Widow Whites RV Park, 82 mile jump
Before departing JSSP, we decided to take advantage of the nice modern, heated showers. You never know what waits at the next stop! We agreed that was one of the best public showers we have used in our travels. It cost $.25/minute, but a nice focused stream of hot water in a clean, newly tiled, co-ed room was well worth it!
Heading south through Crescent City, we noticed how vulnerable the town is to tsunami. It was devastated in 1964 by a wave from an Alaskan earthquake, the most powerful ever recorded, traveling 400 MPH! Of course in those days, there was no early warning, or any warning at all. Near midnight Good Friday, the first three of four waves hit, rousing the town. After a long pause, residents were relieved they survived, but then…disaster! Twelve were killed and 30 blocks of the town was destroyed, 60 inundated. 300 buildings, 1000 cars, and 25 large fishing vessels had been lost. Another tsunami hit in 2011 generated by an earthquake in Sendai, Japan.
Vulnerable. Life on the San Andreas or the Puget Sound faults. Life on the road. Life. We are vulnerable out here on the road, but life can be snatched away from any of us so quickly. So, let’s not forget to say “I love you” or call your dad or your grandma.
The drive went inland for quite a stretch before entering the old growth section of Del Norte Coast Redwood State Park where we were once again treated to stellar view of mammoth trees tight against both sides of the road and to the left and right. As the road came back to the beach, we encountered road construction delays as workers were driving pilings into the hillside to stabilize the ocean side lanes that had recently slid off the side of the cliff. Yikes!
Diameter 21.6′
Age 1500
We took a scenic detour after that on the Newton B. Drury Parkway; it paralleled the 101 and was actually shorter and less curvy, but only 45 MPH. We didn’t do that. We just coasted through as reverently as possible in that diesel powered limo. There we found the Big Tree!
Wow! I am out of words; you need to put this on your bucket list! It will astound and humble you.
We had to get our Mini Mac into an authorized dealer; the closest one was Arcata, Ca. No state or national campgrounds nearby. We found a retail park, Widow White’s, for $30/night full hookup. The showers were kinda creepy, but the price was right, so we signed up for two nights. Good thing we showered this morning!
We went to Simply Mac the next morning to find the computer was fine, but the monitor cable was the problem. Oh yes, good news!