USA: California Hwy 1: Gualala to Santa Cruz

Day3: Gualala to Santa Cruz
The Day of Food, Drink and Curves










Oh Glorious day! We woke up with the sun in the sky and only a few clouds. This leg of the drive is stunning. Extremely curvy in and out from drastic seascapes into drainage's and back out again. You want to pull over at every stop. 

Stillwater Cove Country Park- We did not stay here, but drove past it and I immediately marked it on my map. It is $26/car and the scenery was amazing. It had been raining a lot and there was a waterfall flowing into the beach adjacent to the campground. I also like that the campground was on some cliffs rather in some of the steep gullies many of the other campsites are like.

Tomales Bakery - a very small bakery in Tomales that sells a select amount of pastries and coffee. Everything we got was phenomenal.

Heidrun Meadery

Point Reyes Station is a small touristy town but definitely worth a pit stop. We found a very lovely bookstore, shops, good coffee and Heidrun Meadery.

Mead is a sparkling wine made with honey. They get the honey from bee keepers that have hives specifically harvesting pollen from one crop. They had carrot mead, macadamia nut mead, and orange mead. The Meadery itself grows wildflowers and had their own bees to make a special batch of mead. The tasting room was in an old greenhouse and was simple, delicate, and beautiful. I highly highly recommend making a stop here.

Point Reyes National Seashore- Originally, we wanted to spend some time on the peninsula but decided against it after the lighthouse keeper on Point Arena told us it took a good half hour to get to the end. I am told the whale watching is some of the best out there. I would like to spend a weekend there and backpack across the island.

Pigeon Point Light Station

Next we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge. This was a breeze compared to previous trips over the bridge. All tolls are automated now and you pay over the phone. Just don't forget to pay!

Half Moon Bay Brewery- We stopped for lunch and once again was not disappointed. We learned the area is known for their artichoke so we got grilled artichokes in balsamic vinegar and pretzel with beer cheese sauce. Their food was originally quite expensive had a great happy hour. I ended up leaving with a sour that took 2 years to make fermenting in a barrel. I am yet to drink some of it.

Pigeon Point Light Station State Historic Park- Another spot I wrote down immediately for future places to stay. This is an old lighthouse that has turned the old living quarters into a hostel. That day seemed to have a school field trip staying there which quickly made me want to try another day. Here are the rates.

Santa Cruz Boardwalk

Santa Cruz - We had a bit of a brewery craze here. We got a hotel next to the boardwalk but unfortunately during the winter the boardwalk is only open on the weekends. We probably would have made a different choice on hotel if we had insight on this.
First, SeaBright Brewery, I don't know if we were just very thirsty or it truly was consistently awesome beer but it truly was.
Next we went to East Cliff Breweing Company. Here, they serve all their beer English style which often decreases the carbonation. I personally love bubbles in my beer so I had trouble loving a lot of the beers. I don't know if this place will last, Seabright was slammed and East Cliff was awkwardly scilent.
Our final stop was Shanty Shack Brewery. This place was hip, not much seating but a perfect amount for the amount of people that were there. They had some yummy beer and they carried a cider from Santa Cruz Cider Company. I cant rave enough about that cider.
We finished our night playing games on the boardwalk. Many of the games took our money and we finally spent our $15 on Dance Dance Revolution.

USA: California Hwy 1: Eureka to Gualala

DAY 2: Eureka to Gualala

It rained the entire day, but it didn't stop us from seeing some very beautiful country.
We first drove through the Avenue of the Giants.

 Avenue of the Giants is a 31 mile road that runs adjacent to the 101. The road snakes along the eel river and is home of some of the grandest redwood trees. I highly recommend taking this slightly longer route. You can pull off anywhere and walk among huge ferns and gigantic trees. There are fun kitschy gift shops, local art, and stops all along the road. I imagine this is hell in the summer but on this rainy day it felt we were often the only ones there. When we arrived in Leggett we broke off from the 101 and really began our curvy journey.

Fort Bragg: We originally stopped in Fort Bragg to visit Glass Beach. Once again this looks like a tourist nightmare in the some but it was very peaceful when we went. This beach used to serve as a dump for the area from 1906 - 1967. Since then, the beach now has pebbles of smooth glass of all different colors. They had had difficulty with landslides so the normal beach was shut off, there were still a small beach that hard plenty of glass. They have also recently made it illegal to collect the glass which has caused quite a controversy although I think it's valid.
For lunch, we headed to North Coast Brewing Company, which had decent beer and really delicious french onion soup! We continued to wind along the coast  until Point Arena.


Point Arena Lighthouse sits at the end of a jetty. The wind was blasting and the rain was falling heavy. The lighthouse closes at 4:00 and it was 3:50 so we though we could snap some photos, buy a postcard, and go on our way. We stepped in and the director of the lighthouse gave us a tour anyway. He mentioned they were a non-profit and depend on tours to keep them running. We were able to learn the history and walk up into the top of the lighthouse.
You are able to rent out the old lighthouse keeper quarters, some under $200 a night for a 2 bed/ 1 bath house. Included you get to go up into the lighthouse at night and anytime during the day. It was a fantastic experience. Here is more information on lodging. I was beyond impressed with the grounds and the staff here.

Bowling Ball Beach: We did not make it to Bowling Ball Beach because the rain and wind was just incredible. A friend told me about this place and I am putting it on here almost as a reminder. Large round boulders litter the beach, sitting perfectly smooth in the sand. During low tide you are able to go out and explore them.

Gualala: Our plan was to drive further south but the rain was so intense we decided to call it a day in Gualala, and I am not at all disappointed we stayed here. This is one of those little gems that you would never think to find yourself. For us it was perfect small quiet town filled with some of the kindest people I have met in awhile. These people love where they live and truly feel delighted when you like it too.

view from the hotel

Gualala Country Inn: $100. Some complained that the rooms were outdated, but I thought that added to the charm. The beds were comfortable, there was a plug in fire place and a view of the ocean. The owners felt like you were visiting grandma's house.

Antonio's Tacos: We walked a few blocks from our hotel to this little Mexican restaurant we saw had a neon beer sign. This place was amazing! We both had wet burritos, the owner came out and spoke with us. Him and his wife run the small restaurant and make all the salsas and sauces by scratch. I'm pretty sure they make the tortillas too. I still dream about this damn burrito and I'm writing this from L.A.!!

USA: California Hwy 1: Portland to Eureka

ICONIC HWY 1 : Portland to Eureka

We began our journey on January 2nd. Slightly concerned of a huge storm was to be passing through for the next week, we left early. We had no real plan except to camp in Big Sur and to visit a bunch of breweries.

This road trip was a little different then all my others. I typically penny pinch my way through states, looking for free camping and cooking all my meals. This time around, mostly because of the weather, we chose to sleep in hotels and therefore ate out for most meals.

Day 1: Portland to Eureka
If we had a bit more time we would have traveled along the Oregon Hwy 1 as well, but let's face it, we didn't want to drive on New Years Day after a fun filled late night. Our drive was snowy and slow on our way to Crescent City.

Crescent City is a sleepy ocean town. We showed up around 2 and it seemed as though the town was still not awake or maybe they just never woke up.
We ate lunch at Beachfront Park which is a lovely space along the ocean. There are jetties you can walk out on (and some you're not supposed too), a swimming pool, rec area, Battery Point Lighthouse, and a 27 hold disc golf course.





Battery Point Lighthouse is accessible via a sand bar at low tide. Unfortunately for us the tide was up and it was stormy but the waves were spectacular.
We put on our hiking boots and rain jackets to play a very wet game of disc golf. This course's landscape is amazing, although the layout of some of the holes are rather silly. The back 9 run along the ocean and you even have to throw over the tide. It seems like it isn't played much so sometimes I felt of was hurting the landscape.

California campgrounds are unlike anything I've seen before. It seems that all State Parks are around $35 dollars a night and many surrounding camp areas that are heavily RVed based are not much cheaper. I typically jump on my phone before I want to camp somewhere and find the closest free area. The California coast is rugged and often without cell service. So I did a lot of research this time around and hope to make it back to update on some of these less expensive campsites we passed on the way.


Elk Country RV Park and Camping: $25/night for tent camping
They aren't joking that this area is Elk Country. We simply drove through but saw hundreds of elk. This was a beautiful area close to the ocean and right near Redwood National Park.

Patrick's Point State Park:
I was told they filmed Jurassic Park in this area.

Arcata/Eureka: We stayed the night in Arcata, unipressively at a travel lodge. I expected the downtown area to be a bit more charming. There seemed to not be much open besides Lost Coast Brewery and an uncanny amount of homeless. Before we got to our hotel we stopped at Redwood Curtain Brewery.

We were a huge fan. simple bar set up with lots of games to play and something going on like trivia night etc going on almost every night.

For dinner, we went to the famous Lost Coast Brewery. To be expected, it was crowded but we got a seat easily and the food was magnificent, debatably better then the beer. It was a unique twist on american faire with huge portions. Here is the menu.

USA: Oregon: Eugene

I have a soft spot in my heart for Eugene, Oregon. I attended college at the University of Oregon and graduated in 2012. Although it is known for its free form hippie mentality, Eugene also melts together hippie, hipster, professional, and grunge.
When I went to school in Eugene, the university didn't quite dominate like it does now but, with it's growth downtown Eugene has also been able to develop, grow and flourish.
We spent 3 days in Eugene, 2 of which were simply wandering downtown with friends and exploring all the thrift shops, eateries and bars.

Day 1: Oregon Ducks vs. ASU

I personally love football and particularly Duck football so I am a bit biased, yet I believe there is an aura around Autzen Stadium that is not something to be missed. Typically, I park on the opposite side of the river and take the pilgrimage with thousands others across the Willamette River, down a bike trail, in the trees until the stadium comes out of nowhere and presents itself with glory.

The seating is steep allowing any seat in the stadium to have a good view. If you don't particularly care about the game but want to go watch football, look on craigslist the day of the game and it should be no problem finding tickets under $30 dollars.

Be aware you can only buy and drink alcohol in one portion of the stadium (because it's college football I guess? I'm not sure why on this one.) So, if you want to drink and not pay a whole lot ($12 beers) it is no problem sneaking in a flask or two.

Day 2
Downtown:
Downtown Eugene has really flourished in the past 4 years. Prior to 2012, a square block in the middle of downtown was a giant pit. The city sold the space to Lane Community College for a downtown campus and I believe that was the best thing that's happened to Eugene in the past decade. After the campus came to life, new and trendy businesses filled the spaces that had sat vacant for years. During the day you can get kombucha on tap at Townsend Teas, have beers and beer cheese soup and the Beir Stein and as the sun goes down the multiple bars that make up the Barmuda Triangle fill with people from all walks of life. When the night is winding down grab some drunchies from voodoo doughnuts or other food carts that are conveniently parked outside.


Day 3:
SpencersButte:
A local favorite hike. It is just outside of town, has a wide path, is a little over a mile, and gives some of the best views of the Willamette valley. On a nice spring day the trail will be packed with people old and young but during the dreary fall months sometimes you are the only one up there. It's a great hike to get the blood pumping but doesn't take up your whole day.

Day 4:
Whitaker:
The Whit is a neighborhood NW of downtown. Traditionally filled with counter culture, art-forward individuals it has begun to be gentrified. The houses are mixed with well manicured craftsman homes and homely overgrown multi-color with interpretive art on the porches.
The Whit is a popular area to eat some of the best food found in Eugene. Three of my personal favorites is Papa's Soul Food, Falling Sky, and Tacovore.
Papa's Soul food is no frills BBQ with a small indoor and mostly outdoor patio seating. Sometimes they have live music and always have good food.
Falling Sky opened around 2012, although their food is a bit pricey I like it because its thoughtful. They locally source most of their ingredients and come up with some really unique and delicious food items, not to mention their beer is awesome.
Tacovore is awesome. you can buy plates or single tacos. I love the carnitas but be warned they are spicy.
Don't forget to drop by Ninkasi. Their poor room is mostly outside under tarps with heat lamps.

USA: California: Markleeville and Turtle Rock Campground

Markleeville, CA - September 17-18, 2016

My boyfriend Pope and I took a weekend trip to Markleeville, California on September 17th-18th. Markleeville is 40 miles Southeast of South Lake Tahoe. I often avoid Lake Tahoe on the weekends so this short drive from Reno was a perfect quiet getaway.
We traveled to Markleeville to decompress from Burning Man, play disc golf, and live the small town life.




Turtle Rock Camp Ground:
- Open May - Early October
-First come, first serve
- 26 RV ($15) or Trailer sites ( 2 handicap)
-12 Tent sites ($10). For the tent sites, you park very close and walk your things over into a fenced area.

The tent camping is very communal but tents may camp in the RV spots as well. We chose to pay $15 and take an entire RV site.
We chose to camp at Turtle Rock Campground because although it is a few miles away from town but there is an 18 hole disc golf course we have been eager to play.
We were worried the sites would fill up quickly but it was no problem finding a site. The only downside was the fire bans in the area. We couldn't dutch oven cook like we usually do.

We had a fabulous time here, spots were big but also communal. We made excellent friends with a vagabond named Doc who told us many many many many wild stories.

Another option for camping is at the Grover Hot Springs, yet the hot springs were closed for cleaning so we didn't have a chance to go.

Wolf Creek Restaurant and Bar
The only bar in town. We were determined to watch the Oregon Duck vs. Nebraska game Saturday afternoon. We were told by my dad, this bar had the excellent fries. As we walked up the place was full of bikers wearing pink and drinking a whole lot very quickly. Worried we wouldn't be able to see our game, we snuck in to the corner chairs and watched the flurry of the bikers.
The bikers were doing a Poker run through the Carson Valley, and flew away as quickly as they came.
I love small town living, and this bar is exactly why. The bartender was extraordinary. We had the whole bar rooting for the ducks by the end of the game and we left a little sullen but full of darn good fries.





Markleeville/ Turtle Rock Disc Golf Course
We loved this course so much we played in twice. It was a great walk in the woods. There is some good walking distance in between each hole. The terrain goes up and down making each hole rather unique. Decent map at the beginning of the course, which we took a picture of to help us on just a few holes.

Gardnerville: Overland Restaurant and Pub

On our way home, we wanted to find a brewery in Gardnerville but had no luck. Word on the street is a new Brewery is opening up near Carson Hot Springs later this season. Either way we were happy we stopped here. They advertise farm to table pub food although don't describe much on the menu which made me slightly suspicious. With that aside we had Bavarian Pretzels with beer cheese Sauce and Pulled Pork Sliders, both were very very good. Menu

USA: Roadtrip through the Southwest

For the last winter I have been living in South Lake Tahoe. As many know, our winter was less then impressive and our ski season was cut short. So, my roommates and I embraced the early spring and decided to take a 12 day road trip through the south west.

Starting Point: Lake Tahoe, CA
- Saline Valley, Death Valley National Park
- Death Valley National Park, CA
- Las Vegas, NV
- Zion National Park, UT
- Kolob Canyon, UT
- Great Basin National Park, NV








Saline Valley Hot Springs,  Death Valley National Park:

Saline Valley is on the western edge of Death Valley. Like many of the destinations in the park, it is accessible only by dirt road filled with washboards and precarious rocks. You must enter from either Lone Pine or Big Pine if you have a 2wd car, with other options if you like off roading. It took approx. 2 hours to wind through the dirt roads until there were a number of indistinguishable turns the the hot springs.

Turn #1

You may find exact directions on the internet I am sure, but I will not be giving them seeing I feel this is a space that should only take the person who is determined to get there the chance to enjoy its beauty and wonder.

The hot springs oasis was 'developed' in the 60's, when the land was BLM, and has grown over the past 50 years to have palm trees that create shade, a grassy lawn, open showers, 7 or so warm springs, 1 cool pool, and fantastic art.

If you are afraid of nudity you wont enjoy it here. But if you embrace the counter- culture then I believe you will fit right in.

From here, there are a variety of hikes done in almost no shade or hikes into some of the surrounding valleys that have their own micro eco-systems including waterfalls.

Our friend's radiator cap blew when we were there. We had no service and didn't know much about cars. Yet, the community surrounding this area were more then helpful. Together we found the problem and Lizard Lee (the caretaker of the space who does it on a volunteer basis) went to town the next day and retrieved a new cap, while we had another day in paradise.

Saline Valley has quickly become one of the most special places in my heart and its only 5 hours from where I live.

Las Vegas, NV

Everyone has their own experience in Vegas. We are lucky enough to have friends that live there so many of the days were spent pool side with a whiskey ginger in hand. We picked up a friend that was attending Euphoria Music Festival and he joined us on the rest of our journey.
My only advice, check out Brooklyn Bowl. The venue/ bowling alley opened a few years ago in the heart of the strip and typically has great music passing through.



Zion National Park, UT

My feelings about Zion are bitter sweet. There are A LOT of people there, which is always a turn off for me, yet the way Zion has created a bus system for the main stretch of activities and the warmness of Springdale, the town adjacent to the entrance, is impressive.

Zion runs through a narrow canyon. Early bird gets the worm here. You park and then walk into the park. There, you catch the shuttle that will drop you off at certain points. There is a ton of traffic on the hikes so go early so you are able to pace yourself and give encouragement to everyone walk up as you walk down!

HOTEL/ CAMPING: There are many restaurants, cafes, and shops to stroll around and although many hotels are expensive we were able to find one for $70.

If you are going to camp in Zion, get ready! Camping fills up extremely fast. The area is simply too small for the amount of people traveling through the park.  You must be at the entrance at 8 - 10 am to poach out a spot. If you are much later then that you will be SOL. We got a hotel when we arrived in the evening so we could be ready to snag a camp spot early morning.

Angel's Landing: Angel's Landing is a knife edge mountain, 5 mile round trip trail with 1,500 ft. in elevation gail. THE VIEW IS WORTH IT! There were a ton of people walking up, which is to be expected. Often you feel nervous that the other people will make one wrong step and send you off the edge yet, as long as you stay low or holding on to the chains the park provides, everything will be A-OK.




Kolob Canyon: To get to Kolob Canyon you must exit the main part of Zion and head north. There is no camping in this area via the national park but I highly recommend it for a nice drive and/or a day trip. There were barely any people when we were there, granted it was snowing, but it gives your the drastic landscape of Zion without all the people!





Great Basin National Park

Our last stop was Great Basin National Park. We intended to do a big hike to Wheeler Peak but we ended up just spending time at camp, enjoying the empty campsites, playing whiffle ball and exchanging stories.
In the morning, before we left, we took the tour of Lehman Caves. It was $8 a person which I believe is a fine price to see some cool geology, ask questions and hear some hokey jokes.

USA: The White Mountains, New Hampshire

Mt. Washington

The White Mountains:
I spent 3 days in the White Mountains. My destination was Mt. Washington, the tallest mountain on the East Coast.

Camping:

I was frustrated at first because it seemed there was an extreme lack of free camping. Campgrounds with facilities didn't shy away from charging $25 dollars. But, I found a website called Freecampsites.net which has been a life saver. I stayed in the National Forest on the West side of Mt. Washington, about a 20 minute drive from the trail head (SEE, 20 min. to everything). There are no facilities but the campgrounds are spacious and some are quite secluded, some even look perfect for large groups. I stayed at the turnout before the one registered on the websites map and I found them to be better.

Mt. Washington:
In the morning I drove to the West trail heads of Mt. Washington. It is $3 a day to park unless you have a National Parks Pass, then it is free. There are two trailheads from this parking lot, the Ammonoosuc Ravine trail and the Jewell trail. I chose to go up the Ammonoosuc and down the Jewell, which I believe was a good choice. I can imagine the trail, when wet, could be hell but it was no problem for me. It's a decent hike, about 5 miles to the top. The trail is gradual for the first couple miles and then becomes stairmaster like to the hut.

Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail

There was a lot of foot traffic but that is to be expected in such a highly populated area. The top gives some fantastic views but is anything but isolated. I shared my summit experience with 300 bikers and found my self enjoying the process of getting there and back better then the top.

Bikers waiting for a photo at the summit

The hike down was a nice change. You hike the ridgeline on the the Jewell trail. The top is a scramble and if you have bad knees I would recommend trekking poles. It seemed like it took me almost as long to get down as it took to get up.

The Cog Railway seen from Jewell Trail