College Visit Road Trip, July 2011 - 3100+ miles
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| From 2011 Droid Pics and Vids |
After a breakfast at the Walnut Cafe in SoBo, and dropping Leah off at Emilia's for delivery to Camp Santa Maria later in the day, Kelly and I were off on a long long drive to the California coast and college visits.
Drove north through Longmont to I-25 and Cheyenne before rounding the bend and heading west on I-80. Feels so frustrating to be heading in the wrong direction like that! Across Wyoming, the winds were pretty mild, the views were large, the grasses were green. Windmills, pronghorns, trucks. Kelly took her first stint at the wheel west of Laramie.
First time driving 80 into Salt Lake City. Had dinner at a Panda Express in Park City before dropping down into town. Green, green, water in all the rivers and streams. Monsoon rain storm before getting to Park City.
Across SLC and into the flats along the Great Salt Lake, which was freshly topped off with melt off and rains. Muddy salt flats all around. Stopped at Bonneville Flats to get our feet salt encrusted. The flats looked like an icy lake, with water everywhere and slushy salt crust.
Across Nevada, the mountains were incredible! Snow on all the high peaks, water in every draw and drainage, green grasses and flowers in the flats. Just incredible.
Drove until 11pm and slept at a quiet rest area 30 miles east of Mill City.
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Day 2
Early am driving breakfast in north Reno at a 7-11: coffee and a danish.
Off the highway now and heading up along the NV/CA border. Kelly got more driving time in, over 5 hours. I took over again as we got into the windy hills of Cali.
Up to Lassen Volcanic NP, 4 miles up a side road. Thought we would drive through the park but the pass was closed with 15 foot drifts. Wild. The snows this year were just epic. It's mid July and things are still closed.
West again, and down down down to the savannah of the central valley and Redding to the final stretch to the coast. And what a stretch! That road, Rt 299, is just amazing! Climbing up into the coastal range and winding all over the place to drop down a down and follow the Trinity River. Clear water in a class II/III river bed for miles on end. The town of Weaverville looks like a great place to explore: reservoir nearby, river access, steep mnts and trails everywhere.
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| From 2011 Droid Pics and Vids |
Finally reached the coast and headed north to Trinidad and Patrick's Point State Park. Awesome! Snagged the last site, #68. Pleasant trails along the rugged coast. Fog and mist. Sea lions!
Day 3
A morning stroll to Agate Beach then a drive to Trinidad where we visited the Humboldt State Marine Laboratory and walked the pier to watch the fishermen. Awesome little open harbor among the rocky bluffs of this rugged coast.
Drove along Clam Beach to get to Arcata. Quick walk around the town square, shopping for lunch food, then up to the town forest park by campus to eat and wait for the 2 pm tour.
Toured campus: Kelly was impressed and we both think it is the perfect size with an excellent focus on science balanced with arts. Huge greenhouse, diverse set of dorms. OACS in the Canyons.
Off on the road again. Through the Avenue of the Giants and the giant redwoods. Wild!!! The trees are rather large. Found a camp site open at 6 pm but we both thought it was a bit depressing and dark so we moved on to hit the coast. Another wild drive!! Branched off 101 to 1 and followed them most windy road outside of Switzerland for 22 miles. When we popped out of the coastal mnts, we landed right at an open campsite on a bluff overlooking the Pacific just north of Rockpot. Nice!! A bit foggy here, but nice to fall asleep in the van with the back door open listening to the crashing surf, 40' below.
Day 4
More serious drive time today. Holy crap, Rt 1 is just non stop curves and narrows going up and down and all around. It is the most taxing road I've ever driven for such a long stretch. But beautiful everywhere.
Down along Mendicino county with a stop at the Golden Gate Bridge park on the north side. A short stroll along the wharf to get pics of the frog shrouded bridge then onward and south on 101 through the hilly western parts of San Francisco. We made sire there would be an open spot to camp at several private campgrounds near the city, but pushed on to Butano State Park, a red wood grove about 28 miles north of Santa Cruz. We grabbed one of a handful of open camp spots nestled up on a knoll under the very tall canopy of the red wood forest. Went for a really nice 2 mile stroll along a ravine with Little Butano Creek splashing along side. Had a tasty dinner of salad, bread, and an organic chicken sausage that we picked up at a Safeway in Half Moon Bay. And a nice glass of Ravens Wood Cab Sav that was all of $7 a bottle.
Day 5
Up early to eat breakfast along Rt 1 at Waddles Beach. Had a nice cup of coffee, oatmeal and some bread watching 4 surges bobbing and catching the occasional wave. Misty and a bit drizzly then a spot a sunshine. The coast in the summer is pretty cold and not very inviting. But the temps are in the 60s so not too bad. The surfers wear thick suits, head to tow.
Onward to Santa Cruz for the 12 o'clock tour. Beautiful campus with meadows and red woods perched up above the coastal plain. Big school though and the tour didn't paint a very inviting picture after the cozy feel of Humboldt. Big classes, big state budget impacts, big school atmosphere. After the tour we visited the marine research center, which was impressive. It's a nice facility and they give a good tour, including a glimpse of two dolphins they inherited from the Navy which they care for and use for very humane research on behavior.
From there, still further down the coast to Monterey. We reserved a spot at the fairgrounds RV parking lot but when we saw it, I got more resourceful and found the Veterans Park, perched above town with several open camp spots and hot showers. Awesome find! Snagged a spot and then headed down to town to walk the Coast Guard wharf and check out otter, seals, sea lions, nesting cormorant, all right there in town. Had dinner at a bar which served a nice red snapper and fish and chips.
Day 6
Misty morning on the hill above town. Slept in until 8:30 then went for a stroll on the nice beach east of town before visiting CSUMonterey Bay for the 11am tour. Small school that opened in 1995 on an old army base. Beautiful and creative use of old buildings and a mix of new ones. Definitely a nice school but feels a bit like a community college. Not much research going on that is known or visible outside of ocean mapping. Could be a good fall back if things don't work out elsewhere. They do a lot of bio with a marine emphasis but no direct connection with the aquarium.
Afternoon was spent at the aquarium. So cool. Kelly loved it. So did I. It's so well run. A bit busy but manageable. By 4pm we were done and heading east, with a sad a farewell to the coast. Three and half hours later, with Kelly doing a fair stint behind the wheel, we find ourselves parked along a dirt road about 12 miles outside of Yosemite. Had a nice dinner—killed the sausages with a rice mix—watching the Merced River swishing by below our pullout. Hopefully the ranger that drove by a little while ago won't come knocking on his return drive - it's now dark and it would be tough to find an alternative in these here crowded areas outside the park.
Regardless, mission accomplished. We visited all three schools giving Kelly a good overview of three different types of schools. She has a good sense of what she wants and this helped confirm her thoughts and desires. My guess is that if she gets in, despite the weather, she'll find herself in Arcata a year and a few months from now.
Day 7
Got to make a grumpy Kelly by waking her up at 5:30 so that we could buggy up to the Valley before the crowds and start our real eastward trek.
The Valley: still the same. The walls of granite are the same impressive behemoths and the valley floor is still the same crowded, mostly unattractive place. The river is running high this year as are the falls. We drove the loop up past Curry Village and over to the Awahnee then headed back down to make coffee in El Cap meadows. Got to point out out the Nose's Great Roof to Kelly; she's got a poster of Beth Rodden lay backing out on it so that was kind of cool.
Up to Toulemne for more quiet reminiscing. Wish Rach were with us :-( but we did get to vicariously live a bit of her summer adventure by stopping at the John Muir trail and making sure her car got picked up by Alex.
The memories are good. So many fine days spent frolicking around the woods and cliffs with Rach... Hope we have lots of time together to keep exploring and having outdoor fun....
Onward and eastward. Down past Dana Peak—scene of a fun little climb/epic on the eastern edge of the Sierra escarpment 18 years ago—and on down to Mono Lake and Rt 150 and Rt 50 across the incredibly beautiful basin and range of eastern California and Nevada. Just incredible. Need to look to see of folks have developed any climbing along Rt 50 in Nevada, near Ely. Lots of limestone in this area.
We finally made it to Holden, off of Rt 50 and I-15 hoping to find a count campground. No luck. Instead, we headed up out of town to the east following a brown forest service sign to Wide Canyon. Passing by a local on the way, we confirmed that there would be plenty of open space and no worries to crash up here. Great spot! West sloping hillside with grand views of the basin and range to the west and a great sunset under clear blue skies. Macs and cheese and a glass of Ravens Wood, Kelly nodding out in the van watching the last of the sunset colors giving way to stars...
Day 8
Another 5am wakeup and drive morning...and more beauty along the way. The grasses are tall everywhere and the streams are flowing. Along Rt 50, it was just amazing on the way to I-70. And then more fo the same heading east along that highway, except with more and more sandstone thrown in. Finally woke Kelly up near the first San Rafeal Swell overlook and gave her her chocolate donut for breakfast - with a view.
On Kelly's whim, we got off at the Goblin Valley exit and headed south to do Little Wild Horse canyon but after heading south for 15 minutes, watching the monsoon fill the early morning sky with clouds and virga, we sadly opted to bail on that idea. Instead, we headed into Green River to check out the Powell Museum and on to Fruita to hike a nice 4+ mile loop near the Rattlesnake Arch trail. That was great diversion and well needed exercise for our atrophied legs. Got some treats and gas in town while the sky let lose then headed off on our final leg of the trip. Stopped bu the Big Sur wave east of Grand Junction but it wasn't up. Always wanted to see it and this was the first time taking the time to do so. The river must be below that 20,000 CDs threshold as there was no wave in sight.
Knowing the summer ski traffic would be bad near Georgetown, we took a long, leisurely early dinner at Larkburger in Edwards. Got to the tunnel by 5:30, late enough to miss the traffic...not. It crawled from Silver Plume to Idaho Springs and we didn't get home until 8.
Kelly is just such a sweet heart, a wonderful, pleasant, easy going person to hang out with. Quirky, innocent, fun-loving, smart, and just all round a charm to be with. She will have a grand time with college and I can't wait to see how things pan out for her.
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| From 2011 Droid Pics and Vids |
