6th – 7th Sept 2018

Crescent City to Elk Prairie State Park 58kms 

Another wintery day, 13C, foggy and bloody well freezing. At least it wasn’t raining. We both dressed in our winter gear, and were not looking forward to riding in the cold. Our first 12 or so kilometres were up a big slow climb. With the fog and the mist, it was a very eerie experience. Lights flashing, and bright clothes, we were still not always visible, so we had to pull right off a couple of times.

 

It was a bit scary, but we just did what we had to, to stay safe. It also move pretty quickly, so within minutes, it was clearer. Crazy stuff.

The run down the other side was sweet as sweet, if a little chilly, and the views were pretty great too. After the exhilaration, we decided to take a short lunch break, and found ourselves at Lagoon Creek. A nice little rest stop, that was once the home of a saw mill, and almost destroyed by that industry. In the 1950’s, they demolished the mill and the dam they had constructed to float the logs waiting for processing, and the lagoon has rejuvenated itself, and was quite lovely.

 The next part of our day was a pretty flat section, through to Klamath, which is an Indian Reservation, with hotel and casino, and a service station. Our last grocery opportunity, so we took it. Leaving Klamath, we knew we had another climb, but it was longer than we expected, and by the time we got to the top, after turning off the 101, onto Newton B Drury Scenic Parkway, we were pretty over it all. Luckily for us, the last 12 kms was literally, and I mean, literally, downhill. We didn’t have to pedal at all. We could just sit back, relax, and breath in the incredible and immense beauty of our first Redwoods.

 

At the start of the forest, we were sceptical about how awesome the trees would be. We’ve seen big trees before. But it didn’t take long to be amazed.

It was such a special experience, doubled by the fact the sun came out, and shined through the massive canopy, making everything look larger and more incredible. We’ve seen bloody big trees before, but these were amazing. Tall, straight and regal. A super special experience. Finally, we rolled into the Elk Prairie State Park, and were directed to the Hiker/Biker sites, way down the end. Yeah, yeah, yeah, toilets and showers miles away, but we were I a gorgeous little grove, well secluded. Lots of birds, and hopefully some Elk.

 

Yep, we were flabbergasted. The minds cannot compute, tall, straight and beautiful. 

 

The tall “thinner” ones are Sequoia, the ones that have a wider trunk, are not so tall, are Giant Sequoia. Hundreds of years old, and over 360 feet tall. Straight up. Stunning.

There were a few bikers camped here, and they were all keeping to themselves. All good for us too. After dinner, we decided to go for a walk to see if any Elk had wandered into the prairie. On our way there, James and Janet (from Bullard State Park) called out to us. We sat with them and enjoyed there company until dark. We missed any Elk if there was any, but it was great to catch up with them again. 

Elk Prairie SP to Westhaven 52kms

Another cold and foggy morning, and I was struggling to get up. Will had no choice but to get up, nature was calling. Jokingly I called out to him to check for Elk. Well blow me down, if he didn’t come back telling me there was a big buck in the Prairie. I called bullshit, but Will had a photo to prove it. Because I’m so bloody lazy, by the time I got up it had gone. Doh!

 

I didn’t see the Elk, but I managed to get a picture of the camera shy Bluejays, and a cute little bunny rabbit.

Leaving the State Park, the sun didn’t look like coming out, and nor did the Elk. James and Janet passed us, as we stopped on the side of the road for some photo or something, and we were not very far behind them, when they suddenly diverted across the road and stopped. We stopped and looked, and there was a herd of Elk, just wandering through someone’s garden, munching away. Super cool to see the whole herd.

 

Better than just one big Roosevelt Elk, a whole heap,of them. It was nice.

The next town, was Orick and we decided to have some lunch there. Yes, it was already almost lunch time, we got going a bit late. I did say it was cold right? It wasn’t a big town, and it looked a bit dodge, and it was. It took for ever for the poor lady to get to us, she was under pressure, and then another forever later, our food came. It was very underwhelming, and although it didn’t make me sick, it didn’t stay in very long, if you understand me.

Our plan today, was to get to a campground at Clam Beach, about 54kms away, but something amazing happened in Trinidad. That is Trinidad, California. We rode passed a couple of big lagoons, and through the Humboldt Lagoon State Park, then up the big hill to Trinidad. We took the scenic route around Patrick’s Point, which was nice and we got a couple of views, but really it was more roller coaster than views. But while we did some grocery shopping in Trinidad, a cute little town, a nice local stopped to chat about our ride. Karl had been to Australia in his youth, surfing and having a great journey. He gave me some route advice, explaining that the Scenic road is exactly that. When Will came out, we took the local advice, and this time, were not disappointed.

 

We don’t mind a bit of rustic. Especially when the scenery is so great.

Stunning, just stunning. It really was fantastic. The road was a bit “rustic”, as Karl had suggested, but well worth the effort. We spotted another cyclist on the road, Eileen. She was doing the big numbers, smashing out the 100 Kay days, as she had to be somewhere in some ridiculously short amount of time, but we all were snapping a billion pics. She was really nice, and also blogging each day, after her long days.

 

Eileen is a bit older than us, but absolutely smashing her ride. She’s going to Mexico.

Shortly after we first saw Eileen, we stopped again for pics, when a car pulled up next to us. It was Karl again, who asked if we had anywhere to stay, and if we’d like to ride to his place, and stay with his family and him. Well, gees, how nice, and that would be great. Another off the wall, crazy situation we find ourselves in. Karl gave us some directions, it was only 3kms away, up some more hills, but in a very nice spot.

We met Danny, Karl’s wife, and one of their sons, Nate. They also love to rescue dogs, and have three. Danny cooked a salmon, Nate had caught, and we met a couple of the random neighbours, who just popped in for a Friday drink, it was a fantastic night. Interesting listening to the stories of their past, the county they live in, and their views on their country. This is why it is good to be open to kindness. So we never made it to Clam Beach, instead we stayed in Westhaven.