first there is a mountain

San Francisco, CA – An overcast and mild morning on 10th Avenue, although the sun pokes through every once in a while

Being home is wonderful, and a little bizarre. In the last day, a calm has come over me that I haven’t felt in a long time and I seem to be grinning often. My mind is awash with memories from all of the places I’ve seen. Its going to take some time to sort all this out, but lets look back to Oregon, and the last leg of my big loop.

Back in Portland, it was a warm and sunny morning. I had a heavy grogginess that made packing the car a very gradual and slow process. I checked out, gave that leaky tire a refill, and then took one last drive around the neighborhood before heading south again on I-5. I was thrilled that I’d back in California by the days end.

The drive down I-5 through Oregon was pretty uneventful. The landscape was very uniform along this stretch, made of dry grassy hillsides with big patches of forestation, like spots on a dalmation, spread about. The heat wave was still going strong and again the white wonder’s AC was struggling to maintain.

At Grants Pass I got onto 199, which takes a southwestern diagonal route to the California coast. Like Redwood City, Grants Pass greets you with an overhanging sign that boasts the town’s excellent climate. In the mid-nineties, the climate didn’t seem all that spectacular to me. I stopped briefly for a super-sized fountain drink and then pushed on. As I neared the stateline in the Illinois Valley, I noticed that the forest had become denser, which helped cool the car off a little.

When I spotted the Welcome to California sign I hooted and hollered for a little while and noticed that the terrain had shifted again. The road had become twistier and the trees were getting larger with each minute. I was entering the land of giant redwood trees and I flashed back to April, when I had seen General Sherman and the other giant sequoias.

As I drove into Crescent City, I realized that cold air was actually coming from the AC. Suspicious, I rolled down the window and felt a chill, it was somewhere around 60 degrees or so. A coastal fog was holding on tight. I knew San Francisco would be the same way. Without a specific campground in mind, I went to a Redwood NP visitor center to pick one out. I was surprised to find that all but one campground was already full. It was 4pm on a Tuesday. At any other park I would have had the pick of the litter on a Tuesday afternoon.

Not wanting to waste any time, I drove directly to Del Norte Coast Redwoods SP and snatched campsite 79. Soon after, the campground was full. Redwood NP is situated along the northern-most stretch of the California coast. The greater Redwood park system is comprised of both national and state parks. Filled with trees of unusual size, I was reminded of the Ewok (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ewok) village from Star Wars.

There was clam chowder and green beans for dinner that night. I watched the last of my firewood burn and thought of all the places I’d seen and people I’d stayed with. I went to sleep in a smiley nostalgic mood.

In the morning I overslept by an hour or so. Anxious to hit the road, I broke down and packed up the campsite in record time. After some coffee and a shower, I left the park around 9:30. Spanning perhaps 75 miles or so of California coastline, Redwoods NP was cold and foggy. At several points you couldn’t even see the ocean, which was at only a stone’s throw distance.

After passing Eureka though, 101 turned inland into Humbolt County, and the heat was back. Traveling along this particular stretch of 101 takes a little patience, as it’s a combination of freeway and local roads. I was all out of patience by this point, so I became frustrated every time the highway funneled into the center of towns like Willits and Ukiah.

By 3:30 or so I got off 101 at Santa Rosa and made one final stop in Glen Ellen to visit my friend Marti. Marti and I were co-workers for several years in Redwood City and became friends over many a conversation about baseball. I also had the opportunity to meet Marti’s sister, Kay, for the first time. After a refreshment and some catching up, I returned to 101 and reached the Golden Gate Bridge in quick fashion. San Francisco was overcast and gloomy looking. It was beautiful. You couldn’t have wiped the smile from my face.

Originally, I had planned on shooting pictures from atop the Marin Headlands before crossing the bridge. But, with the clouds and fog, I figured it would be better to wait on that. Besides, I was too eager anyway delay my homecoming any further. I crossed the bridge and immediately hung a right into the Presidio. As though it were a victory lap, I drove along my favorite route through the park and came out the other side in Presidio Heights. A few minutes later I parked the Integra outside my place and shut off the ignition.

We did it Integra. We made it all the way around. I recorded the final odometer reading: 217,523. We’d driven 12,400 miles in the span of eleven weeks. I was proud, damn proud of the white wonder.

I was greeted with warm embraces from Zack and Diane, and a BBQ held in my honor. It was an emotional night. I resumed my post at the little Weber and grilled up steaks and chops. The All-Star game was on, and I was pleased to see that Beckett and Papelbon had given up no runs. (However, Leyland should have saved Papelbon for the ninth inning, if you ask me.) The AL squeaked by in the ninth and won their eleventh strait All-Star game. For a minute, it was as though I’d never left. I decided that night that eleven weeks is too long a time to be away from home. What a joy it was to sleep in my own bed that night.

On the following day, I slept in fairly late, made lots of coffee, and unpacked the car. I did laundry and ran errands. It didn’t take too long to feel re-settled in SF. The sky cleared in the afternoon and I drove back over to Marin to get pictures. That more or less brings us to the present. This afternoon, I will visit the movie palace that started all this, the Castro Theatre, to see Charlie Chaplin’s masterpiece “City Lights.” I’ll likely be there for the rest of the weekend too, as my favorite film event of the year is about to start, the SF Silent Film Festival. (http://www.thecastrotheatre.com/p-list.html)

Its blissful to be home. After some rest, I’ll get started on my next adventure, whatever that may be.

More soon.

Andy

For pictures from the last leg of the loop:

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AcMnLVq3aN2Li