Day two we woke up to a winter wonderland. We were still giggling about the fact that we were in California and there was more snow on the ground than we had seen all winter in Utah! With one shower for four people, three of us being girls that then needed additional time for hair and makeup, it took time to get our party out the door in the mornings. We pushed ourselves hard to be out the door by 9am each day. So much for sleeping in and relaxing on vacation! After a hilariously entertaining April Fool's joke where I managed to burglarize Hubby's suitcase while he was in the shower and thereby convince him that he had forgotten to pack any underwear, we said goodbye to our Tahoe room with the too-small beds and headed out for breakfast.
After breakfast it was time to head down the mountain to prove to the girlies that we really were in California. Hubby's mom lives near Tahoe so we planned a quick stop to say hello. We also visited a cute little produce stand which reminded me of Walker Farms in Vermont, just not quite as cute. I was in awe of all of the orchards surrounding us, easily imagining how wonderful it must smell in the fall when the apples were ripe and the cider mill was operating. In fact, it was so chilly that it could have been October! Hubby and the girls strapped the apple wood we purchased for barbequing to the top of the Jeep and we headed to a little sandwich place for lunch. I couldn't believe how quickly time was getting away from us. It was nearly 3pm by the time we got back on the road!
The girlies settled into their sleepy time for the long car ride and I soaked up the sights all around me. We saw miles and miles of orchards which Hubby and I had fun trying to identify as we sped past them. Olives, pistachios, apples, and many other fruit trees lined the highway for hours. The photographer in me wanted to stop for a photo shoot. Sadly, we never did.
Redding was our next stop on the California tour. Hubby had learned of a sundial bridge there and we were eager to see it. After spending nearly 4 hours in the car, we were ready to stretch our legs! The sun was setting over the Sacramento river as we gaped at the massive bridge that seemed more like an art piece to me. It was a foot traffic only bridge and we had plenty of company! Walnut trees surrounded the river banks and I kept saying over and over how fresh the air was there. Clearly I had been trapped in Utah's winter inversion air for much too long. I had forgotten what fresh air could smell like! We stayed at the bridge until the sun had nearly set and we felt rejuvenated once more. Now for the tough part of our day.. we had to get to Eureka through the 130 miles of twisty mountain road. We had no idea what we were in for!
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| Linzie does a back bend trying to capture the curve of the sun dial. |
The first part of our mountain drive to Eureka was beautiful! We were treated to amazing views and sweet smelling air. The sun setting over Whiskeytown Lake was nothing short of breath-taking! We turned around to go back to a scenic overlook so we could take pictures of the lake sunset. The pictures turned out beautiful even though we were frozen to the bone from the icy wind that was howling around us!
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| This tree was so amazing! I have never felt bark so smooth, nor have I seen such color! I wanted to take it home! |
After 10 minutes of photo time at Whiskeytown Lake, we were frozen to the core and we were so happy to get inside the warm Jeep! Little did we know what awaited us over the next 3+ hours. So far in our trip we had seen mighty dust storms, fierce winds, heavy winter snow, and Mother Nature wasn't done with us yet. Almost as soon as night fell upon us, the rain started. I'm not sure I have mentioned this before, but I am also night blind. I am so grateful my capable Hubby was behind the wheel, keeping us safe. It seemed as if the winding canyon roads would never end! I was unnerved by the winding roads in the pouring rain, in conditions which I could not see... it was one of the longest drives of my life but we made it safely to Eureka sometime past 10pm and it did not take us long to fall asleep. I wish I had taken pictures of our hotel room in Eureka because it also turned out to be our very favorite room of the entire trip! The beds were super comfy and the room was nice and clean. Ahhhh! What an exciting adventure we were on!
Day three was our trip through the giant redwoods. I don't recall ever having seen trees that ginormous before! Stay tuned!
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