Santa Rosa Visit, Humboldt Redwoods State Park & Ashland, Oregon

From Sacramento it was an easy three hour drive up to Santa Rosa where my cousin Gordon and his wife Judy live on about five acres of what use to be an apple orchard. Got in around 11AM, had a quick lunch and then we took off for a hike not far away at Bishops Ranch. This ranch is owned by a religious sect, however they allow the public to enjoy what's left of undeveloped countryside via trails that wind their way up the property. Gordon selected a trail that led us up to a small lake that was covered in reddish small plant life. It is fed from the hills above, but there has been so little rain in CA, that the lake is slowing shrinking, and the feeder creek is dry in spots. Still it was peaceful walking the trail, viewing the Madrone trees, and coastal oaks. At the beginning of the hike there were warning signs with four discrete pictures, warning users of poison oak, ticks, rattlers and mountain lions. Couldn't decipher if this was for education purposes or to limit potential liability should those ambling about come into contact with any of these.  

Didn't think too much more about the warning signs till Judy had to have two tick removed from her that were actively burrowing into her skin. I then checked my inside pants legs and removed a miniature size tick as well. Further along the track, Gordon pointed out the poison oak, and then Judy heard the telltale rattle of a rattler off to the left side of the trail. After close examination from the trail we spotted the rattler warning us off.

Western Rattler along trail - Santa Rosa, CA

I found it interesting that the rattler would have even rattled, as if he had not we would not have known of his existence. We climbed to the top of a hill with good views all round, and could see the ubiquitous wine orchards not too far away.

Gordon & Judy Beebe with Boyd hiking Bishop's Ranch

This part of CA which originally produced hops for beer, then moved to growing apples and now the apple trees have virtually all been replaced with vineyards. The unfortunate aspect of this change is the negative impact on what is left of the underground aquifer. The vast volume of grapes require large quantities of water which is draining the aquifers fairly quickly. Since these waters were laid down millenniums ago, their ability to regenerate under current climate conditions is doubtful.  

Towards evening we went over and visited my Uncle Ced,

Boyd with his Uncle Ced

who is now 92 and living in a retirement home in Santa Rosa. I spent some time reviewing past times and camping we did together when I was 12 years of age, and asked him some questions about his childhood experiences growing up in Cambridge with my mother. He had a challenging youth growing up during the depression, to the extent that he was farmed out literally at age 14 over the summer to work on a farm in Vermont. The two months over the summer paid $40 with room and board. This was repeated during the next two summers in New Hampshire and relieved my grandmother from having to care and feed Ced during the summer when she had to work at youth camps to survive (being a school teacher and having the schools closed). After a piece we went out and had dinner at a local restaurant he valued, and we then returned him to the residence and Gordon Judy and I spent the balance of the evening at their home.

The next morning Gordon shared his DVD of their most recent birding trip to Columbia in 2013. Quite a professional endeavor with pictures and audio recordings of the birds. Gordon now get's paid to speak professionally on the subject of birding from the areas he visits. We took Ced out for lunch at the East West Restaurant, then went to Howarth Park

Boyd, Ced, Gordon & Judy at Howarth Park, Santa Rosa, CA

in Santa Rosa where we did some minimal strolling before returning Ced and heading home. It's of great value to me to reconnect with this generation that has been through so much trauma and opportunities in their lives. I often reflect on just how different my young adult life as a privileged Grosse Pointer was, compared to the hard/meager times my uncle and mother experienced. Yet through all this, they had family, as difficult as that was at times, with jobs scarce and medical care limited both by science and financial constraints.

The following morning I left Santa Rosa around 8AM and headed north up Hwy 101 towards Eureka CA.  The coastline of northern CA is rugged and awe inspiring. I kept wishing I had more time to meander along, but had reservations for camping under the redwoods and didn't want to miss out on that spectacle. I got off Hwy 101 at Avenue of the Giants and drove through a small town where the high school students were out on lunch break, spilling out over their pickup trucks.  here of Hilton Head High.  The Avenue of the Giants certainly lived up to it’s name with giant redwoods towering over the car on the route to Hidden Springs campsite.  Checked in with the Ranger, was provided some hiking maps to William and Nelson Groves then set up camp with now practiced movements.  

My campsite #3 sits across from and next to two large elaborate RVs, both of whom had their generators running to my dismay.  Seems somewhat antithetical to be out in this quiescent landscape and then populate it with the sounds of gas engines.  Hope they can overnight without their power supply.  After organizing camp, including switching out the dry goods so I have snacks in the SUV, I got my Hawaii Mountain and Trails Club bum pack set up with camera, water and snacks and headed out on the 3 mile forest walk to the William Grove of redwoods.  Took me roughly 45 minutes to traverse the trail with a couple of stops for pics and water.  Didn’t see a soul on the trail.  Hiking alone provided a few chicken skin moments as I reflected on the talk from Downieville of the woman who was stalked for three days by a Mountain Lion in the hinterlands of Yosemite, and only surviving by going into her tent, cutting a hole in the bottom and walking back to civilization over three days.  

Boyd by one of the redwoods in Williams Grove

Was a moderately difficult trek, moving up and down across the forest floor, over a fire road, through a culvert under the Avenue of the Giants and finally down to the grove. Besides the giant redwoods there were some smaller fir trees and Madrone trees in areas where there was ample light.  William’s Grove itself is not large but has an impressive selection of large redwoods.

One of the giant Redwoods at Williams Grove

 After examining these I walked down to the river

Boyd by S. Fork of Eel River, Humboldt Redwoods State Park

which while low was still running. There were large elevated gravel areas near the river, which was crystal clear and blue, with very little algae.  Two young girls cavorted in the river prompted me to test out the temp, which was surprisingly warm, likely around 65F.  I walked along the river’s edge away from the girls, and passed a young lady sunbathing topless, who was totally nonplussed by my presence. After deciding the water was too inviting to pass up, I shed my clothes and did a quick wash up in the river. How is it that even away in nature, you have this naughty but delightfully refreshing feeling that comes by bathing au naturelle in nature?

I dried off courtesy of a warm sun on the banks of the river, donned my hiking clothes and returned to camp on the same trail, but as always appreciating the fact that I was seeing the territory from a different perspective.

Since I had had no lunch other than trail mix, I took myself off to a nearby town about two minutes down the road and got a french baguette and bottle of Apothic Red wine to go with my organic tomato/basil soup.  Started to read the book on Vegan diets Cassie left me in San Diego then went into the Go to prepare dinner. Following instructions to put pressure on the four corners of the soup container as instructed, it opened with a dramatic albeit messy red volcanic eruption all over the insides of the Go including ceiling, stove, floor, sleeping bag and pillow. What an ungodly mess I had created!  I proceed to clean up the interior spaces best I could over a half an hour then, warmed up the balance of the soup that was still left in the container for dinner. I turned out to be a delectable dinner at my private picnic table.  The Campbell's organic soup was to my surprise, outstanding.  

Some traffic noise from the Avenue of the Giants but otherwise the campsite is quite nicely situated and I anticipate a goods night sleep after the six mile plus trek that afternoon.  Am typing this offline using Google Docs, as there is no Internet amongst the redwoods! Hope it uploads OK.  

After packing up, took a short hike to Nelson's Grove across from the campsite in the AM and washed up again in the river, before starting my drive north toward Ashland, OR. The drive up the CA coast is mesmerizing with it's cloak of gray marine layer muting the colors of the ocean.  There are numerous bays and small offshore islands punctuating the roadside views.  Drove over the Klamath River and up into Oregon, where you again transect a large redwood Forest of giants. Some road work delayed me, but listening to “The Girl with the Green Dragon Tattoo” passed the time quickly and after passing through Medford, I found myself shortly afterward in Ashland, which sits comfortably nestled in a large canyon between mountains at about 2,000 feet.  The landscape is primarily agrarian, with trees covering large areas of the mountains beyond.

Our friends Will and Char

have a well kept, comfortable, single story home in Ashland, with a terraced backyard all in fruit trees and vegetables.  After a home cooked meal with some lettuce from their garden, we took off to the Southern Oregon University Campus and attended a saxophone recital by a graduating senior.  Hearing classical music by sax was interesting and the range of sounds from the alto sax was a new experience for me.  Tomorrow, we will wake up with some yoga at their home, then head out for a 5 mile hike up to a local summit overlooking Ashland.

After a hearty breakfast of Bulgar oats and fruit, we hiked up into the hills just above their home. The land has Madrone trees, Manzanita bushes, wild irises, poison oak, fir, cedar and redwoods along with rhododendrons which were in bloom with their purple flowers. We could smell the flowering lilacs as well and came upon a Madrone tree which had been scarred by a bear.

Bear Claws on Madrone Tree

We went up and over the hilltop

Boyd hiking w/ Char and Will Nuessle - Ashland, OR

to Ashland Park, which has a reservoir, multiple pathways, a rushing creek and opportunities to stop and eat at picnic tables. We did just that, consuming the remains of last night's dinner (I know, Boyd doesn't usually like leftovers, but these tasted good in the outdoors). We then walked to a tea house, called Dopra',

Will, Char and Boyd at teahouse, Dapra'

in Ashland town and thence home through the university. The tea house had hundreds of teas and gluten free bakery products. I had Jasmine tea, my favorite and a raspberry brown nut cake. There are three such Dopra' tea houses in Ashville, NC, which is where the couple that owned and operated the tea house trained for two years.

Tonight we are going to one of Ashland's many theaters to see a production of one of Eugene O'Neill's plays. More on that later.