October 13, 2004
Wednesday
The trick in making an air mattress comfortable and stable is not to fill it up with so much air, so it will conform to the body's contours a bit. Then, instead of trying to balance on top of it, you can sink into it. Just make sure there is enough air to keep you off the ground. It had been to long since I had been camping. But it seemed that I had adjusted, since the second night was more comfortable and I slept more, even though I made my customary late night hike to the loo. The weather was still summerlike when I woke in the morning, and with the same routine, started the stove and the coffee pot going. Nancy was soon up and the frying pan was again a'sizzling.
Today was our day to spend roaming around Arcata and the vicinity. If we had time we would get to a beach for a couple of hours so I could check out the surf for fish.
By around 9:30 am we were ready to head off on our adventures for the day. We stopped at the Post office in Trinidad to mail Matt some postcards, and then headed towards Arcata. Nancy also wanted to check out the small town of McKinleyville which was just north of Arcata and on our way from Trinidad, so we took the exit off 101 when it came up. She said there was a quilt store there. I thought that McKinleyville would be a bump in the road, but as we approached it was apparent that there was alot going on with newer shopping centers and housing construction all along the road. It seemed to be a pretty busy place, with a fairly sizeable high school, and alot of businesses along the main drag! Nancy didn't know where the Quilt shop was, but it seemed to be a place where we did not want to stop, so we just drove through and back on 101 into Arcata.
Arcata is a college town. Humbolt State University is located there and has a very positive cultural impact on a town which is not much bigger in population that the student body of the school. Because of its location, the University has excellent cirriculums in Forestry Management and in Marine Biology as specialty areas of study. Nancy likes college towns and it was on her list of possible retirement communities.
We stopped in the middle of town and parked at the central square. The square was a full city block, around which all the old business section of the town had been originally built. Many of the early buildings had been renovated and restored and were still in use. The biggest building was an old hotel, which had been restored and still entertaned guests. In the center of the square was a suitably handsome statute of President William McKinley, in a presidential pose high upon a pedestal, blessing all within his view. It was commissioned by a weathy resident who had met him in 1901 and admired him as the "first modern President". In 1905 he commissioned a San Francisco artist to produce the statue for the kingly sum of $15000. Unfortunately The statue was almost lost in the great 1906 earthquake, but was rescued from the foundry by some passersby just before the foundry burned to the ground. It was shipped to Eureka in May of 1906, trucked to Arcata and installed in the square on July 4, 1906 with over 2000 visitors in attendance. Humbolt State campus is walking distance to the Square, and the statue is a rallying point for all the Humbolt State University students to stage protests against the latest "injustice de jour".
Just off the square was a quilt fabric shop! While Nancy spent her time sorting through all the colors, I walked around town a bit, hit the bank's ATM for some cash, and spent time sitting on a bench in the square having a silent conversation with President "Bill".
I went back to pick up Nancy, took some pictures of her and the Quilt Girls and we were off to explore the town and area a bit. I wanted to check out the golf courses and she wanted to check out the University. We drove through the south part of town where the "country club" was located. It was a nice area with lots of trees. The country club had been built as a draw by the developer. I stopped and got the material for membership. It seemed expensive for what it was. I was not impressed. We headed over to the University. It was just on the North side of 101 just a few blocks from the downtown area. There was a pedestrian bridge over Hwy 101 so students could walk from the school to the downtown area in safety, plus it probably helped the merchants alot with student business. The University was built on a wooded hillside. There were not alot of roads we could take to drive around the campus much, and after 10 minutes of making u-turns at the end of a number of cul de sacs we decided we had seen enough and headed north towards Trinidad again. There was another public course north of town, and of course, I had to stop there to check it out. It was short, under 6000 yards, and wasn't very appealing, althogh it was getting good play for early afternoon. All in all, the golf experiece potential in the area left alot to be desired.
Nancy wasn't giving up on McKinleyville, and we took another road into town past the small airport, but it was to no avail. The lost quilt shop did not appear and we ended up at the same busy shopping center.
I had stopped earlier at a local fishing bait shop in Trinidad and bought some shrimp for bait, and got a recommendation for a beach to try up north of where we were camped, so we decided to head for the surf. It was a pretty drive, and about 7-8 miles on 101 north of Pete's Point State Park (where we were camped) there was the sign pointing to a small county park with great access to a broad beach of black sand, obviously washed down rivers from volcanic sources like Mt. Shasta far inland.
The road into the park was about 1/2 mile long, and on the way we saw a small herd of Roosevelt Elk sharing a pasture with two horses. There were two big males with very large racks, so we stopped and looked through the binoculars for a few minutes. (It was a big day for presidents--both McKinley and Roosevelt left impressions all in one day!)
While it was a balmy day for the area, the wind was still brisk off the ocean. It was jacket weather out on the beach. We hauled our beach chairs and my fishing equipment a ways down the beach to a likely spot and set up shop. The beach dropped into the surf quite abruptly, and the waves hitting the beach were heavy and looked angry. It did not look like a friendly beach where one could wade into the surf without taking the chance of being dragged out to sea. It was very different than the shallow beaches of Southern California where one can usually wade out 20 ft or so into the surf to fish. So I stayed on the beach, and heaved my line as best I could into the stiff breeze. It didn't get out into the surf very far, but sometimes surf perch are right in close to shore. I kept losing bait even though I tied it on the hook. On occassion I thought perhaps I lost it to a "strike", but maybe that was just the optimism one must have to "go fishin". More likely, the surf just sucked it off!
Nancy thought the beach was beautiful and took off on a long walk to the north. An hour went by, with me baiting up and fighting the surf, and I was tapped out for the day. Surf fishing in the north is a tougher proposition than in the gentle climes of the south. We packed up, took a look at the the two big bull elk on the way out, and headed back to camp.
Most of the California State Parks have loos with showers and hot water. They are coin operated and a nice long shower with hot water can be had for about 50 cents. Both of us were ready for that and headed for the shower when we got back to camp. Who was it that said "You should change underwear at least twice a week!". We came out feeling all fresh with clean undies and were ready for another of Nancy's gourmet camp dinners, and of course, a couple glasses of wine to mellow us out in the woods. This was our last day in California, and in the morning we would again head north towards Bandon and our first day on the Oregon coast.
Wednesday
The trick in making an air mattress comfortable and stable is not to fill it up with so much air, so it will conform to the body's contours a bit. Then, instead of trying to balance on top of it, you can sink into it. Just make sure there is enough air to keep you off the ground. It had been to long since I had been camping. But it seemed that I had adjusted, since the second night was more comfortable and I slept more, even though I made my customary late night hike to the loo. The weather was still summerlike when I woke in the morning, and with the same routine, started the stove and the coffee pot going. Nancy was soon up and the frying pan was again a'sizzling.
Today was our day to spend roaming around Arcata and the vicinity. If we had time we would get to a beach for a couple of hours so I could check out the surf for fish.
By around 9:30 am we were ready to head off on our adventures for the day. We stopped at the Post office in Trinidad to mail Matt some postcards, and then headed towards Arcata. Nancy also wanted to check out the small town of McKinleyville which was just north of Arcata and on our way from Trinidad, so we took the exit off 101 when it came up. She said there was a quilt store there. I thought that McKinleyville would be a bump in the road, but as we approached it was apparent that there was alot going on with newer shopping centers and housing construction all along the road. It seemed to be a pretty busy place, with a fairly sizeable high school, and alot of businesses along the main drag! Nancy didn't know where the Quilt shop was, but it seemed to be a place where we did not want to stop, so we just drove through and back on 101 into Arcata.
Arcata is a college town. Humbolt State University is located there and has a very positive cultural impact on a town which is not much bigger in population that the student body of the school. Because of its location, the University has excellent cirriculums in Forestry Management and in Marine Biology as specialty areas of study. Nancy likes college towns and it was on her list of possible retirement communities.
We stopped in the middle of town and parked at the central square. The square was a full city block, around which all the old business section of the town had been originally built. Many of the early buildings had been renovated and restored and were still in use. The biggest building was an old hotel, which had been restored and still entertaned guests. In the center of the square was a suitably handsome statute of President William McKinley, in a presidential pose high upon a pedestal, blessing all within his view. It was commissioned by a weathy resident who had met him in 1901 and admired him as the "first modern President". In 1905 he commissioned a San Francisco artist to produce the statue for the kingly sum of $15000. Unfortunately The statue was almost lost in the great 1906 earthquake, but was rescued from the foundry by some passersby just before the foundry burned to the ground. It was shipped to Eureka in May of 1906, trucked to Arcata and installed in the square on July 4, 1906 with over 2000 visitors in attendance. Humbolt State campus is walking distance to the Square, and the statue is a rallying point for all the Humbolt State University students to stage protests against the latest "injustice de jour".
Just off the square was a quilt fabric shop! While Nancy spent her time sorting through all the colors, I walked around town a bit, hit the bank's ATM for some cash, and spent time sitting on a bench in the square having a silent conversation with President "Bill".
I went back to pick up Nancy, took some pictures of her and the Quilt Girls and we were off to explore the town and area a bit. I wanted to check out the golf courses and she wanted to check out the University. We drove through the south part of town where the "country club" was located. It was a nice area with lots of trees. The country club had been built as a draw by the developer. I stopped and got the material for membership. It seemed expensive for what it was. I was not impressed. We headed over to the University. It was just on the North side of 101 just a few blocks from the downtown area. There was a pedestrian bridge over Hwy 101 so students could walk from the school to the downtown area in safety, plus it probably helped the merchants alot with student business. The University was built on a wooded hillside. There were not alot of roads we could take to drive around the campus much, and after 10 minutes of making u-turns at the end of a number of cul de sacs we decided we had seen enough and headed north towards Trinidad again. There was another public course north of town, and of course, I had to stop there to check it out. It was short, under 6000 yards, and wasn't very appealing, althogh it was getting good play for early afternoon. All in all, the golf experiece potential in the area left alot to be desired.
Nancy wasn't giving up on McKinleyville, and we took another road into town past the small airport, but it was to no avail. The lost quilt shop did not appear and we ended up at the same busy shopping center.
I had stopped earlier at a local fishing bait shop in Trinidad and bought some shrimp for bait, and got a recommendation for a beach to try up north of where we were camped, so we decided to head for the surf. It was a pretty drive, and about 7-8 miles on 101 north of Pete's Point State Park (where we were camped) there was the sign pointing to a small county park with great access to a broad beach of black sand, obviously washed down rivers from volcanic sources like Mt. Shasta far inland.
The road into the park was about 1/2 mile long, and on the way we saw a small herd of Roosevelt Elk sharing a pasture with two horses. There were two big males with very large racks, so we stopped and looked through the binoculars for a few minutes. (It was a big day for presidents--both McKinley and Roosevelt left impressions all in one day!)
While it was a balmy day for the area, the wind was still brisk off the ocean. It was jacket weather out on the beach. We hauled our beach chairs and my fishing equipment a ways down the beach to a likely spot and set up shop. The beach dropped into the surf quite abruptly, and the waves hitting the beach were heavy and looked angry. It did not look like a friendly beach where one could wade into the surf without taking the chance of being dragged out to sea. It was very different than the shallow beaches of Southern California where one can usually wade out 20 ft or so into the surf to fish. So I stayed on the beach, and heaved my line as best I could into the stiff breeze. It didn't get out into the surf very far, but sometimes surf perch are right in close to shore. I kept losing bait even though I tied it on the hook. On occassion I thought perhaps I lost it to a "strike", but maybe that was just the optimism one must have to "go fishin". More likely, the surf just sucked it off!
Nancy thought the beach was beautiful and took off on a long walk to the north. An hour went by, with me baiting up and fighting the surf, and I was tapped out for the day. Surf fishing in the north is a tougher proposition than in the gentle climes of the south. We packed up, took a look at the the two big bull elk on the way out, and headed back to camp.
Most of the California State Parks have loos with showers and hot water. They are coin operated and a nice long shower with hot water can be had for about 50 cents. Both of us were ready for that and headed for the shower when we got back to camp. Who was it that said "You should change underwear at least twice a week!". We came out feeling all fresh with clean undies and were ready for another of Nancy's gourmet camp dinners, and of course, a couple glasses of wine to mellow us out in the woods. This was our last day in California, and in the morning we would again head north towards Bandon and our first day on the Oregon coast.
1 comment:
President McKinley never visited Arcata. The statue was a gift to the city from a prosperous resident. People loved McKinley THAT MUCH. Today, a range of Arcata activists hate McKinley and want him gone. None have summoned the great funds required to pull off such a task. One idiot sawed Bill's thumb off, but it was later recovered and reattached. Even the town's liberalist leaders decryed the vandal's actions.
One footnote. The statue was designed by a San Franciso sculptor and was at a foundry when the Great San Francisco Earthquake struck. When the foundry began to burn (along with much of the town) residents pulled Bill onto a cart and brought him into the street. So it was with even greater joy that Bill was brought up to Arcata by barge because Arcatans first believed Bill had perished in the earthquake and fire.
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