Category: Lost Coast

Lost Coast Tour 2016 in Tin Lizzie

Day11 – From Fort Bragg to Rohnert Park via Hwy. 20 to Hwy. 101 (133 miles)

First to finish yesterday’s blog. We enjoyed ice cream cones from Cowlick’s Creamery at the Botanical Gardens before heading to the lighthouse. After the lighthouse we ordered pizza and had it in the patio area at the hotel.

Oh, and this is “Charlie” a cypress tree John couldn’t go home without!

Today we got up and decided to not go the entire coast route back , repeating what we did going up. So we went Hwy. 20 from Fort Bragg through the trees to Willits, then down Hwy. 101. We stopped on the Russian River at a park outside of Cloverdale and had our picnic lunch.


We arrive in Rohnert Park at 2:30 and are hot so decide to cool off with a dip in the pool.
Tonight is the last night of the tour. We have the banquet dinner and head for home tomorrow. It has gone by quickly and without any bad incidents and I think everyone had a good time.

                                     Susie Bennett laughing at Gary McCall’s pirate getup.

                                                                Alan & Susie Bennett

                                                             Bob & Joyce Travis

                                                                     Chris Wickersham

                                                                    John & Judy Hulstrom

                                                               Joyce & Gary McCall

                                                               Ralph & Janet Miller

                                                                Ronn & Barbara Polglase

                                                                    John & Dawn Bower

                                                                 Nancy & John Jorgensen

Rick, Lori & Mom

We had a nice Italian banquet to end everything. Gil gave everybody a tooth pick holder made from “old growth” redwood from an old split rail fence as a momento to remember the trip by.




Lost Coast Tour 2016 in Tin Lizzie

Day 10 – Free Day in Fort Bragg (23 miles plus ride on skunk train)

We get up and have breakfast at the hotel. We meet at 10:30 at the train depot and take the ride on the “skunk train” called that for the smell from the engine in the old days. We only are able to take a short ride because the first tunnel has collapsed, so not much of a ride.


When we return I do a little shopping and we then go to see the Botanical Gardens. It is 47 acres of very nicely done various gardens. The begonias and dahlias are especially nice. We eat lunch in their cafe after walking through the gardens.

                                                           Begonias were beautiful

                                              This spider picked a nice place to call home.

                                                          Mom enjoying the gardens.

                                                              Big gorgeous dahlias.

                                                        Mom enjoying the dahlia garden.


Our next stop was going to the Point Cabrillo Lighthouse.

                                      The sense in the lighthouse is very big and very pretty.


                                   The views from the lighthouse of the coast were gorgeous.

                             Mom enjoys the coastal views and conversation with a lady at the lighthouse.

                                                            What a beautiful day!

                            Had to get some pictures of the “naked lady” flowers, they are everywhere.

                                 We go through the lighthouse keepers house and museum.

The “naked lady” flower is such a unique plant with burgundy stems, no leaves and pretty pink flowers.











Lost Coast Tour 2016 in Tin Lizzie

Day 9 Eureka to Fort Bragg (146 miles)

Here are some pictures of the bull elk from yesterday by Orick.

Today we get up and it is very foggy. We decide to head down Hwy. #101 because we came up on the Avenue of the Giants and with it so foggy didn’t think we would see a whole lot of new things. We stop in Garberville and fill up our gas tanks. We stop at Richardson Grove and had a picnic lunch. 

We turn at Leggett and go on Hwy. # 1 down to Fort Bragg. It is really curvy but a very pretty route. We stop along the coast, which is beautiful today.

There were a lot of pelicans. One was a mother with a baby, that looked like she was trying to teach the little one how to catch fish. It was cute to watch them.

                                                 Mom enjoyed the ride along the coast.

We continued on into Fort Bragg. We checked in to our hotel The Harbor Lite Lodge at 3:30.
We gathered at the Jorgensen’s room on their deck and share a bottle of wine that we had bought when we were in the wine country earlier on in the trip. Then we went to dinner at D’Aurelios – an Italian restaurant. It was VERY good food. It was a pretty sunset over the ocean but I missed getting a picture. We took a short walk along the beach and back to the hotel by 8.

Lost Coast Tour 2016 in Tin Lizzie

Day 8 Brookings back to Eureka (123 miles)

We start the morning with a walk on the beach just by our motel. They had several bon fires on the beach last night.


We have breakfast and leave. Today we start back down the coast. We wanted to take the scenic turn off to Prairie Creek but when we get there the road is closed, don’t know why. So we go on down 101 and turn off at Elk Prairie campground where we had camped three years ago. The ranger was great and let us in and we had lunch at the picnic area. It was a perfect spot.


After lunch we went down the road and stopped at Lady Bird Johnson’s Grove and took the 1.5 mile walk through the big trees. 


We then were on our way again. Just outside of Orick we come across four bull elk in a field. Two of them are sparring. It is quite the site. Pictures will be on the next blog post because the site here in Eureka is terribly slow – like an hour per picture!


Lost Coast Tour 2016 in Tin Lizzie

Day 7 Brookings to Gold Beach, Oregon (66 miles)

Today we get up at 6 and dress in warm layers. We have a quick breakfast and are on the road by 7:30. We are headed to Gold Beach to spend the day on an all day jet boat tour on the Rogue River. It is quite foggy and cold this morning. We are on our way when we come upon the tour leader Gil at the side of the road and he has lost the fan on his car. We end up towing him to the top of the grade. They end up breaking the other blade off his fan and he drives it onto Gold Beach, in time for us to get on the boat.

The sun is trying to break through the fog. There are a lot of fishermen on the river.

We start seeing birds: egrets, osprey, bald eagles, turkey vultures, and bald eagles. We also see the nests of osprey and eagles. We also see some otter.

We come up on a Fish & Game team who are trying to net fish on a certain area of the river to see what type and how many fish are there. They ended up netting zero fish!

We continue on up the river through the scenic section into the wild river section with rapids and deep canyons. We go for 52 miles up with great scenery, spray from the jet boat, and the guide giving us facts about the area along the way. This time of year the water is getting very low in certain parts.

A fun day was had by all. On the way back the boat makes a stop at Cougar Lane Lodge for a great lunch. By now it is hot and we have peeled layers of clothing off and the pilot cools us down further with a nice spray of water! Mom enjoys it.

We enjoy the drive back to Brookings along the beautiful Oregon coast.
We meet up with John and Dawn and have another great sea food dinner before hitting the sack.

Lost Coast Tour 2016 in Tin Lizzie

Day 6 Eureka to Brookings, Oregon (114 miles)

First a couple more pictures from last night.

                                                     Victorian buildings in Ferndale.

                               Looking through the lumber museum after dinner at the Cookhouse.

                                      Hugh big chain saw just like the one Dad used to use.

Today we get up at 7:30 and have breakfast at the hotel. Pack everything in the car and leave by 9:30 to go to the Carson Mansion. We are very lucky to go inside have lunch and a private tour. It is a private club now called the Ingmar Club.

After lunch and the private tour inside we are back on the road. We head north through Gold Beach to Brookings, Oregon. On the way these bull elk went right in front on the car across the highway. A little further down were the cows.

The Oregon coast and redwoods are always pretty.

                                                              Even if it is foggy today.

                                                The mist coming through the trees is pretty.

                                      This is the beach from looking out of our motel room.

                                              A lot of drift wood, not very much sun today.

We were told today at the Carson Mansion that the hottest ever recorded in Eureka was 87*!
We checked into our motel right on the beach, Beach Front/Best Western. Rick helped Alan change a flat tire on his car and we went to dinner at a place right across the street. It had great sea food. To bed by 9 it will be an early day tomorrow.

More pictures from yesterday

More pictures from yesterday. We climb around the big trees.

 

Standing by a redwood tree that had fallen across the trail.

Walking across stream on top of  fallen redwood tree.

Rick and me standing on top of a fallen redwood across the stream.

 

Climbing off of a huge fallen redwood tree at the base is harder than climbing up on at the top!

Going across one lane bridge coming into Honeydew.

Cars at Honeydew, had picnic under trees.

The Lost Coast

Cars on the Lost Coast, not much beach access.

The highway along the Lost Coast.

The Lost Coast

 

Lost Coast Tour 2016 in Tin Lizzie

Day 5 Garberville to Eureka (124 miles)

Today we get up at 7 and Rick works on Tin Lizzie again. This time he discovered the ring gear was not seated on the flywheel. So John lent him a hammer and Chris Wickersham helped him get it on. We have a quick breakfast, pack, get gas, and are on the road by 9:30. Dale & Barbara Morrison – are leaving at 10 behind the group making sure everybody makes it ok. We choose to do Option #1 Tour “the real adventure” to The Lost Coast. It starts out on the Avenue of the Giants until Founders Grove, where we turn on Mattole Road. We make a stop at the Visitors Center first.

The Redwoods trees are truly amazing, big and beautiful!

We get out and walk through some of the groves. We visit the largest tree. We head on through Honeydew, where we stop for a picnic lunch. Going forward up and down and around switchbacks and through a lot of potholes we make it to the Lost Coast! We go through Ferndale with all of its Victorian buildings and into Eureka. We eat at the Samoa Cookhouse – the last surviving cookhouse in the West. The food is great. After we look at the historic logging museum. They have a BIG chain saw exactly like Dad’s monster that he used, no wonder his back hurt. It was to bed then. I will try to add more pictures later this connection is super slow.

Lost Coast Tour 2016 in Tin Lizzie

Day 4: Fort Bragg to Garberville (only 75 miles, but twisty & curvy ones)

We get up fairly early at 7, have breakfast at the hotel. They have a fire in the stove, but the sun is already out today. We stop at Safeway and pick up picnic fixings, Rick gasses the car up and we are on our way by 9:30. We head up Hwy. 1 through Westport with a “potty stop”. It is a quaint small town now, but used to be the largest town on the coast in California above San Francisco. It did a lot of the shipping of lumber. Today I enjoyed picking some wild blackberries and the pretty ocean view.

           Looking down from our hotel balcony to the harbor and where we ate dinner last night.

                                             Mom in front of the hotel – Harbor Lite Lodge.

                          We make stops along the coast on Hwy. 1, it is a very pretty day.

                                                                  Ocean views are great.


                                                              Cars in Westport.

We head inland to Leggett to stop at the Drive Thru Tree.

                       Pit stop for Janet & Ralph, Rick, Lori, & Mom, John & Nancy and John & Dawn

                                          At the Chandelier Tree. It is an amazing big tree.

 Rick and Mom driving thru the tree and Rick and Lori with Tin Lizzie just coming through tree.

                                            Mom waves as she rides through the big tree!

The BIG Chandelier Tree looking at it from the side of it.


We stay and have our picnic lunch.

We go onto Garberville and check into our Inn early. As we pull into the parking area Tin Lizzie starts making a terrible noise again from the clutch. Alan Bennett helps Rick work on it. It is better but not cured. There is a mandatory driver’s meeting for the part of the tour tomorrow going to “The Lost Coast”. It should be pretty country but difficult driving. Mom sits and looks out at the pool from our room. We go to the wine and cheese hour and call it our dinner. We make it a early to bed night to get ready for tomorrow’s tour.

Lost Coast Tour 2016 in Tin Lizzie

Day 3 from Rohnert Park to Fort Bragg (138 miles)

Today we over slept, made it to breakfast by 8:30, packed up and were on the road by 9:45. We drive through Sebastopol via Hwy. 116, onto Hwy. 12 to Bodega Bay, and then to Hwy #1 right on the coast. It is very overcast and cool today.

Bodega Bay

                                                          We stop along the coast.

                      I think my Mom is enjoying the ride and not getting car sick by riding in the back!

                            It has remained really overcast today, with no sun breaking through.

                         We stop for a group photo : Jensens, Shaws, Jorgensens, and Bowers.

                                                           The coast is a beautiful place.

                                                Mom and me with Tin Lizzie on the coast.

Lori and Tin Lizzie on the coast.
We drive up Hwy. 1 to a little town of Jenner, where I HAD to stop to get something with “Jenner” written on it for one said little boy named Jenner! I found a perfect sweatshirt. Then it was onto Fort Ross , where we stopped and visited the fort.

There were some pretty steep switchbacks along the way.

                                                 As well as pretty areas through the trees.

                                                         The hidden cove at Fort Ross.

                             Dawn, John and Rick at the base of one of the towers at Fort Ross.

                           Looking out of a window in the tower at Fort Ross to the hidden cove.

                                                                 Cannon in the tower.

                                                                      The church

Some of the guns at the fort.
We head on towards Fort Bragg with an unexpected stop. Tin Lizzie is running REALLY HOT. We stop and add all the water we have. She is loosing water, but Rick isn’t sure from where. We drive on into Fort Bragg without any further problems. We go straight to dinner at a place called “The Wharf” for a very good seafood dinner. Then it is to the Lodge and to bed by ten.

                                                            Rick on trail at Fort Ross.

                                         Pretty cliffs along the coast just before Fort Bragg.

                                               Steam pouring out of one hot Tin Lizzie!

Picture of the big Noyo River Bridge coming into Fort Bragg.

Lost Coast Tour 2016 in Tin Lizzie

Day 2 from Williams to Rohnert Park

We get up and have breakfast at the hotel. The guys gas the cars up and the gals go and get a free loaf of fresh sourdough bread at the deli. We are on the road by 10:30. We go via Hwy. 20 to Hwy. 53 to Clear Lake and then head down to Napa. We decide to take the scenic route through the wineries via the Silverton Trail.

It is a pretty drive up and over curvy roads and down through a lot of vineyards. Tin Lizzie is running hot, don’t know why.

We stop at one winery and they want $20/person to taste and most bottles of wine are $75 to start. We say no thank you and carry on. We stop at one called Fairview. They have picnic tables under beautiful big oak trees. We end up buying really tasty wines from them after free tasting and have a picnic lunch. We go onto Rohnert Park where we are staying at the Double Tree/Hilton Sonoma Wine Country. When we back into a parking spot the clutch on Lizzie starts making a weird noise! Not again. We unpack and join everyone else for the starting of the tour with a banquet dinner.

Only time will tell, but Rick says we will continue as long as he can keep her running (and him too – his back is much better today but not cured)

Lost Coast Tour 2016 in Tin Lizzie

Day 1 – Leave from home to Williams (150 miles)

We leave at 10:30 and go via Glenshire to Donner Lake.

Next we go on old historic Hwy. 40 to Donner Summit.

Tin Lizzie is missing a little, but we make it over the bridge and to the summit.(No snow like in 1909!)

We go from Old Hwy. 40 onto Hwy. 20. We stop for lunch in Nevada City at “The Lumberjack”. We make a rest stop at a county park. Rick’s back is giving him fits. He is having pain like never before. He rests in the shade. I take a little walk and run into a couple walking their llama and alpaca! I walk along the river to a floating bridge and back. There are signs saying beware of “rattlesnakes and poison oak”.

We go on through Marysville, Yuba City, Colusa, and make it to Williams by 6. We stay at Granzella’s Inn. We enjoy a dip in the pool and hot tub. Then dinner at their great Italian restaurant. Rick’s back is so bad he can hardly walk. Hope it is better tomorrow. 

Lost Coast Tour

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 8, 2016

Well the tour hasn’t even started and we are off to a rough start. It is only 2 days away from the start and Rick was getting Tin Lizzie ready yesterday along with John Jorgensen on his and when he went to put Lizzie in the garage she made a horrible noise. Today he had to pull the engine out to try and find the problem!

 

  
He discovers a piece of metal in the engine, but not sure where it came from??
Here is the culprit! It turns out it is part of the clutch plate which was falling apart.
By the end of a long day and a new clutch plate, Rick had all the parts put back together and the engine back in and Tin Lizzie is running again with no weird noises!