The drive to Humboldt National Forest, California.

Fellow Jimericanos, Jimerica! has some catching up to do. When last we spoke, I was leaving Fort Bragg, CA and heading to another super secret destination. I noted in my last post that I get a lot of great suggestions on where to visit, and that sometimes I get so many suggestions that it’s impossible to hit all of them. However, this can be tricky when you’re getting really great suggestions that you just can’t miss AND you’re trying to actually get somewhere. So, you’ll hear about one of those days in this post.

But, before we start, you all probably know the movie “The Breakfast Club”. Do you remember the scene when bad-guy teacher (Paul Gleason) was in a confrontation with the dirtbag-hero character (Judd Nelson)? The evil teacher gave the hero another Saturday of detention, and the hero was like “yeah, ok.”. And then the evil guy said “how about another one?” And the hero was like “Fine!”. And then the evil guy was like “How about we make it a whole MONTH?!”. And the hero said “GREAAAAAT”.  I want you to remember the dirtbag’s voice and hear only it during any quoted text in this post. This is Jimerica!'s internal voice screaming out to all of you. If that reference doesn’t work for you, then you may use the voice Randy Marsh used during the “sarcastiball” episode of South Park. If neither of these references work for you, you have not lived and Jimerica! cannot help you. Just make something up.

So, I’d initially wanted to leave Fort Bragg early in the morning so I could get a full day chilling with the redwoods in Humboldt. But, on my last visit to Piaci, a woman there who had heard I was traveling north said that I absolutely should not miss the Pacific Star Winery. She described the place and I immediately knew I wasn’t going to miss it.

“Yeah, great. So I’ll just leave a little later than I planned. THANKS. Thanks for the wonderful suggestion. I’m so glad it entered my ear holes and is now in my brain.”

So, the next morning, instead of being on the road bright and early, I was here on this very comfortable couch drinking excellent coffee:

Mara's Coffee in Fort Bragg, California

It was here, I shit you not dear reader, where I met a woman who insisted I visit a place on the Oregon coast where she grew up, Port Orford. And now, I sit in that very town, in a motel on a cliff overlooking the ocean, and write this. And tomorrow I will eat at The Crazy Norwegian’s Fish and Chips restaurant, as she commanded. “Greaaaat!”. But I’m getting WAY ahead of myself. Back to the long day. 

So, I wasted a couple hours on the comfy couch at Mara's and then headed north out of Fort Bragg toward the Pacific Star Winery where I met this wonderful couple:

Marcus and Diana. Diana is the wine maker. She bought this property back in the 80's.

Here's a shot looking out from their property:

Pacific Star Winery. Fort Bragg, California.

This is the only winery in the world that has a tectonic fault named after it:

This is the actual name of the fault. Named after their winery.

I met Marcus first. He and his wife own the winery.  He, like so many here, had some suggestions for me. He pulled out a map and circled a couple spots on the coast that he thought I should visit.

“Yeah, OK. No Problem. These places sound awesome. I wasn’t going to shower or eat today anyway.”

Then his wife arrived on the scene and had some other suggestions.

“Oh, great, your wife is here now and she also has some awesome suggestions. And maybe I can just find a vampire to bite me so I’ll have everlasting life and can actually see all of these places.”

I had hoped to leave Fort Bragg at about 8AM. It was 2:30PM when I left Pacific Star. Please visit this place if you have a chance. Marcus and Diana are awesome, the scenery is beautiful, and their wine is excellent.

One of Diana's suggestions was Leggett, California. This was totally worth it and 100% on my way:

Chandelier Tree. Leggett, California. Jimerica!

Another one of Diana’s suggestions was Peg House. "I’m the Highlander.” Peg House is a restaurant/grocery store/ and a few other things Jimerica! couldn’t quite figure out. It's on the way toward the Avenue of Giants, on Route 101. It's well known in this part of the country. They have great burgers and beer on tap (the Jimerica! anthem), and the owner, whose name Jimerica! failed to get, had some suggestions for me!! "How about that?" Here's a couple shots:

Jimerica! is very sorry I didn't get their names. I could have sworn I noted them, but the Jimeriphone tells me otherwise. However, I can tell you that the owner is the one on the right and that her name is not Peg.

That's a parachute shading the customers.

As I stood chatting with the owner of the Peg House, she commented on all the motorcycles going by. She said that she would hear that roar all weekend long because of the 'Run'. And then asked if I was going to go there. I stupidly asked what she was talking about. She informed me that a large biker rally was going on that weekend just down the road called The Redwood Run and said that I should go check it out. It was then that I realized I would be setting up my tent in the dark. 

"GREAAAAT. Since I can't seem to find a vampire, maybe I can find some crystal meth at the bike rally so I can actually keep this up."

So, from the Peg House, I headed to The Redwood Run and spent about an hour there chatting with some folks. Here are some of the people I met. However, before we proceed, this post will get a bit R rated for language. So for those Jimericanos that aren't into that sort of thing, now would be a good time to start looking forward to my next post. Here are some shots:

The Redwood Run. From left to right. Jonny V, Wolf, and James.

 Jonny V and Wolf are from the Bay area. James is from Sacramento. Jonny V is Wolf's grandson. I asked Jonny what the V stands for, Wolf said it stands for 'Very Fine Motherfucker'. Wolf won the grandprize at the run last year, a leather biker jacket stitched by a well know artist from Canada named 'Krazy Boy'. Here's a shot: 

Wolf with last year's grand prize.

A question I got from these guys is 'are you a cop'? I would eventually be asked that question enough times to be suspicious of myself. After I talked to these guys, I wandered into the registration tent to see how much access I could get to the event. The guy at the registration said he couldn't let me in past the gate, but I was free to roam around the outside where I would find plenty of people just arriving and getting organized with other riders before going in. Then he asked 'are you a cop'? I said no. He looked at me, and then at my camera, and shook his head slowly. He was thinking about what to say next. He then said, 'Fine. Just be careful not to point that thing at anybody without permission and do not ask anybody with an 'H.A.' on their jacket for permission.' He was referring to my camera. I agreed, obviously.

Next I met this gentleman:

I have no idea what happened to my notes on this guy. I think his name was Jim. Sorry if I got that wrong.

I'm constantly typing notes into my phone when I meet new people. Sometimes, I manage to screw that up and lose them. Such is the case here. In any case, this was a good dude. 

Then I met John. John manages the stage at this event and has done so for many many years. This year's headliner was Great White. John was originally from LA. He also manages the stage at a big music festival they have near here every year called The Summer Arts Music Festival. http://mateel.org/summer-arts-and-music-festival/

Here's a shot of John:

John at The Redwood Run

John suggested that I check out the Myers Flat Saloon, since it was on my way. He said there would be other riders up there. 

"That's exactly what I'm going to do."

So, then I headed to the Myers Flat Saloon, where I found a line of Harleys and, inside, a bar unlike any bar I had ever seen in my life. I'll share a couple of shots with you here, but you'll get the full story on Myers Flat and the surrounding area next time. Myers Flat Saloon:

Myers Flat Saloon. From Dusk til Dawn, anybody?

The bartender, Laurel, liked me immediately:

She's actually very nice. More about Laurel next time.

I spent a couple hours here, and then finally rolled into my campsite just before 10PM. I bought some firewood, set my tent up, got a fire going, and then sat and thought about what an awesome day I'd just had. A to B is never a straight line. So that's it, folks. Thank you all for reading!

Fort Bragg, California

Just west of Mendocino National Forest.

When last we spoke, I had left Yosemite and had taken a very long route to Fort Bragg, California by way of Mendocino National Forest and Anderson Valley. On this very long trip, I stayed at a little Inn in Anderson Valley appropriately named the Anderson Valley Inn. It was almost 11PM when I got to the place, but the owner was up and happy to check me in. We chatted a bit about the area and I told him I would be leaving early for Humboldt Redwood Forest. He mentioned that the wineries in Anderson Valley are famous for their pinot noir and suggested that I visit some before I leave. How could Jimerica!, I ask you dear reader, not visit some of the best pinot noir producers in the world? Point A to point B is never a straight line in Jimerica!

Something you’ll experience if you ever get a chance to travel like this (that is, with a lot of time and a no itinerary), is that you’ll get a lot of suggestions on where to go and what to see. I’ve found these suggestions to be manageable in most of the country, but not here. There’s just too much to see in California and everybody you bump into suggests some new and amazing sounding place. In any single day you end up with enough suggestions to keep you busy for a week.  

So the next morning I popped in here:

I bought a pinot here that I will share with somebody in either Oregon or Washington.

And then I headed for the coast where I found this:

59 degrees here. Yesterday, I was in Mendocino National Forest where it was 103 degrees

And a 180 degree turn from my previous shot shows the hill side that California Route 1 cuts through. It's there.

I drove for another 30 minutes to Fort Bragg where I found a campsite that could handle Jimerica! for 3 nights, though I had to move to a different tent site each day. Since I can easily pick my tent up and walk around with it, moving wasn’t a big deal. Still, I got some strange looks.

I did some riding here at Jackson State Forest and Mendocino State Forest. Fine riding, both places. These parks have a “land of the lost” feel to them. Here are some shots:

Russian Gulch Trail

Russian Gulch Trail

And some big tree stumps. See the Jimericycle?

But the best riding here was along the coast at Mackerricher State Park. It wasn’t challenging at all, just a beautiful trail along the ocean.  Here are a few shots:

Easy riding here.

Jimerica!

A couple of sea lions.

A lot of this.

See the Jimericycle?

My days are similar to the others on this trip; sleep late, find coffee, go for a short ride or hike, eat lunch, go for a longer ride, and then find food/beer/people. For food/beer/people, the absolute must-not-miss place here in Fort Bragg is Piaci (pea-AH-chi). They make great pizza and sandwiches and offer the best brews from local breweries on tap. To give you a feel for Piaci, Jimerica! will tell you this brief story:

On one of my visits to Piaci, a young couple came in and sat next to me at the bar. The girl (who was from Michigan) asked the bartender for a Miller Lite. A polite laugh-riot erupted among the rest of the patrons at the bar, which confused the girl. Somebody said, “you just ordered a corndog in a French restaurant”. We informed her that there was no Miller Lite here, or anything Lite for that matter. I, and the rest of the folks at the bar, then discussed the options that were available to the girl and came to the conclusion that she should try the hobo pilsner, which she did and enjoyed. Here’s some other folks I met at Piaci:

Piaci is owned by Stephen. He opened it 15 years ago. In my few visits, I noticed that it was packed with craft brew lovers as well as beach-tired families looking for adult beverages and good pizza. He sources most of the ingredients (and beer) locally. He knows beer, as well as everything you might want to know about all the breweries up and down the coast.

Not the best picture I ever took. But, this does capture the Stephen I met. At this particular moment, Stephen was thinking about the many breweries that are north of here and then settled on two he thought were right for my taste. He pulled out a local travel magazine, circled the breweries, and then wished me luck. Hopefully, I'll tell you about them in a future post.

Just a few of Stephens many available drafts today.

This is Jackie and Chris. Jackie is from Pittsburgh. Chris is from here. Jackie has lived here for 6 years, and has enjoyed it, but wants to go home. However, Chris isn’t so sure. They’re discussing it. Please appreciate the fact that Jackie had to wait so long for my camera to wake up that the beer she is pouring is overflowing:

Chris and Jackie. I have to also note that while every bartender at this establishment was quick with the samples, nobody was as quick as Chris.

This is Dave. He will soon be opening his own brewery with some other co-owners. I believe he said it was going to be called “Overtime Brewery”, but I’m not 100% on that. He was often very serious, but occasionally less so:

Dave Knows Beer.

And that is IT, Jimerica! I wanted to make this a double post, but I'm tired of looking at this computer. At the moment, I am sitting in a crazy little joint that I'll tell you all about next time. Thanks for reading!

Yosemite National Park

When last we spoke, I was saying “goodbye for now” to my friend Rob and heading back to Oakland for the night. The next morning, I was right back at Rob’s place to get a bag that I had forgotten. I’d taken it out of my car with a few other things so he and his son could take my Mini for a spin. Rob asked me very clearly “are you sure you have everything” before I left the evening prior. I confidently answered “yes”.  My brother Joe is rolling his eyes right now. 

Before I left Rob’s house for the second time, he hooked me up with a Garmin navigation device, so my days of balancing my phone on the pile of bags in my passenger seat is over. I punched in my destination. Yosemite National Park. Ready friends?

Like so many drives I’ve been on, I was dealing with traffic for a bit, and then the mundane, and then the less mundane, and then the scenery caught my attention, and then I started to understand why the place I was going is known throughout the world.  Here’s the first picture I took, I was on a winding cliff side road, about 10 miles outside of Yosemite Valley:

After I took this picture, I took the road down into the tall trees of the valley. Soon, I began to see something towering beyond the trees, but I couldn’t really make it out. Then I came around a bend in the road and was looking at this:

And then I got to a clearing where a bunch of cars were parked and found this: 

I walked through the woods near here a bit, trying to get better view of some of the valley, but that was not the way to do it here. Something that I discovered about Yosemite is that when you’re trying to find a view, you won’t. And when you least expect it, it’s there. The great views are spread out, and worth the effort.

View from Glacier Point

Also Glacier Point

Early on the drive to Glacier Point

See the Jimerica!mobile?

Yosemite lived up to the hype and then some. During the three days I spent here, I met people from Korea, Japan, China, France, Germany, Australia, England, Italy, Canada, India, and, obviously, quite a few Americans. I'm sure they all felt the trip was 100% worth it.

If you ever do make it to Yosemite, the closest real town is Groveland. They have a few nice restaurants and some Inns and B&Bs. A popular t-shirt I see around Groveland says "Where the hell is Groveland?" They also have the oldest continually running bar in all of California, the Iron Door, which was opened in 1852. Good bar food and selection of draft beer.

I met some people in Groveland. Most notably, Dallan and Kyle (said in the Mr. Hanky South Park tone of voice, please).

Dallan (left), and Kyle at the Iron Door. They work for the Just Roughin' It Adventure Company.

Dallan and Kyle are back-country guides. Dallan has been guiding groups for 9 years, Kyle has been doing the same for 5 years. They guide groups in Yosemite, Olympics National Park, anything and everything in the Phoenix area, and the Grand Canyon. The trips they guide are typically three to six days. Kyle did three trips consecutively in the Grand Canyon last year. Three weeks non-stop in the canyon. Another fun fact about Kyle; he lives in Soda Springs, which is about 6 miles from where the Donner Party got stuck. Yes, the Donner Party again. Here are a few facts about Soda Springs; last year they got 523 inches of snow, 14 feet of that snow arrived in just 10 days. And, when the Donner Party was deciding that some of their friends looked delicious, they were standing on 32 feet of snow directly above a lake that could have saved them had they only known it was there.

After leaving Yosemite, I took an extremely long route to my next destination. I’d intended on spending a few days in Mendocino National Forest, but I got there only to discover they were in the middle of a heat wave. Typically, the daytime highs here are mid 80s. But, when I arrived, it was 103 and the forecast was more of the same for the next few days. I hadn't been on my mountain bike for over a week, and I was anxious to be somewhere I could ride. So, Jimerica! got out of his car, looked around, and got right back in and headed for cooler weather. As I write this I am in yet another laundromat. This time, I'm in one on the coast in Mendacino County, Northern California. I'll tell you all about this place next time. Thanks for reading!

Oakland and San Ramon, California

Jimerica! says a lot of things. And I do my best to be accurate. But sometimes I make what a lawyer would call a forward-looking statement. Often, those statements turn out to be true. And sometimes not. Case in point; when last we spoke, I was going to spend a single night at ol’ buddy Nathan’s house in Oakland and then head back to Marin. But his couch turned out to be very comfortable. And since his apartment mate (and brother, Jared) didn’t seem to mind his brother’s unkempt and sleepy guest eating all of his Yellow Corn Tortilla Chips, I spent three days there. Would you like to hear about them?

Ok, so now we’re backing up to where I was driving from Marin to Oakland. I’m on my way to see Nathan. Nathan and I were both Peace Corps volunteers in Namibia, Group 35. If you were with me during my Tsunami Dog Blog days, you know all about Nathan. If not, his site was about 120 miles east of mine, and that made us close neighbors by Namibian standards.  Another Group 35 volunteer was Pam. Pam and I used to be running partners way back in our Peace Corps training days. We’d meet nearly every morning before sunrise to go for a run. I hadn’t seen either of them in over three years, so this was a very nice reunion for me. Here’s a pic (and please do notice the folks brilliantly photo bombing in the background):

Pam and Nathan, and beautiful photo-bombers in the background

After my evening with Pam and Nathan, I slept for about 36 hours on Nathan’s couch except for a quick outing to Oakland’s china town for some coffee and lunch. Nathan and his brother, Jared, had to work but they kept encouraging me to take advantage of the pool and hot tub their apartment complex had to offer. But, I was really quite happy spending a day indoors after a month of nature.

I was happy to discover that Nathan had found an industry he loves. Balls. Yes, balls. Nathan is now working as a sales person for a company that produces the energy bar (ball) called Bounce. They have balls of all different flavors. Nathan’s balls are non-GMO, gluten free, and delicious. If you see any of Nathan’s balls around, grab one! You won’t be disappointed:

After my one wonderful day of doing nothing, Jimerica! needed to get into gear. I had some other people in these-here-parts that needed visiting. The first on my list was Alice Impraim. Alice was also a Peace Corps Volunteer, and one of the finest volunteers I ever met. She worked hard, day in and day out, on her project. Her project was very work intensive and required constant dedication. She never wavered. She served in the same town as I did, Rundu. She was born in Ghana, went to college (I believe) in England, and then eventually ended up in California with her husband, who was a physician. As a child in Ghana, one of her schoolteachers was a Peace Corps volunteer. Many years later, as an American citizen, she became a Peace Corps volunteer herself and returned to Africa to serve. She still has close ties to her family in Ghana and is currently having a house built there.

Alice Impraim

And my final stop in the Oakland area was Rob Utter. Rob and I were good friends in high school and I pretty much lived at his house every weekend for a couple years.  Back then it was all punk rock shows, skateboarding, and getting into every sort of mischief that you would never want your parents, or any adult for that matter, to know about. The only rules at Rob’s house were Rob’s rules, and they were liberal. As a kid, that sort of freedom isn't easy to come by. However, as you get older you realize that some people you knew when you were a kid didn’t have it easy. Rob was one of those people. Back then he lived in chaos and often in fear. He was surrounded by drugs and poverty, and had to make some hard decisions at an early age help keep his family afloat. But, I also remember that he somehow managed to keep his head above the fray. He was given every opportunity to get pulled down into the quagmire he’d lost many friends and family to, but he didn’t. When I finally caught up to him in San Ramon, I met him at his beautiful home with his wife, Jenna, and his son, Logan. Rob works as a chef, his wife is an RN soon to be a BSN, and his son loves theater and gets involved in every play he can. I spent the next 7 hours catching up with Rob and getting to know his wife and son. They're an awesome family. Rob cooked dinner (I've been on the road for a month now. Home cooked meals are a real treat.) We talked about all our old friends. The dead, the living, the missing. It was nearly 10PM when I finally headed back to Oakland. But before I left, I got Rob to drag his wife out of bed so I could get a family pic:

Rob, Jenna, and Logan

And a shot of Rob and I:

Rob and I

I'm currently at my second stop after Oakland, so I have some catching up to do. As I write this, I'm sitting in a coffee shop in Fort Bragg, CA (NOT the Fort Bragg with the military base). I had one stop between here and Oakland that I will tell you all about in the next day or so (forward looking statement). Thanks for reading!

Santa Cruz, San Francisco, and Marin, California

Hello, Friends. I’m going to try to blow through this post quickly. After leaving Downieville, I made for Santa Cruz, the same place the Lost Boys was filmed and home to all things Jimerica! loves. Good people, good riding, and good beer. I had a little snafu on my first ride here, which landed my bike in the bicycle ER. Fortunately, I found Sarah, who has been working on bikes for 20 years and figured out how to get me back on the road in less than a day.

Sarah at Epicenter Cycling.

Since my ride had been cut short, I had a bit of time on my hands. So, I hit the Santa Cruz Boardwalk. I get the feeling they keep this place intentionally mildly creepy, in a cool way, as a subtle “hello” to Lost Boys fans. I didn’t anticipate all the sea lions sunning themselves under the pier. Here’s one that was branded for some reasong. If anybody knows somebody that was born on 8/6/73, I found their sea lion.

8/6/73

On my second day, I got to do the full ride I’d intended on doing the first day. It was at “Wilder Ranch”. The ride was good, though not as good as what I’ve done so far. If you ever do hit the Wilder trail system, don’t miss the “Enchanted Loop”. It’s by far the best here. I don’t mean to be negative about the riding here, it’s just that you can’t ask Santa Cruz for the same sort of riding you get in Downieville, or Sedona. There are some other trail systems, but they are mostly on the campus of University of California, Santa Cruz, and are technically illegal to ride. Though, every single person I passed told me to go. Did Jimerica! ride these illegal systems? The world shall never know. Here are some shots from Wilder:

The Enchanted Loop

Fabio McHorsehead. Making Jimerica! sexy again like it always was.

The Enchanted Loop

What is undeniably great here are the beaches, food, and people. It’s the sort of chill that only California can claim. Here are some random shots:

Yeah, it's just a menu. But it's a good one. Do not miss this place if you ever find yourself in Santa Cruz.

And if you are not yet convinced, they have whiskey on tap.

4 Mile Beach. Santa Cruz. Wilder Ranch State Beach.

After Santa Cruz, I headed to San Francisco for the first time in my life. My cousin Hughy, who has lived here since 1984, met me with his bike at Land’s End Park. He was the first familiar face I've seen in nearly a month. We spent the next 5 hours pedaling around the city. This is by far the most bike friendly place I’ve ever seen. We easily navigated the city from end to end and back (with many big climbs and long downhills). Here are some shots from the day:

You will never meet a more unique person than this guy, my cousin Hughy.

Jimerica! trusts that you know what this is.

Lindy in the Park!

Haight Ashbury.

Yup.

My tour guide and cousin, Hughy Ferry. San Fran native since 1984.

Ocean Beach. San Francisco.

I crashed on Hughy’s couch last night and then headed to Marin, California, the birthplace of mountain biking, this morning. I was wiped out from riding three days straight, so I just got my car reorganized and worked on this incredible blog post. I’m currently sitting at the Marin Brewing Company (excellent, excellent, put it on the list). They've been brewing beer here since 1989, including one of the better saison beers I've had in a long time. They also have a nice menu.

Anthony from Marin Brewing Company

In a bit, I will leave to go reunite with two of my Peace Corps friends, Pam and Nathan, who both live in the bay area. I'm VERY excited to see these guys. I haven't seen either of them since I left Namibia over 3 years ago. I’ll crash at Nathan’s tonight and then head to a place called “Camp Tamarancho” early in the morning, which offers top-notch riding. After that ride, I will head to my new home for two nights, which will require a 5 mile hike from my car to my ocean side campsite. I’ll update all of you on that next time. Thanks for reading. Happy Memorial Day!