Elizabeth here again with another post about our trip. Yesterday (Saturday) started off nicely
but turned into a (mis)adventure. We started the day in the Arcata Community Forest, which is like the nature preserve on steroids. It's over 600 acres of second growth Redwood trees. There are also numerous gigantic stumps of first 
growth trees. It was raining during our walk, but we hardly noticed as we strolled through this amazing set of woods. I highly recommend a stop if you are in the area.After leaving rainy Arcata, we made a quick stop in Eureka and then headed east on Highway
299 towards Redding. We made it about 90 miles through rain turning to snow before being stopped by a mustached fellow telling us we could not proceed without chains, which we didn't have (at the time). We headed back to Arcata (in the rain) and continued south on Highway 101. We stopped for the night in Ukiah (after unsuccessful attempts to find lodging that allows dogs in a couple of closer towns). The drive was incredibly rainy and dark but we made it and were happy to sleep in a clean Super 8 room.Today, we set off for Yosemite National Park. We made it to I-5 (and were happier than we've ever been to see an interstate) and sunshine. In Sacramento, we stopped to view the Capital building and try an In N' Out burger, which we enjoyed. We headed out on Highway 120 towards the park. Partway up, we noticed a sign stating we would need chains to continue, so we stopped in a small town and bought some. We also learned from one of the store's workers (via his girlfriend that worked at the park) that the roads in the park were closed due to high snowfall. So, for the second day in a row, we turned around and retraced our steps. We drove south to Bakersfield to regroup (we happen to be staying right next to Buck Owen's Crystal Palace). After checking the California DOT page, we learned that the road we were planning to take tomorrow (Highway 58) is also closed due to snow...which means we have to get far closer to L.A. than I would like. Who would have thought that traveling in February could be so problematic?
We're still undecided about our next steps. We are either going to head straight for Vegas or stop by Joshua Tree. All we know is that we are heading south!
Mileage so far: 1,543.4
Mileage spent backtracking: ~350
9 comments:
Too bad about all the backtracking; I was kinda worried about the snowfall aspects of your Cali explorations! Hope your luck improves on the rest of the trip.
oi! sad about the backtracking. hope the drives were somewhat pretty...
maybe the weather be more hospitable on the next leg...
Bummer about Yosemite! Joshua tree is supposed to be great, though, and we all know Vegas rocks. ;) So, I'm sure your luck will get better.
Love that pic from the car. You can see the road reflected in E's glasses. Too cool! =)
You MUST go to Joshua Tree! It's the most bizarre looking place. I think it must have been the inspiration for all of Dr. Suess' landscapes.
SO I can't believe you really left. For some reason, I thought it wouldn't really happen. ?
AC Slater
Wait - NOTHING about the Giants beating those NE cheaters??
AC Slater II
So you may want to take advantage of Joshua Tree, it could be your last chance...I was at Golden Gardens tonight, listening on the radio to experts debating whether climate change might actually kill all of the Joshua trees in Joshua Tree. The snow and backtracking is all part of the journey, besides, the West in the winter is better than the Deep south in the summer. Enjoy (and stock up on some kitty litter for traction).
Keep those entries coming! It's great following your cross country trek. You could write a guide to traveling with a dog! Does Sydney join you for the final leg?
I am very impressed that you could use the chains. So impressed that I went home and told Josh, and we agreed that we are both basically incompetent at that kind of thing. I am so jealous of your trip while I sit here pretending to work!
Since you are going to start driving south, I think you should add Atlanta to your itinerary. We may not be able to gurantee much but we can pretty much gurantee that you will not need chains on your tires! Besides, we went big for Obama that should add to our appeal and really what do a few extra days added to your trip really matter, but not this weekend, I will be in NYC. Love the pictures!
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