Sue Meg SP (3)

We learned an important lesson the last night at Burlington: if in doubt, run the generator. The redwoods are super dark and virtually no solar was coming in. We had run it once, and figured Dory’s battery was fine for the last night, but we woke up to a pretty low voltage in the morning. We had enough charge for coffee, but I wasn’t going to mess around with running the water pump for a shower. We decided to pack it up and move to our next reservation, with a stopover at a Safeway for grocery shopping and solar charging in the parking lot. This was all fine and decided without urgency, but Richard did feel a little bummed because he wanted to do a morning hike along the river while I showered. We will have a do over some day and not hesitate about running the generator in the afternoon. It only takes 2-3 hours to fully charge everything, including my bike battery, so getting this done around making dinner time works pretty well. FWIW, I like the little Honda 1000 better than the blue Yamaha. It is much quieter, despite what the specs said on paper. Also worth noting is that once my bike battery starts blinking blue, you can let it go for another 30-45 min and it will be charged to 100%.

Last time we came through, we stopped at the McKinleyville Safeway and Richard attempted to ride from there to the campground. While he was ultimately successful, it was not a fun ride, because Google routed him onto a dead end road and he had to do a lot of uphill pedaling on Highway 101. This time we topped up at the Fortuna Safeway. There is a dump there, behind the Chevron station, that costs $10 and has water for rinsing. After logistics were done, I blogged in Dory and Richard rode out to the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Strava, the exercise charting app, showed a popular ride going up Tompkins Hill Road. He said it would not have been a good Dory road, but for bikes it offered a nice climb and an easy way to get across 101. We met up at a staging area near the south Jetty of a spit that encloses the bay around Eureka.

The weather was overcast and chilly, so Richard was good to stop for the day. He stretched, and we gawked at a paraglider getting ready to leap off the cliff overlooking the beach. It was a fascinating show, but in no way enticed us toward trying this as our new hobby. 

With all logistics out of the way, and some time killed so we wouldn’t arrive too early, we were set up for a nice three night stay. We ran the generator to top up all the things and went for a lovely walk along the rim trail after dinner. The site was very nice, with lots of room for outdoor lounging, which we didn’t use, and a secret path to the Rim Trail, which we didn’t use except to verify that’s what it was. Everything in the park is lush and tropical feeling, with rhododendrons of all colors blooming wildly.

For our first full day, we got out on our bikes. Riding out of the park and onto Patrick’s Point Drive will get you spectacular views, but also a lot of bumpy or fully unpaved sections of road. I wonder if the locals are opposed to ever fixing these. If the conditions were decent, I’ll bet everyone would be getting off the highway to take this breathtaking route. As it is, you really have to earn it, and I imagine that keeps traffic down. 

From Trinidad, you continue on Scenic Drive until it ends and puts you onto the highway. You can ride this to the next exit, which is about two miles downhill, and get off at Crannell Road. This gets you to Clam Beach Drive for the next few miles. We stopped and walked our bikes out to the beach for a nice lunch, which seems to be a popular activity, as evidenced by a long  flexible boardwalk surface, just perfect for wheeling bikes or wagons full of beach picnic supplies. 

At the very south end of Clam Beach, we picked up the Hammond Trail. This is a multi-use, mostly paved, trail that runs along the coast all the way to the Mad River Bridge. Sometimes if follows surface streets, but it is always clearly marked so there is little danger of getting lost. Speaking of getting lost, this was the trail Richard had been trying to get to on our last trip. He never found it, because, well, he is gifted at getting lost. We established that it is actually incredibly easy to get from the McKinleyville Safeway to the Hammond Trail. Turn right on Hiller Road and go 1 mile. Boom, can’t miss it. I mean, you can, I suppose, but it takes talent.

We made it all the way across the Mad River Bridge and even checked out the day use county park by the beach. It’s a beach. Got it. It’s a full twenty mile bike ride from Sue Meg to the bridge, and the out and back landed my battery at 7% as I rolled into the campsite. Perfect day. I did take my backup battery, with no regrets, but it turns out I didn’t need it.

We celebrated on the way back by stopping at the Lighthouse Grill in Trinidad. This place has some of the best ice cream I have ever had. It is made in house and maybe that’s why it is so good. They also make their waffle cones fresh and warm, so the ice cream slowly melts as you eat it. I had blueberry cheesecake on that day, Richard had vanilla and cookies and cream. I had banana fudge and Richard had chocolate almond on the return trip the next day.

Our second full day was spent hiking the state park trails. We had done all of these before and nothing was new or different. A heavy mist made things chilly all day. We did all of the out and backs from the Rim Trail and ended up with about a five mile hike. Some of the trails are getting a bit overgrown, an indication that this is a rainy area. And some of the steps down to rocky tide pools are falling apart, an indication that this is a stormy, wave battered area. It is gorgeous, with or without blue skies and you can stare at the rocks out in the ocean surf forever. 

We tried a wing it recipe for TACO Tuesday with Mexican spiced beef and poblano pepper, with a side of corn and pickled pepper salad. I’d say it was good, but needed something saucy. I also really love tortillas heated on the grill. Don’t know how to capture that in Dory when it’s not grilling weather.

This is a lovely park with lots to do. If you know how to find agates, you can hunt for them on Agate Beach. I don’t at all know how to spot agates, but I do know pretty rocks when I see them and you are allowed to gather 15 lbs. The pond will be getting some Agate Beach bling. There are plenty of amenities in gorgeous nearby Trinidad, including gas and a good market. And for everything else, Eureka and Arcata are the big towns nearby. This marks our last stop on the coast. From here we turn inland for the rest of the summer. Fun stay!

Total miles from Burlington: 89.9, 16.0 mpg, 6 hours 40 min with stop for shopping in Fortuna and detour to Table Bluff. 4 bars of LTE or 2 bars of 5g for both of us. Spigots nearby. No dump. There is a dump on the northbound side of the rest area just before the park exit. It is free and a good dump, with rinse water, but no potable water. After you exit, you get off at the very next exit for Sue Meg park. On our departure, we went south from the campground so we could pick up 101 going north. Then we did a loop de loop to get off the freeway and once again head down south. For the future, it is way easier to just take the freeway for this maneuver, rather than take the Scenic Drive, as you hit all the unpaved bits before you get to the exit. It’s some rigamarole, but it’s a free dump.