Saturday, April 11 (SF to Redwood National Park, CA)

Saturday's agenda was somewhat up in the air. I was supposed to meet Jon up in Bend, OR on Tuesday, but it was only a two day drive or so to get there. I debated staying with Jesse for a few more days, but ultimately realized that the trip was about doing, not waiting. If I had to bum around Oregon for a few days, who cared? I'd never been there before so why not. That and I'd been at Jesse's place for a long time, and I was anxious to get some miles under me.

Starting out from SF, I had some doubts about the trip in general given the hassle of the theft, insurance, and the fact that I'd lost my gun, which was a source of comfort given my destination and the time of year (Alaska, bears just waking up, hungry and ornery). That started to dissipate with the miles, and the weather cleared up as well. I passed a convoy of about 60 corvettes which helped as well. I needed to make up some time, so rather than take 1 all the way, I stuck to the inland route and turned toward the coast on 128 at Cloverdale. It was an insanely beautiful drive, a winding country road that brought me toward the coast.


I finally hit CA 1, and shortly after that I saw my first proper view of the Pacific.

It brought the whole trip into focus again, with the enormity and timelessness of the ocean spread out in front of me. The Pacific has always seemed less approachable than the Atlantic, less willing to give itself up and harder to read. Maybe it's the mist that always seems to hang over it, or the rockier shores. Either way it's always a beautiful sight.



I continued the drive, and stopped for dinner at what promised to be a fairly secluded beach. I believe it was Patrick point state park. It was indeed secluded. I startled a herd of elk on my way in, and enjoyed some leftover vietnamese while looking out into the ocean across a beautiful beach.





After dinner, I continued up the road. I drove into Redwood Park and up a mountain looking for the campground before turning around. I never did find the mountain side campground, but there was another sign a bit down the road for one on the shore side. 6 miles down that road and I was feeling pretty frustrated there too. However, I kept going and finally found a place to camp. It was dark, so I didn't realize where I'd ended up until the next morning. It was, to say the least, worth it.





My route