Humboldt Bay, California

Informational sign posted at the parking lot at the end of the South Jetty

Humboldt Bay is big – 16,000 acres. The bay’s port at Eureka is the only protected deep water harbor between San Francisco and Seattle, so Humboldt Bay is a pretty important place from both an economic and ecology perspective. If you visit Humboldt Bay today, you’ll find three distinct  zones: South, North and Central.

The North and South consist of long barrier sand spits barely connected to the mainland. The Central section is the protected harbor, divided between mudflats teeming with wildlife and the City of Eureka, Humboldt County seat. Most of the central bay is private property. It’s the two spits that are the most accessible to the public as recreation areas, thanks to access roads the Corps of Engineers put it when they built a jetty at the end of each spit in 1890. The jetties were needed to stabilize the harbor entrance, which until then involved a risky transit over ever-changing sandbars.

Continue reading “Humboldt Bay, California”

Fortuna California

I took delivery of Peggy, my new truck, just after the first of the year. After a shakedown trip to Florida with the new camper, I departed Georgia on the third of June. On September 21 I arrived in Fortuna, California, the unofficial turnaround point of my 2018 odyssey . Up until now I had been travelling to get here, when I leave Humboldt County I will be travelling back to Georgia.

Continue reading “Fortuna California”

Northern California Coast – Klamath to Arcata

Gas Issues

I’ve never had the knack for timing purchases in the fields of investments or real estate, and this weakness apparently extends to gas stations as well. When in Idaho, I thought I could save ten cents a gallon if I waited a few miles. Then suddenly I was in Washington, and the price went up forty cents a gallon.

Oregon was a little cheaper, but they have a peculiar rule: you aren’t allowed to pump your own fuel. It’s not a Back to the Future deal; you won’t get your windshield washed or oil checked, you are simply forbidden from operating the pump. This means you have to wait for an attendant, who in a big station may be handling a dozen pumps. Nobody I asked could explain why the State mandates this, only that it had been that way for a long time.

The final surprise came in California, where the price of diesel fuel increase a full dollar a gallon. I suppose I should have expected it, since everything is more expensive here. My tip for travelers is you might want to check here on your phone as you approach state borders to help you time your gas purchases. I know I will from now on. Continue reading “Northern California Coast – Klamath to Arcata”