This was a short drive today, about seventy miles. I arrived in Eureka at 10.00 AM. It is a lot cooler here than a few miles inland.
The high temperature today was 55 degrees F. I am camping at the Moose Lodge this time. The donation for camping is only $ 12.00. The Elks donation is $20.00 per day. Of course the Elks have cable television hookup.
I am satisfied with the stations I get with my High Definition antenna. The Moose have a lot of big trees on their property.
Nicolette and Jacob have grown. Jacob’s hair is really long now and curly.
4-26-13
In the morning I went to McKinleyville to the Azalea State Nature Reserve. Because it is cooler than normal this year there were not many bushes in bloom yet. In town the red Azaleas are in full bloom.
When I came back to the lodge three female deer were feeding on the grass. A car disturbed them and they walked back into the forest.
The Laurel Tree Charter School presented William Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” in the evening. One of Nicolette’s friends was in the play and Claudia, Nicolette, Jacob and I went to see it.
It was not easy to understand the children trying to speak Shakespearean English. Their soft voices did not carry so well, but it was fun anyway.
4-27-13
Eureka had their annual Rhododendron Parade today. It was cold and damp but the parade went on. Because the blooms are late, there were not many flowers on the floats.
Fire trucks seem to be always in parades.
The Grand Marshall came next.
There were several school bands.
The Shriners are always funny in their tiny cars.
It looks like everybody in town wanted to be in the parade.
The accordion player sang his lungs out.
The folks on this people powered vehicle had a lot of fun. They were pedaling and shaking from side to side.
It was a very long parade. I am showing only a few pictures.
In the afternoon Claudia, Scott, the children and I went to the Chinese Buffet in Arcata. When we came out of the restaurant the sun was shining. It was a pleasant surprise.
4-28-13
The Boy Scouts served breakfast at the Moose Lodge this morning. I went and had scrambled eggs, pancakes, orange juice and Canadian ham. Everybody got the same.
When I went to pick up Nicolette and Jacob, for going to the Sequoia Park Zoo, Jacob was eating breakfast.
Sebastian and Myrtle were greeting me. Sebastian can hardly walk now. He sleeps most of the time. He used to go to work with Scott, not anymore.
The Red Pandas seemed to be the most popular animals in the zoo.
A lot of fruit and ornamental trees are in bloom now.
Jacob liked this pony.
The kids became spiders.
Children were able to brush the animals.
Nicolette and Jacob did sketch several animals. I knew that Nicolette was an artist. Last year she won a contest designing a label for a company which makes salsa. Two hundred young artists participated.
Jacob surprised me; he is very good too.
In the park are large stumps from the original growth. Often young redwood trees grow out of the stumps. But sometimes different trees and bushes start their lives on top of the stumps.
One bird took a pause from sitting on the eggs.
This was a fun day. We had blue skies and the temperature went up to about 60 degrees F. Some of the locals wore shorts and T shirts. I have to run the heater in the motorhome in the morning and evening.
4-29-13
I borrowed a six feet step ladder from the lodge and with a bucket and a rag washed the passenger side of the motorhome. Then I waxed it. In the winter this side gets the sun. Because of the solar panel location I face the motorhome towards the west.
In certain areas the gel coat is peeling off. The wax helped it a bit but the dull areas are still visible. After all that work I was tired and needed to take a nap.
In the afternoon I went to the Blue Ox Millwork and Historical Park. It is also a school of traditional arts. They have woodworking tools from the 1800s. Some saws and drills are powered by foot pedals.
Homeowners from all over the United States, who have Victorian Homes, or homes built centuries ago, have windows or columns fabricated here. The work is done to old drawings or photographs. Right now they are making banisters for a place in Pennsylvania. The lathe operator has to make over one hundred of those parts.
The owner of Blue Ox met President Clinton in the White House.
Part of the museum is a logging skid camp, blacksmith shop, ceramic studio, print shop and rose garden. The logging skid camp could be moved by oxen to different locations. This is the bunk house.
The meeting house is now a puppet theatre.
Paul Bunyan guards the whole place.
When Nicolette and Jacob came home from school I spent two hours with them. I had planned to leave earlier but Nicolette had done her home work in school so she could spend more time with me. It makes no difference to Jacob. It is fun though to be with him outside the home.
At 7:00 PM the Senior Dancing Club had their Monday Dance at the lodge. A five member band was playing some good music. I was standing on the door watching the old people dance, and some were very old. But they moved around on the dance floor. A lady came to me and told me to join them. I paid four dollars and got in the act. At 8:00 PM they held their club meeting. They also announced that they had a guest. I had to get up.
After the meeting we went to another room where refreshments were served. At 9:00 PM the dance continued. Some people had left after the refreshments. It was probably past their bed time. They should start at 6:00 PM or earlier, because by 9:30 PM there were not many dancers left. I had danced every dance, whether I liked it or not. One lady came and got me while the band played a waltz. I started perspiring. It took me a while getting in step. The good thing is, nobody knows me.
4-30-13
This was a cold night. In the morning it was 39 degrees F. in the motorhome. The cloudless sky caused the drop in the temperature. During the day it was sunny and cool. I drove to Orick to see the Elks. There was a herd in a meadow south of the town. They were all females.
I love this drive which goes along the ocean and through some forest. On the way back I stopped in Trinidad. It was windy near the light house.
Bushes and trees were in full bloom in town.
The cherry tree next to Claudia and Scott’s house is blooming too.
Their garage is filled with Scott’s father three motor bikes, and some other stuff. So Scott built a garage for his Jeep.
The kids built their own building.
5-1-13
In the morning I went to the Morries Graves Museum of Art. There they had a small display of Romano Gabriel’s sculptures. Romano Gabriel was an immigrant from Italy. Because of the salty air and very little sun in Eureka he had a difficult time growing flowers in his front yard. He spent thirty years building brightly colored wooden sculptures out of vegetable crates. As the years passed, Gabriel’s garden grew until it almost completely obscured his house, and became a tourist attraction.
After his death The Wooden Sculpture Garden was bought by a family and now it has a permanent home in Eureka’s historic Old Town. Unfortunately it is protected by glass and it is difficult to take pictures. The reflection of the glass shows buildings across the street and cars and people.
5-2-13
After lunch, at the Senior Center, I drove the northern stretch of The Avenue of the Giants. The road follows the Eel River and there are groves of giant redwood trees. The bark of the tree is fire resistant, but the inside of the tree can burn.
The Immortal Tree survived lightning, the loggers ax, and forest fire in 1908, the flood of 1964.
At the founders tree I took a hike.
The root system of the redwood tree does not go very deep. The tree does a balancing act by growing branches opposite the direction where the tree is leaning to. This tree fell over.
Here is another burned out tree.
I stopped at The Drive Thru Tree. Instead of driving through I walked.
There are other items to look at.
The stump houses are cute.
This was a T shirt day. In Eureka the temperature went up to 72 degrees F. Inland, and on the Avenue of the Giants, it was in the mid 80s. This was the best day, weather wise, since I am here. Monday it will get cooler again, and it will probably rain.
In the evening I went with the family to Nicolette’s school for the Spring Concert, Nicolette is singing in the chorus. First the band was playing.
Then the chorus was performing.
After the concert refreshments were served. It was a fun evening.
5-3-13
This was another glorious day. The weather was perfect and at the Senior Center they celebrated Cinco de Mayo. On the menu was white fish taco, Spanish rice, mixed vegetables, and two desserts, mixed fruit and flan.
After lunch I went again to Trinidad, to Patrick’s Point State Park. First I walked the Patrick’s Point Overlook Trail. From the overlook the Wedding Rock can be seen.
Then I hiked up the Wedding Rock.
In the park is the replica of the Sumeg Village. It was constructed in 1990 by an all Yurok crew. The buildings are typical redwood plank houses. I questioned how people with crude tools could make the two inch thick boards.
The ranger showed me the stone wedges the Yuroks used to split the boards from the redwood logs.
They did not make their own canoes. They traded for them with another Indian tribe.
My next stop was Trinidad Head, a 350 feet high hill surrounded mostly by the ocean. The trail went up very steep and I had to take several breaks. It was worth it though. The view was terrific. The Memorial Lighthouse on the city shore can be seen as a small spot in the distance.
I got a good workout today.
