Day 20: Northern California

Day 20: Northern California

The SR-1 that was right at the foot of the space in which we slept was very quiet all night until about 6:30am when a few cars started to pass. We sorted the van and ate a breakfast of leftovers and prepared to leave by about 8:30am.

At Arena Point we took a short detour to see a lighthouse perched on the cliff edge. While visiting we stopped to watch the waves crash onto the rack along the shore.

The road North of Fort Ross was not as twisty as it was to the South. As such we made fairly good time as we ventured further along the coast.

Further along the coast we stopped in MacKerricher State Park near Fort Bragg, CA to dump our tanks and fill our water tank. We also took the opportunity to enjoy the day use parking area (free) where we enjoyed lunch and made Oregon campground reservations for the next week.

Back on the road SR-1 turns inland just North of Rockport, CA and head through a Redwood forest. The road climbs and descends quite a lot as it crosses the coastal mountain range. It also is super twisty and tight. This road would make a brilliant motorcycle cruise route IF it were repaved. This they are planning according to the roadside signs over the next two years.

Eventually we reach US-101 and turn North towards our destination in Miranda, CA. Tonight we are taking advantage of our ‘Boondockers Welcome’ membership (part of Harvest Hosts). BW hosts are homeowners or other locations that provide places to park for a night and don’t require any payment or purchases of any kind.

Our location tonight is on a small gravel area adjacent to the hosts laneway within the redwood forest adjacent to Humboldt Redwood State Park.

Tomorrow we plan on driving the remainder of US-101 as we cross into Oregon where we will be slowing down and enjoying a few Oregon State Parks.