Big Trees, Wines, and a Volcanic Park

A Taste of northern California. Big Trees, Wines, and a Volcanic Park.

In August, Rod had a conference in Berkeley, so we started our trip with a few days in San Francisco. After the time in Berkeley, we had 8 days and decided to break it up into four 2-day sections to explore northern California.

San Francisco is many people’s favorite city and it has been covered here before. So I won’t, except to say that if you can master the MUNI’s buses and trolleys you can get around to virtually anywhere in the city. The famous cable cars are a great experience, but are so insanely busy that it’s virtually impossible to get on one unless you’re prepared to stand in line for hours.

We rented a car from SFO International Airport (easy to get there on the BART) and set off north on Highway 1 over the Golden Gate Bridge. Stop at the Vista Point on the north end of the bridge to take in the wonderful view of the city skyline and the bay with its famous islands: Alcatraz, of prison fame; and Angel Island, a local “Ellis Island” as it was an immigration center. Take time to walk onto the middle of this iconic bridge painted International Orange (a bit of a walk as the total length is 1.7 miles, including approaches) to feel the constant traffic pounding and the wind whipping your hair and watch the strong currents below tugging at smaller boats. More than likely a huge container ship will pass under the bridge, on its way to the port in Oakland.

From here, we headed on 101 to Willits, our base for the next 2 nights (at Old West Inn). It prides itself on being the Gateway to the Redwoods, which it is, but we went west the next day, on a steep winding road into the Anderson Valley to visit some of the wineries there (Navarro and Husch). This valley is not nearly as well known or touristy as Napa or Sonoma (and driving through these coastal mountains we can see why the valley is rather isolated) but produces excellent wines, especially pinot noir and gewurtztraminer. We had a nice picnic lunch in the pretty gardens at Navarro, where you can buy basic picnic goodies. From here, another winding road took us through large redwood groves down to the Pacific and the pretty town of Mendocino (good for a coffee stop) and a little farther north Fort Bragg, which is one of the terminals for the area’s famous Skunk Train (named for the earlier smelly gas-powered railcars). Back to Willets for dinner again at Al’s Redwood Room, with Thai-American fusion food that’s very reasonably priced.

Next day we set off north on 101 to Arcata, just north of Eureka, where we spent 2 nights as our base to the famous redwoods (in the Quality Inn, just off the highway). We hadn’t realized until we began this drive that in fact one of the best places to see the magnificent redwoods is in the Humboldt State Park, along the Avenue of the Giants, as it’s known. The number and size of redwoods here equals that in the Redwood National Park farther north. We leave the highway at Phillipsville and slowly savor the next 31 miles of the Avenue of the Giants, the old redwood highway, which winds through the groves of trees, the road sometimes so narrow there’s only room for one car and you feel as though you could stretch your arm out the window and touch one of the giants. Luckily, there are numerous stopping points and a couple of short walks where you can get out and actually touch, or hug, a tree if you wish. These trees are amazing, so big and so beautiful that they inspire wonder and it’s hard to find the right words to adequately describe them and the effect they have on the awe-struck visitors.

Redwood trees are the biggest living things and as we gaze upwards it’s easy to believe. Sequoias, in the same family, are also enormous----they are often more massive, with bigger trunks, but are not as tall as the redwoods. It’s worthwhile doing the ½-mile Founders Grove walk, which has a booklet explaining the forest features along the way. They introduce the walk: “You are entering an ancient forest. This nature trail will provide a glimpse into the past and a look into one of the greatest forests on earth.”

The next day we drove a little north of Arcata to the Redwood National Park, another delightful spot, for redwoods and also for viewing Roosevelt Elk. A must-do is the one-mile loop Lady Bird Johnson Grove Nature Trail, which also has an illustrated explanatory booklet. It winds through old-growth redwood forest and is a reminder of the extensive redwood forests that once covered the Pacific coast from Big Sur to southern Oregon. We learn how intensive logging has reduced the forests drastically, and are stimulated to support efforts to conserve and preserve these old giants, many thousands of years old. The day we were there, the grove was wreathed in a thick coastal fog, creating a truly mysterious, almost magical, feel, as the great, grey shapes appeared and disappeared.

There are no places to buy food in the park itself, but the little hamlet of Orick has a couple of cafes serving good diner-type food. Back in the park, it’s also well worthwhile to drive along the Newton Scenic Parkway (the old redwood highway) to gaze and wonder again at these timeless giants, with a stop at the Big Tree Wayside. A short walk takes us to the Big Tree, supposedly one of the most massive redwoods, with a height of 300+ feet and a 21-foot diameter. (To be honest, we felt we’d already seen bigger trees).

The next day we left Arcata and drove along the Trinity River Valley, through more awesome mountain scenery in the coastal range, to Redding in the valley and then farther east into the Sierra Nevada Mountains to Lassen National Volcanic Park. We entered the park at the north gate mid-afternoon and had time to do the Manzanita Lake Trail and the Lily Pond Trail, both easy and close to the Visitors Center. You get great views of Lassen Peak (the one that erupted most recently) from the lake, while the Lily Pond Trail is very informative about the many types of conifers that grow here (but not redwoods) and about the “Jumblies”, a huge area of jumbled rocks that crashed down in a rock avalanche. We then drove slowly south through the park and out the south gate, delighting in the panoramic mountain views along the extremely twisting road. The road climbs to more than 8000 feet and when we got out at a viewpoint the air was cool and thin. In fact, the park still has a thick snow cover in many places, and some of the roads and trails have only recently opened (even though this was the beginning of August), as the snow was much heavier the past winter.

We spent 2 nights at Lassen Mineral Lodge, just outside the park. It’s a lovely old-style motel that serves good food---have breakfast and dinner there, as there is no food in the park at all. The Lodge also has a General Store, where you can pick up something for a picnic lunch.

The whole of the next day we spent in the park, driving and doing some of the shorter trails. Sweeping views of towering mountains and deep valleys captivate all the visitors, but it’s also interesting to walk the Devastated Area Trail and see the physical evidence of the damage caused by the Lassen Peak massive volcanic eruption in May 1915 after many smaller eruptions. We find out that we know so much more about this eruption because of the photographs taken by B. F. Loomis. When Lassen Peak began to erupt in 1914, Loomis was among the first photographers to capture images of the event. His photographs and written accounts of the eruptions provide some of the best documentation of the 1914 and 1915 volcanic activity. Loomis was an active advocate for the formation of this national park, which was established in August 1916. He built the Louisa Mae Memorial Museum (for his daughter who died very young) at Manzanita Lake. He deeded the museum and 40 surrounding acres to the park in 1929. We can also see how the area is recovering, which serves as an example of how the Mount St Helen’s area might recover from the devastating 1980 eruption.

Two places in the park highlight the fact that this is still an active geo-thermal area: the Sulphur Works, just off the road, where mud bubbles and fumaroles spout sulphur-smelling steam; and Bumpass Hell, reached via a 3-mile round-trip loop (which was still largely snow-covered and slippery). It’s an active hydro-thermal basin and although not as extensive as that in Yellowstone, is still impressive, a reminder that this area could experience another eruption in the future.

An added bonus in the park is all the gorgeous wild flowers, a riot of blue, purple, yellow, white and sometimes red. They grow all over the park but you can get up close and walk amongst them on a bank behind Sulphur Works, and on the Kings Creek Falls Trail. This trail meanders along the green grassy meadow next to the creek and it’s so beautiful, with so many flowers, that it almost feels like a planned park garden.

We left Lassen the next morning and headed south west, partly on highways, partly on winding mountain passes, to end up in Healdsburg, a pretty town with a lovely central square (with a mix of redwood, magnolia and palm trees) and plenty of good shopping and dining opportunities. We stayed 2 nights at the Travelodge, just off Highway 101 and well-placed to get into downtown Healdsburg, to the wineries to the west, and to get onto the highway back to San Francisco at the end of our visit.

In our full day here we enjoyed exploring Dry Creek Valley and its vineyards and wineries. The valley is well suited to zinfandel and sauvignon blanc grapes and we tasted a number of superb examples at three wineries; Preston (which is an organic winery), Quivira, and Dry Creek Winery. We especially liked the last two, as they had very friendly, informative wine pourers, as well as great wine! Try for lunch at the very popular Dry Creek General Store (very similar to the Oakville Grocery in Napa), which has excellent hot and cold sandwiches---although you’ll wait a bit for them.

The eight days went by quickly and were a great way to get a preview of this part of California. We can’t wait until we return.