By Shelton A. Gunaratne ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚© 2010

Our Yosemite escapades and Eastern Sierra-foothill exploits constituted the tail end of our 22-day second trip that began on 30 July 1983. This travelogue focuses on our camping adventures and explorations on the West Coast from San Luis Obispo, Calif., to Corvallis, Ore., during the two weeks before entering Yosemite on 12 Aug.

On Day 1 (Saturday, 30 July), my wife Yoke-Sim and I, together with our 3-year-old son Junius, drove from Fullerton to San Simeon, a distance of 277 miles (445 km) heading northwest, to spend the night at San Simeon State Beach Campground. Our intent was to visit the Hearst Castle, designated a National Historical Landmark since 1976, Sunday.

Day 1 morning, we drove to the Hearst estate, about five miles (eight km) inland atop a hill of the Santa Lucia Range at an altitude of 1,600ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ feet (490ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ m). I was here once before in 1966 during the WPI tour of the West Coast. The current tour was for me to indulge in nostalgia and orient my wife and son to some places I particularly liked.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

As a journalism scholar at the University of Oregon in 1967-68, I became aware of how yellow journalism (sensational and exaggerated journalism lacking in veracity) emerged from the relentless circulation war between the New York Journal owned by William Randolph Hearst (1863-1951) and the New York World owned by Joseph Pulitzer (1847-1911), especially prior to and during the 1898 Spanish-American War. The most famous exemplification of the extent of exaggeration is the apocryphal story that when artist Frederic Remington telegrammed Hearst to tell him all was quiet in Cuba and “There will be no war”; Hearst responded, “Please remain. You furnish the pictures, and I’ll furnish the war.”

Hearst Castle

Now, we had camped overnight to see the palace built for the same Hearst (ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-the semi-fictional ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Citizen KaneƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ in the 1941 Orson WellesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ movie, wherein ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-XanaduƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ identifies Hearst Castle) who earned part of his wealth through yellow journalism.

Our Day 2 visit to the magnificent estate and the castle buildings that architect Julia Morgan designed and built from 1919 explained why more than a million people were attracted to see the complex every year. As Wikipedia describes:

Hearst Castle featured 56 bedrooms, 61 bathrooms, 19 sitting rooms, 127ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ acres (0.5 squareƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ km) of gardens, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, tennis courts, a movie theater, an airfield and the world’s largest private zoo. ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦ Morgan, an accomplished civil engineer, devised a gravity-based water delivery system from a nearby mountain. One highlight of the estate is the outdoor Neptune Pool, located near the edge of the hilltop, which offers an expansive vista of the mountains, ocean and the main house. The Neptune Pool patio features an ancient Roman temple front transported wholesale from Europe and reconstructed at the site. ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦ As a consequence of Hearst’s persistent design changes, the estate was never completed in his lifetime.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ After watching the make-believe world that Hearst had created out of sheer vanity, the crux of Buddhist philosophy ran through my mind: Life is anicca (impermanent), dukkha (sorrow) and anatta (no-self). For sure, Hearst did not understand the First Noble Truth and mistook his ceaseless craving for wealth as the path to happiness.

At the Hearst Castle, the Department of Parks and Recreation gave us two complimentary tours. Janet Horton-Payne was our guide for the Enchanted Hill Tour. Hank Alviani was our guide for the La Pesa Grande Tour. They told us about the famous personalities who visited the place Hearst preferred to call ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-La Cuesta EncantadaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ or ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-the ranchƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚: political heavyweights like Churchill, Coolidge and Roosevelt; entertainment stars like Chaplin, Gable, Grant and Hope; and other luminaries like Lindbergh.

We ate lunch after the tours. Then, we went to SebastianƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s in San Simeon to buy a few mementos, and headed south to the nearest city, San Luis Obispo, 43 miles (69 km) away. We spent the afternoon visiting Mission SLO de Tolosa and County Historical Museum. We tarried at Mission Plaza, where we drank beer and listened to a singer.

We set up camp for the night at the nearby Morro Bay State Park Campground. Jim Hayes and his two youngest children, Jason and Kelly, visited to greet us at the campground. Hayes was a contemporary of mine at the University of Minnesota. They took us to the top of Black Hill and the foot of Morro Rock.

Morro Bay to Tamalpais

Our Day 3 destination was Mount Tamalpais State Park, 253 miles (407 km) northwest of Morro Bay. On this northward trip, we preferred to travel on US 101 or the scenic SR 1, the two coastal highways, rather than on Interstate 5, which runs through the heart of CaliforniaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Central Valley.

We stopped at San Juan Bautista (pop. 1,600), where we visited Mission SJB (1797), the largest Spanish mission church; and the SJB State Historic Park. We ate lunch at Santa Clara (pop. 109,000), where we spent sometime at MarriottƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Great America. Junius thoroughly enjoyed most things at the Kid Kingdom. Next, we stopped at the Stanford University campus in Palo Alto (pop. 61,200). Then, via El Camino Real, we reached San Francisco (metro pop. 4.2 million) at sunset.

It was about 9.30 p.m. when we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge and entered the Pantoll Campground of Mount Tamalpais along Panoramic Highway. (I chose this campground because of my nostalgic fascination with nearby Sausalito and Mill Valley during the 1966 WPI tour.) We drove all the way up to the west peak of the mountain when a ranger led us to our campsite in very woody, scenic surroundings.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The primary feature of the park is the 2,571ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ft. (784ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ m) Mount Tamalpais. The park contains mostly redwood and oak forests. The mountain itself covers around 25,000ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ acres (100 squareƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ km). The park has about 60ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ miles (97ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ km) of interconnected hiking trails.

We took it easy Tuesday.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Junius and I went for a hike along a trail close to our campsite prior to leaving the park at 11 a.m. Our destination for Day 4 camping was Austin Creek State Recreation Area, about 82 miles (132 km) northwest on US 101.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

On Day 4, we backtracked our way southeast to Sausalito (pop. 7,400), where we visited the Bay Model Visitor Center (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers), a three-dimensional hydraulic model of San Francisco Bay and Delta areas capable of simulating tides and currents, over 1.5ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ acres (6,100ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ sq m) in size. At Mill Valley (pop. 13,600), we bought groceries and gasoline.

Around 3 p.m., we set off to Sonoma (pop. 9,900), where we visited the Sonoma State Historic Site, including Toscano Hotel, Sonoma Barracks and Mission San Francisco Solano. In Santa Rosa (pop. 154,200), we relaxed at Juilliard Park, which has a church built from a redwood tree; and walked across to see the Luther Burbank Memorial Gardens.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

Then we turned west to see the extremely scenic Russian River Area on our way to the campground in Austin Creek SRA via Fulton, Trenton, Hilton and Rio Nido. [On the elimination list for 2008 in Gov. SchwarzeneggerƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s attempts to solve CaliforniaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s budget crisis, ACSRA is locatedƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ seven miles north of Guerneville on Armstrong Woods Road via the same entrance asƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve.] We had to get to the campground through a narrow, winding, sandy road. We set up our tent facing Bullfrog Pond in a 6,000-acre area of conifers, oaks, rolling hills and meadows that contrasted with the dense redwood forests below. Yoke-Sim cooked a reasonable dinner. Junius and I walked around the lake.

Redwoods Rendezvous

Austin Creek lies parallel to Sacramento in the Central Valley on the east. Our plan was to end Day 5 at the Burlington Campground of the Humboldt Redwoods State Park, 208 miles (335 km) further north on US 101in Weott, Calif.

Having hobnobbed with the giant sequoias in the Sierras to the south, we were now encroaching into the redwood forests of CaliforniaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s northern coastal belt. In fact, we had just camped north of an 805-acre reserve of the Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens). The Parson Jones Tree is the tallest tree in the grove, measuring more than 310 ft (94 m) in height. Giant sequoias and Coast Redwood trees are closely related and they are both in the redwood family, Taxodiaceae. However, they are different species.

We left Austin Creek about 9 a.m. to absorb the scenic splendor along the Russian River resort area from Guerneville through Monte Rio to Jenner.

We stopped for rest at the Fort Ross State Historic Mark: Founded in 1812, Fort Ross was the largest single Russian trading center south of Alaska. It served as the southern headquarters for the hunting of sea otter. It also provided food supplies for the company’s Alaskan operations. However, the operation never proved profitable. In 1841, John Sutter bought the fort from the Russians. Our next stop was at the Kruse Rhododendron State Reserve in Plantation. The reserve contains second-growth redwood, Douglas fir, grand firs,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ tanoaks, and a plethora ofƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ rhododendrons.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  We walked on the rhododendron loop.

We ate lunch at a vista point south of Elk (pop. 208). At Little River (pop. 412), we went to see the pygmy forest in Van Damme State Park where pygmy pine and cypress grow to a height of only 2 ft. because of the nature of the infertile, acidic soil called podzol. In Mendocino (pop. 824), a beautiful town with a 19^th century architectural look, we tarried at the Art Center on Little Lake Road. At Fort Bragg (pop. 7,026), we saw the historical monument.

About 8.30 p.m., we reached the Burlington Campground of Humboldt Redwoods State Park, which lies almost parallel to Redding at the northern end of CaliforniaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Central Valley. We drove the last 14 miles from Phillipsville to our campground along the 31-mile long Avenue of the Giants, which winds along the scenic Eel River and runs parallel to US 101. The two-lane avenue is renowned for its Coast redwoods that overshadow the road and surround the area.

Heading to Oregon Border

Next day (Day 6), we spent more time to learn about redwoods. In the morning, we went to the Humboldt RSP visitor center, where we learned that the 53,000-acre Humboldt RSP was established in 1921 with the dedication of the Raynal Bolling Memorial Grove; and that it was home to the tallest (demoted to fourth tallest in 2004) measured living redwood, the Stratosphere Giant (112.94 meters).

We set off to explore the park with a visit to the Founders Grove. Then we turned west on Creek Fats Road to Rockefeller Forest, where we walked around Flat Iron Tree, Giant Tree and Tallest Tree. [HRSP lost its 1600-year-old Dyerville Giant in March 1991.]

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ We continued driving north on the Avenue of the Giants and re-joined US 101 at Pepperwood. Our plan was to camp overnight at the Mill Creek Campground of Del Norte Coast Redwood State Park, 126 miles (203 km) further north, in Crescent City, close to the Oregon border. Del Norte CRSP, established in 1927, is a 6,400-acre (26ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ sq km) expanse with about 50 percent old-growth coast redwood and eight miles (13ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ km) of wild coastline. On the way to our destination, we stopped at Eureka (pop. 26,100), Arcata (pop. 17,300) and Klamath (pop. 650).

In Eureka, we visited the Fort Humboldt State Historical Park, Clarke Memorial Museum and Samoa Cookhouse Museum.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  We stopped for a late lunch at the Sequoia Park Zoo behind which was a grove of virgin redwoods.

Five miles north of Arcata, we stopped at the 30-acre Azalea State Preserve, where we walked along a self-guided nature trail with emphasis on other plants of the north coast. We also had brief stops at PatrickƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Point State Park, from where we walked to see Mussel Rock on the beach; Dry Lagoon State Park; and Prairie Creek State Redwoods Park, where we went to see the Big Tree. At Klamath, we took a picture of the 35-foot (10-meter) statue of Babe the Blue Ox, the legendary sidekick of Paul Bunyan, at the entrance to Trees of Mystery Park. [Note: On 20 Nov. 2007, the head of the statue fell off. The head has since been repaired.]

About 8.30 p.m. on Day 6, we reached our campground for the night at Del Norte CRSP in Crescent City. We were ready to cross the border next day for a six-day nostalgic excursion in Oregon, which was my home for more than a year in 1967-68.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Next: A Nostalgic Tour of the Oregon Coast

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ (The writer is a professor of mass communications emeritus at Minnesota State University Moorhead.)

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Figure 1: Route of West Coast Tour: A=Morro Bay/San Simeon; B=Mount Tamalpais State Park; C=Austin Creek State Park; D=Burlington Campground of Humboldt Redwoods State Park; and E=Mill Creek Campground of Del Notre Coast Redwood State Park.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

Picture 1: We visited Hearst Castle in San Simeon on 31 July 1983.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Yoke-Sim (center) and Junius (partly hidden) are seen with our tour group.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Picture 2: While camping at Morro Bay State Park (31 July 1983), the author (right) had a visit from Jim Hayes and his two youngest kids, Jason and Kelly.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Hayes was a contemporary of the author at the University of Minnesota in the late ’60s.