From Grants Pass, OR to Eureka, CA 
From Grants Pass, OR to Eureka, CA
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Day of Travel
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Distance (in miles)
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My morning ritual begins by finding the TV remote and clicking on the Weather Channel. The weather system will continue to dump rain on northern California and Oregon although not as hard as the rain overnight and yesterday. That's a relief but it still doesn't sound like a decent day. I get up, get dressed and head down the hall for some continental breakfast.
There is a piece on the national morning news about a move to add Ronald Reagan to Mt. Rushmore. My blood boils at the thought and the woman sitting at the next table reacts similarly. I tell her about the The Ronald Reagan Legacy Organization that has the goal of a named public building in every county in the country. And they will provide the funds for the name change if the locality can't fund it themselves. (In writing this journal entry, I checked to make sure I had the correct name of the organization. I am further stunned to see that there is actually a move to add a Reagan Memorial to the National Mall! Can we at least wait for him to die?).
Well
I guess that sounds pretty harsh but I have strong feelings on this
point.
I load the bike and head out into a very overcast but essentially dry day. I go downtown to get a sense of what the town is all about. There is a big overhead sign at the edge of the downtown district. It announces "Grants Pass, It's the Climate." That gives me a chuckle. One of my mother's favorite story is about the day that she, her sisters and parents moved to Grants Pass. As she relates the story, the sign once welcomed visitors: 'Grants Pass, 100% American born.' I was hoping to validate the story because it seems to strange in our diverse and politically correct culture.
Downtown Grants Pass has won an award as a landmark downtown recognizing the preservation of the oldest buildings. The results are nice -- it is attractive, it is vintage, a fine pedestrian scale pulling us from our cars. Still I wonder how viable the downtown really can be given the many big box retailers closer to the interstate.
There is a Grants Pass Historical Society but it isn't open. An old man that appears to work there glares at me as I pull up to park. I glare back and he dashes inside. I just want to tell him to settle down. Once I've see the hours of operation and don't feel like waiting two hours, I get back on the bike and head for the road to the coast. My grandfather used to take my mom, aunts and their friends to the beach at Crescent City on this road.
I'll take US-199 from Grants Pass to Crescent City. This highway
links US-99, a major inland north-south route, with US 101 /
California 1 that are both major north-south coastal highways. CA1
links the cities, towns and tiny hamlets that sit right on the
California coast. It is an amazing highway and famous for the stretch
south of Monterey in the area called Big Sur. I didn't expect US-199
to be as much fun as it turns out to be. It is properly identified as
a scenic 
highway.
The north end crosses some valleys passing through towns like Selma, Kerby and Cave Junction. The attractions, restaurants and motels have a slightly dated look. Most of them seem to date from an earlier time. Some look run down, others are in good repair but have a vintage look to them. At Cave Junction, I could have made the turn to Oregon Caves National Monument. Another time.
Gradually the valleys begin to narrow and the hillsides move up to
the edge of the highway. The trees seem to get taller too. The middle
fork of the Smith River joins the highway. All good old highways seem
to be built in river valleys or canyons. The road gets increasingly
twisty as the river falls away and the road climbs up the side of the
river canyon. This is a good road today and I wonder what it must
have been like back in the 20s and 30s when the Bauers were using it
to get to the beach. In a couple other places it is clear that there
have been several generations of highways in the same spot since the
dawn of
the automotive era. I'm sure this isn't much different -- it must
have been an interesting and glorious ride.
At one point, the road passes through a short tunnel to get over a ridge. There is a spot where bicyclists can stop and turn on a warning light for motorists advising them that they are sharing the tunnel with bicyclists. I haven't noticed that before. On the far side of the tunnel is a rest stop and I decide to make a quick pit stop.
Of course I can't stop without meeting someone to talk to. This morning it is a father and son on matching Honda sport bikes. The son is about my age and a general contractor. He has a penchant for referring to the aggravations in life as 'sphincters.' I guess that is more civilized than just plain assholes. Dad is definitely in his 60s (or possibly older).
Dad is a maniac to listen to him speak. He loves to go fast. He is telling me the usual sport bike stories that include frequent runs well into the triple digits. It is hard to believe him, really hard to believe anyone, but man his eyes light up when he starts talking about some of his dashes in the 150 mph range. They have been to a family reunion and decided to ride their bikes rather than go by car or plane. The rain has caught them unprepared as well -- they had to stop and buy some rain gear in California.
This trip has been amazing, maybe even life-changing. I don't know yet, I think I need some perspective to really understand all that I've seen. When I see the "Welcome to California" sign I'm really happy. The officer at the agricultural check point is very friendly. It feels good to be 'home' even though I won't be home for almost another another week.
US 199 is being repaved. I get stuck for about fifteen minutes for one convoy where the paving is being completed. The FedEx driver ahead of me tells me that she is really tired of this construction. On average, she estimates that she is stuck for 45 minutes a day along this road. That would get old really quickly.
The ride down to the coast is great. Despite a fair amount of traffic, the road is in a wonderful balance between developed enough to allow traffic to move while maintaining a good riding profile. The road is descending from a couple hundred feet down to the coast just north of Crescent City. The road has a lot of twisties as you follow the river canyon. The road is often narrow with steep drops into the river. The views are excellent. This is a great road for riding.
Finally
US-199 ends at US-101. I make the turn south for the short ride into
Crescent City. The weather is really gray and gloomy. Crescent City
is much smaller than I expected. In the bleak weather, the city
really looks pretty depressing. The coast is really beautiful, a
classic craggy rocky shoreline. The central part of the town has a
lot of things named tsunami.
I
have lunch in town before continuing south along US-101. There is a
long wide beach south of town. I would imagine this is the spot that
would be used by beachgoers. The rest of the coastline seemed to
rocky for any wading or swimming. Just up the hill there is a turnout
where you get a great view of the harbor.
The ride into Eureka is a good one. The weather has been slowly improving with the rain letting up and some sunshine even peeking through the low clouds. US-101 takes a dash through Redwoods National Park as it heads south. The trees are really magnificent although you don't get the greatest view of them from the road.
I roll through Eureka once I arrive. I'm pleasantly surprised by this city. It dates back to the late 1800s and there is a nice assortment of old brick buildings in the old town. Around the old city center is a nice collection of old homes -- many in a Victorian style. I'll take some time to wander around later today or tomorrow.
I get checked into the hotel. An hour or so later and it is time for dinner. The whole day has reminded me of my business trips to the coast of Scotland and the towns of Ayr and Girvan. I used to enjoy a nice Indian meal there from time to time. Turns out there is a very good Indian restaurant in town so I head over for a nice lamb curry and chicken vindaloo. The restaurant is too empty but the food is very good.
Back at the Super 8, I make plans for tomorrow's trip to Fort Bragg.
Depart Grants Pass, OR heading south on US 199
Cross state line into California
At intersection with US 101, transition onto US 101 heading south.
Arrive Eureka
(c) 2001 Thomas N. Engler Revision Date: 07/20/2001
