Road Trip USA – Part 5 – The One where We Drank Wine and Drove Thru a Tree

“You know me, I think there ought to be a big old tree right there.
And let’s give him a friend. Everybody needs a friend.”
– Bob Ross

Veneta to Petaluma

You can, if you want, drive the length of California in two days, but we chose to do it in six. From the time we started our road trip, all the way back in Chattanooga, we were looking forward to driving the Pacific Coast Highway! A small highway that meanders along the ocean also brought us through mountains, giant forests, small towns, and rustic vineyards. This road reminds us that the journey is been just as important as the destination.

Tuesday – Veneta to Crescent City

We packed up the Jeep and a picnic lunch, and drove out to the coast to connect with Highway 101, which would lead us to the legendary PCH.
Our first stop was Sunset Bay State Park near Coos Bay for a beach picnic of sandwiches and sodas. We watched a small seal bobbing in the waves offshore and spent a little time seashell hunting before continuing on. A few more hours down the road found us in Gold Beach, where we stopped for an afternoon coffee and pastry at Gold Beach Books & Art Gallery, a new & used bookstore/art gallery/coffee shop. Another hour or so down the road and we crossed into CA and arrived at our basecamp for the next few days: Crescent City. Our home was a brand-new Airstream right across the street from the ocean (see details below). After we familiarized ourselves with the RV, we ate dinner at a local brewery and spent the night enjoying the starry skies and ocean breezes.

Wednesday – Thru the Redwoods

Visiting the Redwoods is to immerse yourself in ancient majesty. This National Park is a little different from others – no formal entrance, no park fees, and it connects almost seamlessly with other state parks. Filled with campsites and hiking trails, you could spend a long weekend here. The good news is you can also cover a lot of it in a day. Here’s the itinerary I came up with:

• Breakfast at the Hiouchi Cafe.
  We found this little gem on the way to our first stop. They boast the best breakfast in the county and they might be right! A local old-timer befriended us while we were looking at the menu and recommended the smothered breakfast burrito, which was more than big enough to share. We also ordered some lunch to go – a sandwich also big enough to share.
• Jedediah Smith State Park – The road to Stout Grove is narrow in places, part of it even used to be a stage coach road. This is where we began saying to each other: “Holy crap! Look at that tree!” And we kept saying that… all day! 😂 Stout Grove has an easy loop trail just over half a mile long. The ground is carpeted with ferns and sorrel, and the trees are densely packed.
• Tour-Thru Tree – This is in the town of Klamath, and one of 3 or 4 trees you can drive through for a small fee. They are all different sizes, so if you want to drive through one, make sure to check the dimensions of the tree AND your vehicle! The Tour-Thru Tree is tucked away, but once you find it, there is a tiny gift shop and a few picnic tables. It wasn’t crowded at all, and we drove through it twice.
• Prairie Creek State Park – We were trying to find Elk Meadow, but our cell service was nearly non-existent, so we ended up at this park, which also has large meadows often inhabited by elk. There is a visitor’s center, campgrounds, hiking trails and picnic tables. We ate our lunch here, but since all the elk seemed to be in hiding, we moved on.
• Lady Bird Johnson Grove – located at the southern end of the park near Orick, this was our last stop of the day. The grove was dedicated to Lady Bird Johnson by President Nixon for her conservation work. The trees are a little smaller here, and the undergrowth is thicker, but it was still a beautiful hike.

Thursday – Crescent City to Fort Bragg

Who knew there was a Fort Bragg in California as well as in North Carolina? We didn’t, until we were looking for a layover stop between the Redwoods and Sonoma. The Jeep isn’t really a luxury touring vehicle, so whenever possible I tried to keep our travel times on the shorter side. We covered some of the same territory today as yesterday, driving through the Redwoods, but soon we were south of Orick, and seeing new-to-us trees. There were even a few elk, to make up for their absence yesterday!😉We veered off of the PCH to drive the Avenue of the Giants – a 30+ mile stretch of a two-lane road that runs parallel to the highway and is lined by titans of the forest. Along the Avenue we stopped at Founder’s Grove to stretch our legs. The grove has some of the tallest trees in the redwoods, and they seem to stretch as far as you can see. We enjoyed authentic tacos at a hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant called Nacho Mama in the town of Garberville before finally arriving in Fort Bragg.

Friday – Fort Bragg to Petaluma

A cozy cafe fueled us for an early start today, as we left Fort Bragg for the wine country town of Petaluma. Our drive today was again short- important because we had a wine tasting scheduled in Sonoma we did not want to be late for! Even if we didn’t have any side quests or stops planned, I love this part of our drive. Every few miles it seemed there was a pull-out on the side of the road to behold rock islands looming in the mist, sandy beaches tucked in a cove, or foamy waves crashing against cliffs. Petaluma is a town just west of Sonoma, and we began to see acres of grapevines long before we arrived. Our airbnb for the night was a small cottage, and we had time to check in and freshen up before heading to Sonoma.
Pro Tip: It was mostly two-lane country roads to Sonoma, but we still experienced heavy traffic. The drive to your winery will take longer than you think! In spite of our best efforts we were 20 minutes late, but we called ahead to let them know and they still honored our reservation.

There are hundreds of wineries in the Sonoma/Napa Valley region, so choosing one may be the most stressful part of your day! We settled on Gundlach Bundschu, (pronounced Gun-lock Bun-shoe) on Rhinefarm Estate. Gundlach Bundschu | Sonoma Winery | Tours and Tastings
It began in 1858 and is now in its sixth generation as a family-run winery. We had some delicious snacks and lovely wines – and a fun history lesson about the estate. It was such a great afternoon we ended up joining their wine club, so there will be a box of wine waiting for us when we get back to Chattanooga! 😉🍷
We found a little Italian restaurant for dinner (seemed fitting) and settled back in to our cottage for the night.

Places to Stay

I love finding unique lodging options, and if you’ve read some of my earlier posts on this trip, you know we’ve stayed in a shipping container, and a rustic cabin on top of a mountain. We found some amazing spots to lay our heads in this part of California, so I wanted to give them some special attention.

If anyone is planning a trip to northern CA and wants a travel buddy, let me know! I would love to come back! 🥰 For now though, we’ll keep the sun on our right and continue on.

Til next time, shine bright friends!
~Dawn🌻