Northern California Side Trips

We try to get out for a small adventure every day after Dale gets off work at 3pm. The whole time we’ve been on Pacific Time, he has maintained Central Time hours, so he works from 6-3! This isn’t easy but it does give us extra time in the afternoon. We also have some excursions after church on Sunday.

Sue-Meg State Park & Trinidad

The first evening we are at a new place we usually go get groceries, so on the second day we went to a nearby state park and seaside town. Sue-Meg is the name given to that area by the Yurok Indians. There is a nearby reservation as well. We see a lot of people who look like they could be native Americans. After spending an hour or so there, we stopped by a small seaside village called Trinidad for some clam chowder!

Eureka’s Sequoia Park

On our third afternoon we went just a few miles south to the town of Eureka to get the opportunity to get up close to some Redwoods. We went to a city park that has a short trail through some Redwoods as well as a playground. On our way home we stopped in Arcata for ice cream!

Fort Humboldt State Historic Park

Fort Humboldt is a historic military fort, situated on a bluff overlooking Humboldt Bay. This remote military post was established in 1853 and was home to the young Captain Ulysses S. Grant. Fort Humboldt was formally abandoned in 1870 and rapidly fell into decay. Today, only the hospital building remains of the original fourteen structures. 

Old Town Eureka

Our second trip to Eureka was after church for brunch at Cafe Waterfront, which is situated on the waterfront of Eureka’s Old Town. The restaurant used to be a bar and brothel. While we were there we enjoyed live piano and trumpet music. Enjoy this sample ..

Eureka’s Sequoia Zoo and Sky Walk

This past Tuesday we went back to Eureka to visit the zoo and walk on the sky walk. Our first encounter with Redwood Trees the week before was at a park adjacent to the zoo and sky walk. When we saw people walking through the tree tops we wanted to experience that for ourselves. So, after work we headed that way.

It’s a small zoo but there were enough animals to keep us entertained, especially the otters. They were full of energy and mischief. Unfortunately some of the animals had already been penned up for the day. That was a little disappointing, especially for the $25 per person cost. Overall, we don’t regret our visit and, it was pretty cool seeing the Redwoods from a whole new perspective.

Trinidad Head Loop

We headed back to the small town of Trinidad to see the lighthouse and have another bowl of chowder!

Unfortunately we never saw the lighthouse but we really enjoyed the short hike up and around a large bluff. The hike provided some really great views of the Pacific and beach.

At the top of the hill was a large concrete cross that was erected in 1913 in the same place where a previous cross had been placed in 1775 by two Spanish Naval explorers who claimed the area for Spain in the name of Charles III.