In search of Sasquatch - after breakfast.

Motel breakfasts are generally pretty dire so we started off our morning at the Samoa Cookhouse, the last remaining original lumber cookhouse in the west. With the multitude of coats hooks in the hallway it is easy to imagine teams of lumberjacks piling in here for a hearty meal after logging some of those giant redwoods.

Interior of the Cookhouse

There is no menu to choose so you eat whatever the chef is cooking that day - French toast, sausage links and scrambled egg, with coffee, OJ and biscuit and gravy for breakfast today. 

Not gourmet but great to eat in such a historic place that's been serving food continuously since 1893, plus its all you can eat too.

Todays Menu

After breakfast we drove to the end of the Samoa peninsula to stretch the legs. We were rewarded with the sight of a pod of harbor porpoises swimming by, accompanied by several seals, as well as wild mussels and colorful starfish clinging to the rocks.

With breakfast settled we drove out to Willow Creek up in the mountains, Bigfoot capital of the world. It was here in 1967 that the famous footage of Sasquatch, the mythological large hairy bipedal humanoid, was filmed, though unsurprisingly we didn't get a sighting. The museum was fun to visit though, and not too many tacky tourist souvenirs either, though we thought this bottle of wine was probably one of the better things for sale.

Best Bigfoot souvenir !

.

Back on the road again

Three weeks went by very quickly and it was with mixed emotions that we finally left our house-sitting assignment in El Dorado Hills.

From left to right - Karma, Sparkie, Sammy (licking paw) and Micky

Having grown quite attached to the pets it was not fun to have to say goodbye, though after such a good break we had a renewed urge to continue our travels. The homeowner was very pleased with how we had looked after everything and so after a quick handover we said our goodbyes and were on our way again.

For that night we had booked a nearby motel where we watched on the local TV news station - and from our window - a major wildfire starting to develop. It was only few miles south of us and even made headlines on the BBC news with around 1500 fire fighters tackling this blaze, just one of many hundreds currently burning across the state during the worst drought here in forty years.

Point Arena Lighthouse

The following morning we drove north through the Napa Valley, probably California's most famous wine region, stopping for two nights at Ukiah, a delightful small town from where we visited Point Arena lighthouse - the tallest lighthouse on the US west coast, and where the final scenes from the film "Forever Young" starring Mel Gibson were filmed.
After six weeks inland we were pleased to see the ocean again and smell that unmistakable sea air too. The waters here are deep and cold, creating coastal fog which drops the air temperature on the coast, a welcome relief from the heat inland.

 .

The fog also helps sustain the giant California Redwood trees that grow in a narrow corridor along this coast, the tallest trees in the world. Driving through these amazing trees on the scenic "Avenue of the Giants" was quite an experience - not only are they incredibly tall, but you can actually drive your car through several of them, which of course we had to do.


And so onto the town of Eureka which is where are staying for a few days, the largest coastal city between San Francisco and Portland. The old town area is full of history and listed buildings, perhaps most famously the Carson Mansion, now a private members club and a truly stunning building. There is also a lot of whacky artwork on the buildings and it is quite a funky town, only marred by the largest number of homeless people that we've seen since Honolulu.

Whacky artwork on a plain building

The Carson Mansion

We even saw a poodle today with a goatee. Enough said.

The final week in El Dorado Hills

Between getting up in the morning and going back to sleep in the evening we've been kept surprisingly busy walking, feeding and caring for the dogs, feeding, cuddling and cleaning out the cats, feeding and cleaning ourselves, watering the garden, doing shopping, laundry and a little housekeeping, not to mention the various tasks that we do on the computer.

Now that we find ourselves in the last few days at the house, we've started making plans for the next few weeks ahead and some advance bookings for motels along the way too. Its been a very enjoyable stay for us, completely different to the previous three months and all in all a relaxing break, as well as a chance to get lots of things done too.

The down side of all this is that it probably does not make for very interesting reading on our new blog - not even any good photos to post here, but please stick with us and we promise it will get much more exciting in the coming weeks !

Week two of the house sit

Ok, here goes for our first real post. Although we haven't done that much in the last week or so, we want to update our blog as it a new experiment for us and you too. We walk the dogs Karma and Sparkie twice a day, and have done a little exploring of the area but nothing like what we would do usually, so it really has been a break for us - travelling is fun but it can be tiring too.

Sparkie cooling off on the kitchen floor

Karma enjoying a bit of fuss with Craig

We've also had to go shopping for supplies and have enjoyed doing some cooking in the kitchen, as well as relaxing in the garden and the pool too. There is plenty of wildlife here as well, from humming birds and blue jays flying buzzing around the garden, squirrels chasing each other through the trees, and wild deer appearing randomly on the front lawn.

The house we are staying in has a whole house air conditioning system, keeping the interior at a constant 25c, which is very welcome as the outside temperature here has gone over 40c though its cooler today. When that happens it's nice to sit inside and watch a film - our hosts have various on demand services such as Amazon Prime and Pandora radio, so there's plenty to keep us entertained.

There was some commotion the other evening with a fire at a house just two doors away from us. No less than five fire trucks of various shapes and sizes, two paramedic trucks, and several sheriffs or deputies turned out, plus many onlookers from within the neighborhood. It was quite a sight and despite the extensive and acrid smoke there were no injuries.

Ladder no 85 in attendance just a few doors up from where we are staying.

We're here for another week but have no firm plans beyond that, so watch this space !

House and pet sit

Here we are in a wonderful house in the El Dorado Hills area of Northern California, looking after two lovely dogs and two sweet cats. Its really nice to be able to sit back and relax a little - travelling is great fun but quite tiring after three months, and we are enjoying having a couch to sit on, as well as animals to give attention too.

Sparkie Barkie, A.K.A. Snorey Farty, but very sweet. 

Karma, who snuffles for truffles like a little piggie, also very sweet and loving.

Lake Tahoe

Moving on we spent a few days at Lake Tahoe, taking a trip on the Tahoe Queen paddle steamer to visit Emerald Bay, created thousands of years ago by glacial action, the terminal moraine breaking through into Lake Tahoe by just 10 feet to create this stunning bay. All that GCSE Geography is starting to make sense now - better late than never. Lake Tahoe is a prime ski resort in winter and a hive of activity in summer, attracting boaters, bikers and hikers alike. With temperatures hitting nearly 100F (38c) we hired a boat and went out on the lake by ourselves, the water being very cold but refreshing, and with our picnic it made a great day out.

Bristle Cone Pines and Mono Lake

Backtracking a little we returned to Mammoth Lakes to visit the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest high up in the White Mountains of Inyo County. Growing at an altitude of over 10,000 feet (3000 m), the trees that make up this forest are the oldest living things in the world - the oldest being dated back 5064 years, - and still alive. Quite remarkable. We also took in some of the lakes in the Mammoth Lakes area, Twin Lake Falls, and Mono Lake, which we had seen from the plane when we arrived back in March. This large, shallow body of water is naturally saline, and is home to an abundance of wildlife. Most gulls in California are born and raised here, and we were lucky to see a pair of Osprey raising their chicks in a nest built on a Tufa, a type of limestone formation created by mineral deposits.

View from Twin Falls

Mono Lake with tufa's in the foreground

A Bristlecone pine, the oldest living thing in the world

Reno and Virginia City

En route to Reno we stopped at the ghost town of Bodie - perhaps the best preserved and most authentic wild west gold rush ghost town in existence, and learnt about the boom and bust that was so typical in the late 1800's during the Gold Rush.

The historic ghost town of Bodie

An idiot in a bathtub

Reno being a town built on gambling during these times, accommodation is cheap, clean and plentiful and so it made a great base to explore from. Unlike Vegas it is relatively small, walk-able and has a delightful river running through it, with people enjoying swimming in the cool waters during heat of the day. Being the closest big town to the Burning Man Festival, it also has its fair share of quirky alternative stores and we did enjoy our time in the self proclaimed  "Biggest Little City in the World".

This in the middle of a city ? Only in Reno.

Whilst in Reno we visited Virginia City, which sprang up in 1859 as a boom-town after the discovery of the Comstock Lode, the first major discovery of silver ore in the United States. Unlike Bodie, it has survived and now thrives on tourism. It is also considered the birthplace of Mark Twain, as this is where the pen name was first used after Samuel Clemens failed to make it as a miner, and joined the Virginia City Newspaper. We took a short trip on a restored steam train to "Gold Hill", a community based in an historic mining area, and learnt a lot about the history of this fascinating area.

So, probably no Walmart here then ?

Main street Virginia City. They may be iron horses no but not much else has changed.

Mammoth Lakes and Yosemite

Our three night stay in San Fran was short but we think we did pretty well in seeing the main sights. Picking up another rental car from Fisherman's Wharf, we drove through the financial district and over the newly opened Oakland Bay Bridge, currently the widest in the world, and onto Mammoth Lakes which was our destination for that evening. From here we visited the incredible Yosemite National Park, for which words just cannot describe. 

The village in the bottom of the valley surprised us by how busy it was with people, but the scenery was truly amazing and we can see why so many people want to come here. Our favourite place was the Tuolumne Meadows in the high country, where we hiked a short trail to Soda Springs, a naturally effervescent spring, and we sat by a stream to watch the fish jumping out to catch insects - a truly magical place.

Yosemite

San Francisco

 View from the top of the Crooked Street 

All too quickly our week on Kauai drew to an end, and we were flying back to San Francisco, where we visited the California Academy of Sciences, one of the largest museums of natural history in the world. There was so much to see, do and learn about here, from the planetarium which is the largest digital one in the world, the rain-forest exhibit, a 90 feet (27m) tall glass dome complete with butterflies, to the huge aquarium with its coral reefs, tide pools, swamp habitat and colony of penguins. On the way back from here we also visited the Golden Gate Bridge and took snapshots of one of San Fran's most famous landmarks, with a view over to Alcatraz which was to be our destination the following day.

 The Golden Gate bridge

Golden Gate in the sunshine

View of San Fran from Alcatraz

Arriving at Alcatraz Island

Fishermans Wharf with San Fran city in the background 

Steep hill

With tickets selling out at least two weeks in advance, we were glad to have booked our trip to Alcatraz many weeks earlier, and along with our packed lunch we made the 15 minute boat ride out to the island, which is now a state park. Alcatraz Island has a rich history, from its various military usages to the Native American occupation, but what most people know it for is the prison, of which we enjoyed a great self guided audio tour. Returning to the mainland we strolled around the various attractions on the famous Pier 39, though there were not many sea lions around, and we took a quick trip round the bay in the Rocket Boat which was quite an experience. Finally we walked up the famous crooked street and got some great snapshots of this unique city.

Kauai - the Garden Isle

We had to transfer via Honolulu but the flights are quick, often and very routine, much like riding on a bus really. We stayed at a plantation style motel in the centre of Lihue, the capital of Kauai, although it didn't feel like a town at all, more like a village. This island is by far the most laid back, with wild chickens roaming all over. Allegedly during a hurricane in 1992, many chicken coops were overturned and the freed chickens were never rounded up.

The chicken whisperer

With no natural predators the chicken population has exploded - local legend has it that if you were to boil a wild chicken and a rock in the same pan, the rock would be less chewy, which explains why the locals don't catch them to eat. The cacophony of roosters in the early daylight hours takes some getting used to but all adds to the wonderful character of this great place.

It is not possible to drive all the way round the island, but we set off anti clockwise and visited Kilauea point, with its grand lighthouse and the national wildlife refuge harboring many birds including Albatross, Shearwaters and Nene - the Hawaiian goose.

 We drove on up to Ke'e beach, the end of the road in that direction, stopping to admire the Maniniholo dry cave and also for an Hawaiian specialty of shave ice, just perfect for the hot and humid climate. On our trips to the west, we spent a full day exploring the incredible Waimea Canyon

and got a glimpse of the untouched Na Pali coast which is accessible only by boat or a long hiking trail. In the distance, the truly unique island of Niihau, in private ownership and with a population of just 130 native Hawaiians, generally off limits to the public hence its nickname "the Forbidden Island".

An advert in the in-flight magazine led us to the Kauai Humane Society, who were very pleased to supply us with a shelter dog of our choice for the day to take on a "field trip". We think this program is a great idea as it gives the dogs a welcome break from the shelter environment, gets them noticed by potential adopters, and gives us some great doggy time and good exercise too. We chose Millie, a beautiful and friendly mid sized hound mix who took us for a long walk along the coast near Maha'ulepu, around the edge of a golf course, across sand dune, beach, and cliffs. She was very well behaved with us, and dressed in her "Please Adopt Me" vest attracted several people who came up to chat with us. We think she enjoyed every minute as much as we did, and we were very pleased to hear that she was adopted just two weeks later.

The walking theme continued with a five mile hike through an historic Wai Koa wood plantation, part of a newly created community park. Though not a dog friendly site, it runs through soaring Albizia's and Norfolk Island pines, and onto the largest plantation of mahogany in the USA, where around 86,000 trees are being grown. There's plenty of history here too, like the stone dam built in 1891 when the area was a sugar plantation, which still provides irrigation for the working farm that sits on this land. 

June 14th saw the 98th annual King Kamehameha Parade - a floral style parade celebrating Hawaiian heritage followed by a Ho'olaule'a (a big party) on the lawn in front of the County Historical Building. The King and his followers paraded on a rather nontraditional Hawaiian 18 wheeler flatbed truck, fully decorated with flowers and leis, followed by decorated cars and a procession of horses and riders, each island represented by a local lady dressed as a Queen, and all decorated with fresh flowers and handing out candy to the local kids too. Reminiscent of our own Battle of Flowers, it was a fun event completely supported by the community, and we also enjoyed the after party where we tucked into some traditional Hawaiian food.