EUREKA!!! I'm in Eureka!!

I knew I was in for a long haul yesterday ... which now seems lightyears ago ... so I got up with the chickens and was on the road by 6:30 am.  Wouldn't you know it finally decided to rain in California. Not only is it a good thing for water, but it was a good thing for me and the puppies to have cool weather the entire trip.  Not so good for my once clean rig.  Sacramento traffic wasn't bad at all as I crossed the Sacramento River on another great adventure!!

I was maybe 50 miles down the road when I thought I made my first big mistake.  Did you ever wonder how things could look so much different in person than they do on that map??  I had asked my Mentor Mr. Chance if Hwy 16 North was okay for motorhomes (he's been on every road there is in California), to which his reply was YES.  Apparently he thought I said motorCYCLES!!  The scenery was beautiful, but the road kind of narrow.  Funny ... it looked GREAT on my map!!

About the time I came to the REALLY narrow and winding sections, I was sure I had taken a wrong turn.  This CAN'T be a road he would send me on.  Somehow it did seem vaguely familiar though ... from our old motorcycle days!!!  It was the shortest route on my GPS however, so I just kept trucking along ..... at 35 mph ... in spite of the shocked expression on people's faces at seeing a huge motorhome on their road!!

The scenery was spectacular ... this image right out of my point and shoot ... with no traffic whatsoever.  I didn't pass a single car ... which had me pretty worried until I finally hit Hwy 20 West to Clear Lake.

Heading around the lake, traffic was heavy due to road construction, but at least there WAS traffic.  From here on I'm rather familiar with the road, allowing my fingers to let go of their death grip on the steering wheel!!

Willits was a wonderful site to see ... at least I know I'm on the right road.  I played dodge the chunks of wood from the logging trucks, scoring a perfect ZERO!!

I made it through the big trees, taking up both lanes of course.  I'm not taking any chances of losing a mirror or awning!!

At long last, 6-1/2 hours later, I found the Elks Lodge in Eureka.  With no pull-thru's here, I was going to have to back up.  The nice gentleman next door didn't have any confidence in my skills ... he came out immediately to move his vehicle out of the way.  There were three empty spaces, so I thought it best to take the one in the middle.  When I asked him to spot me, he was more than happy to help!  I like RV people!!  I have 50 amp full hookups for 8 days.  That should give me plenty of time to experience all that Eureka has to offer, including Victorian Ferndale, my REAL reason for spending time here!!

While the puppies kept watch, I went inside the Elks Lodge for a great fish dinner, complete with clam chowder!!  Luckily I sat at a table with another couple parked across from me who happened to be from Auburn.  They knew all about Hwy 16!!!

I crashed on the couch about 8:30 I think ... it's kind of a blur!!  It's perfectly quiet and a wonderful cool 55 degrees.  Time for a morning run before my days adventure!