Road Trip – Dinosaurs, Crabs, and Another Lighthouse

October 20, 2015January 6, 20221 Comment

Gold Beach to Bandon-by-the-Sea, Oregon, 55 miles

Another beautiful day on Highway 101…

PREHISTORIC GARDENS

http://www.prehistoricgardens.com/

This one was a surprise. I automatically stop at all roadside attractions — just can’t resist the kitsch. But I didn’t expect an education. The gardens here are so well-maintained, and the information about the gardens and the dinosaurs is presented on friendly, easy-to-digest signs along the way. The most fun thing was to see the real size of dinosaurs in person (yep, they were huge).

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Funky Fun – Samoa Cookhouse and an Indian Casino

October 10, 2015January 6, 2022Leave a comment

Eureka, California to Klamath, California
65 miles
Gas $3.02/gallon (why is it going up?)
Holiday Inn Express in Klamath (great, brand new hotel attached to a tiny Indian casino)
$117/night + $25/pet fee

Just north of Eureka is the Samoa Cookhouse – I love finding unique places like this (thanks, Roadtrippers). It’s off the beaten path, but worth the 15-minute drive from Highway 101. Built circa 1893, it’s the last lumber camp-style cookhouse still in operation in North America. Established by the Vance Lumber Company, Samoa is one of the last company-owned towns in the US, and the cookhouse was operated for the working lumberjacks. Today, they still encourage you to eat like a lumberjack. Continue reading →

Highway 1 Fun – Point Arena, California to Eureka, California

October 8, 2015January 6, 2022Leave a comment

180 miles
Gas $2.86/gallon in Fort Bragg, California
Red Lion Inn, Eureka
$71/night + $15 pet fee
Nice big room with a view of Humboldt Bay. Very nice staff. Location not great (can’t walk to anything), but there’s a restaurant on-site.

Beautiful weather today — unusually warm for October, 82 degrees. Just 40 miles north of Point Arena is Mendocino.

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Day 1 — Carmel to Kingman

December 16, 2014January 22, 2021Leave a comment

600 miles
Gas $2.66/gallon in Kingman (woohoo!) (I’ll just keep driving)
Raining when I left Carmel, but I out-drove it! This is a quick trip back to Missouri for Christmas, so I’m not stopping as much as I usually do. To be honest, I’m still processing the photos from last year’s Route 66 pilgrimage, so this time I’ll just post the drive-by’s and the iPhone pix…

Photo by Stephanie Roberts, http://ObsessiveHobbyist.com

Yes, please…

May 20, 2014May 20, 20142 Comments

Found this great sign at the self-described “World Famous” Thistle Hut fruit stand in Moss Landing, California. Doesn’t it all sound positively idyllic???

Red…

February 20, 2014February 20, 2014Leave a comment

Does it get more American than the Coke truck in front of the American Revival Company? PLUS, the American flag and the California flag, all in the historic Monterey Canning Company building on Cannery Row in Monterey, California. Hey, Steinbeck!!!