Winter Getaway 22/23 – Episode 2

Redwoods, ocean, Victorian village, dairy farms, redwoods again, rolling hills, and vineyards all within two days!

Ferndale

In the morning, we continued along the Redwood Highway from Jedediah Smith State Park towards Crescent City and marveled at the size and height of the coastal redwood trees along the road. They are so stately and seemingly wise. In Crescent City we stopped at the marina to plan more of our route since we had no cell service at Jedediah Smith State Park. We decided to stay at the Fairgrounds in Ferndale. Just south of Crescent City we got our first good views of the Pacific Ocean…the endless waves reaching toward shore, showing off their power as they crash against the rocks. Seriously I could stay and watch the ocean for weeks. It’s mesmerizing. But we’ll get more ocean time later…we’re still on our mission to drive like mad to reach warmer weather!

So we continued on to Ferndale which is southeast of Eureka and is a quaint Victorian Village with many original ornate buildings and houses. The outskirts of town are filled with dairy farms and the fairground feels like you’ve taken a step back in time – there’s a slower, comfortable, kind pace to the community that is so inviting. We stayed here for a couple days on our Maiden Voyage and really enjoyed being out in the country with sheep and grazing cows. We crossed the historic Fernbridge and grabbed a cheeseburger, fries and shake at the local “No Brand Burger” stand. Delicious, fresh, juicy…the fries were like steak fries but a little smaller, perfectly crisp on the outside with hot potato goodness on the inside. Highly recommend a visit to Ferndale and No Brand Burger!

60+ Degrees

After a great night’s sleep at the Ferndale Fairgrounds, we hopped back on 101 South and really enjoyed the beautiful scenery. When you’re driving through the massive groves of redwoods, roll down your window and take a few deep breaths. It smells so good and clean, like an earthy Christmas! We saw a herd of elk, the expanse of the old-growth redwood forest in the Humboldt Redwoods State Park and as we got further south, the landscape changed to hills and valleys with what we think are cypress trees. We’ve had multiple landscape changes in the few days we’ve been travelling – each beautiful in their own way!

We stopped at the Mendocino College in Ukiah and played the local disc golf course. Our first disc golf in weeks! It was a beautiful course with lots of hiking up and down, hills in the background with green fields and warmth! This was our first day in the upper 60’s and it felt wonderful to be so warm!

Wine Country

And now we’ve entered wine country! Miles of fall-colored, vine-filled hills with locally owned wineries. The Nelson Family Winery was our stop for the night. We joined Harvest Host and Boondockers Welcome for this trip – we’ve heard really good things about the program from some fellow travelers and thought we would try it. We checked in at the winery, bought a bottle of wine and headed to the RV parking area which was down the road from the tasting room past acres of rolling hills with grape vines and a picturesque group of goats! We parked at the end of the road where there was an open area tucked beside a hillside with beautiful fall views. There were two other vehicles but plenty of room to spread out so we didn’t feel crowded at all. This was the perfect location to spend our wedding anniversary! That night the skies were dark and the stars were brilliant – not much light pollution out here! It was super quiet and we got a very peaceful nights rest. In the morning we got to see the donkeys and goats again. A very pleasant first Harvest Host experience!

Our morning started with coffee, hot chocolate and a scone from a local coffee shop in Hopland. We found a place to park off the beaten path – there was no WiFi at the winery and we needed to check the map and explore. Where would our travels take us today?

Ilo Edminster

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