to anticipate problems before they impact the grapes, as the roses will show signs of pests and molds before they grapes will and they can then take the appropriate corrective action.  This is much the way that miners used canaries back in the day.  I also learned that Brian can drive incredibly fast when he has 65 minutes to get us to the ferry and it’s a 70-minute drive.  We made it in 60.

I decided to highlight only one of the wineries in the photos below as some of them were just a little on the industrial side.  The Andretti Winery was very intimate, and had an old country look and feel as the Andretti’s are very Italian.  We had a private tasting here, and while I liked one of the lighter wines, the darker reds (which I seem to prefer usually) were just okay.  I understand that the owner may have dabbled in racing in a former career and has won a Formula One championship, the Indianapolis 500 and even a NASCAR race or two.

So, as Tracey would say, Salute’.  Or in my own unique way, ‘Warm and Sunny, Baby!’



One Last San Francisco Sunset . . .

Tall Ships
Started the day with a Cable Car ride, then the tall ships came into port.  Followed that up with a stroll through Chinatown after lunch.  Enjoy!!!

Cable Car Brakeman, the Downhill Run and a View out the front window

San Francisco Fire Department, The Fleet and Hercules (the last Steam Powered Tug)

USS Eagle, the Nina and the HMS Bounty

Headed straight from camp right to the wharf and took a couple of boat rides today. The first around the bay under the Golden Gate Bridge, and past Alcatraz.  Returned from that and toured the aquarium, then walked down the piers to the Ferry Tower and caught another ferry out to Sausalito CA.  Spent the balance of the afternoon walking and taking in all of the Galleries I could stand.

North Tower in the fog, The Golden Gate and a close up of Alcatraz

Sea Lions at Pier 39, Anchovies looking for a pizza and sign in the sidewalk

 
Motorcycle Riders who can’t read, ‘Old Glory’ (15 stars, 15stripes) and Sunset over Sausalito

A day at a Big Ol’ Rusty Bridge.  Photos dedicated to my favorite Iron Man (Dad).

Sunday in a Green Cathedral

Went into the city today, mostly to learn my way around.  Try out the public transportation systems on a weekend and not have to fight with the commuters.  Took the train downtown, stop in at the visitor’s center and then caught the bus down to the wharf.

Started at the Ferry Building and worked my way north.  Found my way to all of the highlights of the Piers and grabbed some lunch.  Never really stopped to do anything, other than walk, look and people watch.  Piers were quite crowded as it was a Saturday and there were dozens and dozens of tourists as well as vendor tents everywhere.  Managed to work my way all the way down to the national park.

Visited the pier briefly and headed up the hill to stand in the long line for the cable cars.  One came along that was not filling very fast and shortly thereafter the rangers came around and announced it was headed to Chinatown.  Why not!!  Off I went.  The seats were all gone by the time I got there, but there was room to hand on the running board.  So away we went, up and down the steep hills that are San Francisco.

Walked Chinatown for a bit, and as it was getting close to dinner, decided that this was as good a place as any.  Had a quick dinner and worked my way back to the train station for a ride back to camp.

Chinatown Gateway, The Rock and my ride into Chinatown (#13)

Today was an emotional day today.  Finally made it to the Pacific Ocean.  As I have mentioned previously, this is as far west as I have ever been.  Guess I have run out of real estate, so I only have three choices from here.

I could see the high rises from afar as I approached from the east, but the big bridge did not come into view until I started across the bay.  Shrouded in fog as it often is, I could see the two big towers peeking out from the top.  This was a remarkable view with the bayside waterfront of San Francisco in the foreground.

My campsite is immediately adjacent to the beach.  Basically, I am in a parking lot with an amazing view.  My site is 50 feet away, and 50 feet above the Pacific Ocean and since I have the easement to the beach right out my front door, I get a better view to the south than most of the other sites.

My plan is to stay here a week.  See as much of San Francisco as I can squeeze into so few days.  Won’t be easy, but I will try . . . .