Charlene makes a good point, tho. It does take a long time to travel leisurely because our state is so big.
See, most people who want to get to Oregon or Washington from California take Highway 5, instead of 101, and thereby miss the redwoods, which you do want to see. When you go up via 101, it gets kind of endless after Eureka. I keep vowing to actually make it to Oregon, but never have on my trips up there. I have never even made it to Crescent City. My Dad’s side of the family homesteaded in Southern Humboldt so I am pretty familiar with the area..
Really, the Pacific Northwest only begins at Humboldt County. South of it is Northern California. That might sound funny, but there is a tangible feeling of change in Humboldt, due probably to its logging history, it’s remoteness, etc and cultural differences. Little to no Spanish history above Humboldt, so it was settled differently, more Anglo-American and Germanic..
I guess you should pick which redwood groves you want to visit. I like Founder’s Grove and the Visitor Center at Myers Flat to get a taste of the history. But for a more primeval looking redwood stop, try Prairie Creek Redwoods in Orick, north of Arcata. There are walks right off the highway, or you can drive a mile or two out to the Coast and take a walk on the beach, then into Fern Canyon. What I like about Prairie Creek is that you are surrounded by huge undergrowth, whereas some of the more popular parks have lost that component of the redwood biome, because of visitors footfalls. Most people dont make it that far North. Inland is Redwood Creek, which has some nice day hiking too and its warmer, too. It’s a wonderful area, and as I say, not nearly as crowded as groves in Mendocino and Southern Humboldt Cty.
Ferndale is nice but it shouldn’t take you long to see what it has to offer. I don’t know if the Whaler is still open near Loleta (which is nearby), but they have the best clam chowder I have ever tasted, and I have been to Cape Cod, Boston and other parts of Mass. several times, always on the quest for the best chowdah. If you like Ferndale, you might like Arcata, a college town. You can get yer hippie on there. Eureka is all business and kinda gritty, though there is a historic district with a good museum (notable collection of Indian basketry).
If you decide NOT to keep going North, I could recommend Trinity County, which is inland from Humboldt. Though Trinity Lake is manmade and not particularly beautiful in of itself, it’s some of the most lush non-redwood forest in California. AlpenCellars is a winery in Trinity that I love to visit and drink at. Weaverville is a cool town, which you would approach by going inland from Humboldt at Fortuna. This will put you in Bigfoot Country btw. There are a lot of two-lane but decently maintained roads in Trinity taking you through some pretty wild country. If you travel north from Weaverville, you go up and out of the Trinity basin then into high plateau country, to Etna and Fort Jones. If you go East, you can go to Mt. Shasta and that area, which is also pretty cool.
Good luck! Use yer Google Earth to check this out!
