Day 77: Eureka CA to Mendocino CA 230km

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Today is the day of the redwoods.We are riding through the Valley of the Giants.

This line up of sparkling bikes - Harley's, Hondas and one BMW looks very orderly. A tour group, we surmise.

The friendliest group you could imagine.

It's a patched gang from the Centrepoint Community Church in Roseville near Sacramento CA.
"Find your joy in The Lord and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land"
Isaiah 58:14
Meet Rachael, the medic and Chris who came from the UK 13 years ago.
The group is well organised with a road captain, a medic, 2 chaplains and a following vehicle.
There is a delightful contagious camaraderie among the group.
They ride together once a month and today they are on their homeward run after 9 days on the road.
Imagine being in a church with its own bike gang? Third space par excellence.
Meet Doug, the Road Captain.

Is that ABBA I can hear? A cacophony of music fills the air as they ride off.

What a happy encounter.

"The joy of The Lord is my strength."

A 20' tree house inside the trunk of a felled redwood.

The tree is she ribbed as the eternal tree it has some surviving branches and has twenty 'off spring' redwoods around it.

Many redwood were milled in the Mendocino area and the timber was used to rebuild San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake. Only 2% of the original 1.92million acres is left.

A Tibetan family. The daughters were born in America.

Yes, for $4 we get to ride through a redwood.

The tree is still alive.




Along the road we meet Ginger, the canine Mayor of the town, and Colin and Bill.
Bill who had been a farmer came to the town 47 years ago. When he arrived the town was bankrupt. Gradually he bought most of the buildings.
He and Colin have coffee together each morning and then go along and open the bar at lunchtime.
Scenes reminiscent of the milled river valleys in Marlborough, New Zealand.

Near Benbow the air is filled with forest fire smoke.
We turn onto CA HWY 1. More pockets of redwoods.
Including the drive through Chandelier tree.
This looks like the tree in the Arthur Mees Children's encyclopaedia.
Some of the best winding roads take us to Mendocino.
An inspiring day.

 

 

 

 

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