Epic Road Trip (Day 15)

The next leg of this trek winds 216 miles down Highway 101 to Eureka, California. Checking the route, it looks fairly tame except for a couple twisty spots. What I wasn't expecting was the pea-soup thick fog of southern Oregon.

The day started with a stop at The Kozy Kitchen, a local diner, to fuel up for the day. Not a bad spot, but nothing spectacular either. From there, I hopped on and headed south on the 101. It first wound along the Marshfield Channel, one of a couple inland channels that spider away from Coos Bay itself. Just after passing the turn off toward Roseburg (a town in southern Oregon I actually knew!), I was plunged into fog so thick I couldn't see more than 75 feet in front of me. Needless to say, the speed was a but slower. Eventually, I was able to find some turnouts and get a decent view of the coastline.

I continued south, past the Sea Lion Caves and by what I'm certain was a sheer drop into the ocean, but I couldn't see the cliff, just the endless clouds of fog. It was after passing through Port Orford that the road turned all twisty again. It was still foggy and there weren't many opportunities to see the ocean, so I was left to enjoy the ride as I wound through the coastal forests. When I reached Gold Beach, however, I came across a beach access turnout and a great view of some of the massive rocks that lined the coast.

A short while later, I crossed into California, through Crescent City, and into the Del Norte Redwoods Park, the first of five redwood-covered regions of the highway through which I would be traveling. The coastal fog and the high sun made the groves almost glow.

I closed out the day winding along the coast and around Arcata Bay to Eureka. I had hoped to do a bit of exploring, but quickly learned there really wasn't much in Eureka to explore, so I settled for a couple local pints and an early night. It had been a long few days of hard concentration, and I knew I would have a long day of travel to the North Bay area the next day.