Moving Further North!

Moving Further North! 

On the way out of San Francisco, we made a stop in Martinez, CA to visit the home of John Muir. Most of us know about his conservation and environmental work that helped Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon, but before that time, he was just John Muir, husband, father and fruit farmer. In 1823, Don Ygnacio Martinez received 17,700 acres in Contra Costa County, California. In 1848, the U.S. took California from Mexico and gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill. John Muir's in-laws bought property and erected a two story home. John Muir and family moved into house in 1912. Fruit ranching continued from in-laws to Muir and 120 acres are farmed. Part of the farm including the house are  part of National Historic monument. A self-guided audio tour helps you get a full grasp of what transpired in the farming community. Holly, one of my friends, is actually a docent at the site. When I asked her how much she enjoyed being a docent and she said she simply loved it. I have heard the same thing from others who volunteer for the National Park Service. 

From there, we moved north and east towards Redding and Lassen Volcanic National Park. We headed through the coastal redwoods and as we were coming down one of the mountains, we heard a terrible noise from our towed car. Obviously, I pulled over to see what was happening. The tires were hot, but I couldn't see anything particularly wrong, so we continued our journey to the Mount Lassen KOA. When we settled in and tried to move the car, it became obvious that the transmission was gone again. By the way, we bought this car because Ford said it could be towed and, it even clearly states it in the manual. We had the car towed to a shop who said that the damage was way beyond his capabilities and that the engine appeared totaled as well. There was no way we could get it fixed in Redding. We rented a car and planned to to rent a tow dolly and tow our car behind the RV to Salt Lake City. So being our 13 stay in SLC.

But, before that, Mount Lassen.

By the way, that photo was in June. At Lassen, snow arrives early and stays late.  Mt. Lassen is one of the largest plug dome volcanoes. This type of volcanic event is something we usually see in the distant past, but the last time Mt. Lassen erupted was in 1915, a time when my grandfather was already here. Shortly thereafter, the park was created on 8/9/1916. At 10,547', it is pretty high up there. The road through the park takes you up about 8,500' where the snowfall averages 600-700', making it the snowiest place in California. 

And yet, thermal vents were in numerous locations throughout the park.

Miles away, on the side where the volcano blew, are giant chunks of rock that weren't there in 1914 and were there in 1915.

Hiking, boating, and you name it, all in one place.

After some wonderful sightseeing, Utah.

More of Northern California

Still in Northern California, we headed up the coast to our son and daughter-law, Mark and Dani's new home in Jenner. The kids bought it as an investment and vacation property but it is so fantastic, I would never want to leave. Jenner is a town of just a couple hundred people situated where the Russian River meets the Pacific Ocean. High on a hill facing both, the house couldn't be located in a more scenic spot. The photo was taken in the morning as the fog rolled down the river towards the ocean. From their porch, you can see so much beauty but you can also hear the seals and sea lions. It is a delight for the senses.

Everyone enjoyed it including Jack and their dog, Wrigley.

We stayed at a great RV park in Bodega Bay, a lovely beach town about ten miles south of their house. The restaurants are known for the wonderful crab and certainly worth the reputation.

Not far from their house is the lovely little town of Duncan Mills. Small specialty shops, restaurants and bakeries. A great general store sells just about everything plus grass fed beef, organic fruits and vegetables, and all else Northern California.

You may not know, but I still work part time. At the end of my working career, I became a loss control inspector, doing commercial building inspections for a variety of companies that worked with insurance companies. It was very interesting work, seeing all types of companies. It is simply amazing what people do. When we made the decision to hit the road full time, one of the companies asked if I wanted to do quality reviews. I could work part time from my computer in the RV.  And that's what I have doing but every once in awhile an inspection will come along in some unusual place where we happen to be. It happened when we were in Northern California. Joanne and I packed up Jack and headed to "Trees of Mysteries". You know, one of those roadside attractions you never stopped at and probably never would. I was asked to do an inspection of the entire property.  Here is the description from the brochure,

"Situated right in the center of the Redwood National and State Parks, we are California's original redwood Nature Attraction and have been welcoming visitors to this part of the world since 1946. 

We are 8/10ths of a mile of groomed interpretive trail through the awe-inspiring redwoods.  Part of the trail (The Trail of Tall Tales) is devoted to the mythology of Paul Bunyan, America's larger than life logger from the turn of the century. "

We weren't expecting much  but boy were we surprised. Commercial but incredibly natural, crass at some parts and simply breathtaking at others. It turned out to be so much more than we ever thought.

      

What an astounding day!

Back to California

When last we met, we had been in Southern California. Next we headed north to San Francisco to see our son, Mark and his wife, Dani. While there we visited a number of national parks and monuments. One of stops was Point Reyes National Seashore. The bay is named for Sir Francis Drake who was said to have stopped there and made the first contact with Coast Miwok people who had lived there for thousands of years. Tule elk that were almost hunted to extinction have returned to the protected land. A third of the park is wilderness, another third is a pastoral zone where dairy and beef ranches have operated since the the 1850's. The remainder is all part of the park. 

One of our favorite stops was the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historic Park in Richmond. Having grown up in Philadelphia, I was familiar with the role of the port and the Naval shipyard in World War II, but I knew absolutely nothing about what was going on in California. Richmond's became a ship building center due to its rail and deep water connections.  Henry Kaiser's shipyards and 50 other wartime industries. During the war, the shipyards produced 747 ships (simply an amazing number).  The shortage of experienced men opened the opportunity for women to enter the workforce. Many female workers were riverters and the "Rosie the Riverter" icon and song were a major part of the program to recruit women workers. Over six million women entered the workforce and created the first major entry of women into the national workforce. The museum is simply fantastic with displays showing so much of the history including what was happening on the home front during the war. Absolutely, a place to stop.

A great piece of history!

Next, it was on to Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Just across the Golden Gate bridge on the Marin County side resides the massive Golden Gate Recreation Area.  On one day, we visited the Marin Headlands, Fort Baker, Muir Beach, Point Bonita Lighthouse, and Battery Townsley. Believe it or not, there is even more to see including the Presidio which we never got to see. 

We visited a number of San Francisco's favorite places including Chinatown for fabulous food and Haight Ashbury for great memories. 

Shades of Jimmy Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Procol Harem and Iron Butterfly. 

Next stop, Mark's new house on the ocean.