May 6 - Tuesday
After hooking up the trailer we drove back up to the fairground office and sent our emails. We had to hook into the fax machine. They were really nice in the office and by listening to them do their business I got the impression that they do what PARD does in Whitesboro. They were talking about setting out chairs in one building for some big birthday party and setting up tables in another building for a church group. As I left I asked one of the ladies what the huge pink tree was at the entrance. I thought it might be a giant azalea tree but she said it was a cherry tree. It sure was beautiful.
We headed out of the fairgrounds and drove north out of Eureka until we hit Hwy 101. We drove about 15 miles until we came to McKinleyville. This was our next place for Steffy to send our mail so we were looking forward to picking it up. We also decided to fill up with gas but the cheapest we found it was $1.99! We couldn�t believe it was so expensive. After we filled up we spent a while looking for the post office. My Streets and Trips showed the address but we couldn�t find it for the life of us. We did find The Tallest Totem Pole in the World! It was in the middle of the town center where the post office was supposed to be. The totem pole was gigantic. It was made out of redwood of course.
We finally saw the post office. It was a little tiny building tucked back and in-between the Safeway and the Blockbuster. It was such a tiny little building we had just kept driving right past it. I ran in and they told me that our packages were back in Arcada! I panicked at first but the mail lady drew me a map and we headed back south to Arcada.
Arcada was about 8 miles back south between Eureka and McKinleyville. It didn�t take us any time to get down there and we found the post office easily since we had the great map that the mail lady drew. I ran it and got the packaged with no trouble but they did ask for ID this time. I had a section of the Journal to mail and had it addressed and in an envelope ready to go. The mail lady stuck it on the scales and said it needed more postage. I was pretty surprised and told her about the other mail lady telling me that four pages would easily mail with one stamp. She asked me if I licked the envelope. Good grief! I told her no, that the envelopes are the sticky strip kind and pulling off the strip should make them actually lighter! She said she didn�t know but stuck on a stamp and charged me. Very weird. Glen said somebody�s scale isn�t calibrated right! From now on I am only going to mail three pages just to make sure!
Arcada is a pretty good size town. It is a college town and like most college towns we have been in, the streets were crammed with cars. It was slow going with the trailer but Glen maneuvered us safely back out to Hwy 101 and hopefully we were finally on our way.
Hwy 101 is a nice freeway out of Arcada for quite a ways so we finally made some time. We stopped after driving awhile at a rest stop for lunch. It was one of the most beautiful rest stops that we had ever seen. Gorgeous flowering bushes lined the entrance and exit and redwood trees made up the picnic area. Glen said it was a Hansel and Gretal forest. It did look like something out of a fairy tale. The giant trees created a dark shady canopy and the forest floor was covered with ferns and wildflowers. We enjoyed it so much.
We finally got our first look at the Pacific Ocean. It was such a strange feeling to finally see it after looking forward to it for so long. It seemed so big!
We had planned to make it to Crescent City but we found a place that you could camp right on the beach along the highway in the Redwood National Park. At first we were a little leery about the traffic and noise but decided to try it for the experience. We just pulled in beside the road and we were right there on the beach at the Pacific Ocean! There was a little envelope to fill out and put our money in at a little station so we did that and then set up the trailer and put out our slide.
Badger and I couldn�t wait to get down to the water. Glen said he would finish hooking up so we took off. 
We climbed down a few rocks to get past the weedy part of the beach, which kind of sat up higher on a ridge, then we were on the beach itself. It looked very different than the Gulf of Mexico beach. The sand was dark gray almost black. I was very confused because I really thought that California beaches were very white. We started walking on down and my first thought was wondering why there weren�t any shells. There were rocks everywhere. Little, smooth, mostly black and white rocks. They looked like rocks you would find in the rivers in Colorado. I just couldn�t understand where the shells were. Badge and I walked on and I started picking up a few of the rocks that were really pretty and then we found some little pieces of wood that were neat. 
They were really smooth and softly rounded like someone had taken a lot of time sanding and sanding. I was not sure but it looked like maybe all the stuff I was seeing in the tide line were things that had washed down the rivers that drain out from the mountains and then the ocean had churned them and churned them until they were smooth and rounded. I didn�t really know but that is what it looked like.
Badger and I finally got too tired to walk any more so we headed back to the trailer. Glen had everything all set up and the Honda going so we went in and showed him all our treasures. He didn�t understand about the shells (or lack of them) either so we decided we would just have to wait and ask somebody about it. We opened our boxes of mail from Steffy and looked at all our mail. She had sent a wonderful candle for Mother�s Day so that was a fun surprise. There was also the latest Highways Magazine and she had sent a few Laramie newspapers so we had some great reading material. After relaxing a while I went out and took some pictures of our trailer as the sun was setting. It was pretty cloudy so I was able to take a picture of a magnificent sunset on the Pacific Ocean. I think it will be one that I will treasure for a long time.
May 7 � Wednesday
The van was still hooked up to the trailer so it wasn�t anything for us to get going again. We headed north on Hwy 101 and enjoyed a most scenic drive through the Redwood National Park. The trees are truly amazing. We drove into Crescent City and found the information center. The lady there was really helpful and she told me about all the things to do in the area. I asked here why there were no shells at the beach where we stayed. She said there aren�t any shells on the California beaches! You have to go to Mexico to find shells!
I was really shocked!
I said, �All I saw were river rocks.�
She said �Oh, those were probably agates!� She went to her desk and brought over a glass jar full of little colored rocks that looked like jelly beans. �See, these are agates.�
I said, �Oh, they are so pretty! How do you know if you find a rock or an agate?�
She just died laughing and said,� I don�t know, that is a good question!�
I don�t understand about having an ocean that doesn�t have shells� do the beaches in Oregon have shells? I didn�t think to ask her� I guess we will have to wait and see. I hope the lady didn�t know what she was talking about. The lady at the information center north of Redding that told me what a manzanita tree was wrong. I found out what a real manzanita tree looks like and now I don�t know what those trees were at the Antler�s Campground. JEESE!!!
We got the phone number of the campgrounds up in the Smith River Recreation Area and I called to check and see if the campgrounds were open up there. The lady I talked to said yes and to come on up.
We drove about 30 miles up Hwy 199 northwest of Crescent City to Panther Flats Campground in the Six Rivers National Forest. We found a nice site and unhooked and set up the trailer. Our site was right across the road from the facilities and what great facilities! Flush toilets, sinks with running water, lights and even coin operated showers! 
WOW!! We felt like we had hit the mother lode! The facilities looked brand new and they were super clean. The fee for this campground was $15 a night but only paid $7.50. What a deal! We signed up for five nights and settled in by putting up our awning and setting out our green carpet patio.
After we rested a bit I took my camera and went for a walk to check out the campground. I felt like a kid in a candy shop. Everywhere I looked I saw wildflowers and blooming bushes. I saw my first wild iris. They were everywhere and so beautiful and delicate. The azaleas were blooming and the air smelled sweet with their aroma. What a marvelous place. We felt so blessed to be in such a wonderful place.
May 8 - Thursday
We woke up to the pitter-patter of rain on the trailer. We decided to check out the area a bit and drove up a few miles north of the campground. We found a neat developed trail called the Darlingtonia Trail. Darlingtonia�s common name is the California Pitcher Plant. It is a cobra shaped plant that digests insects. It is rare and only found in boggy areas that are high in serpentine soil so we felt privileged to be able to see it. 
I think it was the most ugliest plant that I have ever seen!
We drove a few more miles and found two other campgrounds and drove through them to check them out. They were really nice, also, but they didn�t have the newer facilities and didn�t have showers so we were tickled to have chosen the best one. All the campgrounds in the area have neat rock walls, steps and other structures built in the 30�s by the CCC. Some them were badly damaged in a flood that they had in 1964.
In March 1964 there was a huge earthquake in Alaska and a giant tsunami wave hit Crescent City. A whole section of the city was destroyed including the harbor and twelve people died. The wave caused flooding all the way up the Smith River, which is really amazing. I was in the third grade but I don�t remember it.
The Smith River runs all along Hwy 199 and is apparently a very busy recreation area in the summer. The Six Rivers National Forest covers most of the area east of Crescent City all the way up to the Oregon border. The river is a gorgeous jade green. The information we read said that the color comes from the serpentine minerals that are found in the rocks in the area. The soil has a heavy concentration of magnesium, silica and iron but doesn�t have much calcium or potassium. 
A lot of plants aren�t able to grow here and some of the trees looked stunted and stressed but it is really a beautiful area.
It rained the whole day and the temperatures never got above 46 degrees. Glen said that he would like it if every day were like this. He may get his wish.
We spent the afternoon watching the rain and piddling around. Glen decided to try out the coin-operated shower. I was worried that they might not have hot water but he came back clean as a whistle and said it was great. He said the water was nice and hot. He used five quarters and said he had plenty of water. He was very impressed.
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