Help Me Choose a Blend for the Redwoods

[LeafErikson]

So, have you driven that desolate stretch of highway? Pretty in many ways, but grim in others.

I've not driven all the way from Eureka to Brookings on the 101. I live in the Illinois Valley/Siskiyou Mountains and have driven from there to Brookings an innumerable amount of times. It's about a 1hr 15 min drive for me.

The Redwood Highway drive that I'm referring to is likely less grim than the one you're referencing above because it's more ecologically and biologically diverse, you drive through the redwoods, and many of the homes are opulent vacation homes right along the Smith River.

I think you're more likely to see dilapidated homes and rural, geographically isolated poverty on the stretch of the 101 you're referring to because more people actually live there year-round, most of whom are blue collar, just like where I live. You're an hour from a grocery store most places on the California/Smith River side of Redwood Highway so there are many more 'vacation getaways' in the Smith River area.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Thanks for the info! I vowed never to drive that stretch again. It gave me a very desolate feeling. It seemed like many hours, though don't know how long it took. (15 years ago or so.)

 

[LeafErikson]

Thanks for the info! I vowed never to drive that stretch again. It gave me a very desolate feeling. It seemed like many hours, though don't know how long it took. (15 years ago or so.)

The narrow valleys and rocky shorelines define this region. Driving through these two-lane highways can make the unaccustomed almost feel claustrophobic and overwhelmed by the abnormally large trees that drown out the sun. The unforgiving mountain passes and treacherous shorelines are what made this area so difficult to access as other parts of the west coast became more developed. There was no way to get goods out here by boat as the closest deep water port is Coos Bay, Oregon, and the mountains were too unforgiving for a railroad pass. It's why the region to this day remains so sparsely populated and why people like me love it here so much.

Poor relations between American settlers and the local Indians was yet another barrier when considering the prospect of moving to the area. Their relationship remained violent and volatile deep into the 19th century, as there was no law enforcement and so few people settled into the area. The Rogue Indian Wars were a bloody time in the far southwestern Oregon frontier.

The brave souls that did make it out here were mostly transient miners, prospectors, or loggers looking to make a quick buck. There are still ruins up on mountainsides of abandoned mines, areas where creeks had been diverted, and even areas where gravesites were established. Spooky!

 

[jpmcwjr]

Great info again! Thanks.

 

[Humblepipe]

PM me with your address and I'll send you one of my blends free of charge, designed for enjoyment in the Redwoods (Armstrong Woods - photo below... 3 minutes from my house):

 

[pinem]

Thanks guys, yes I'm overthinking it. Do greatly appreciate the responses though.

I have previously been to Cresent Beach / Jedediah Smith SP and did the Boy Scout and Grove of the Titans trails. It was raining when we did Boy Scout and the trail was deserted. One of those cases where you just put the camera away, there is no point, it won't do it justice. You can understand why saving the redwoods was one of the first grassroot efforts at conservation in the US.

Staying in Cresent Beach and Miranda. Was planning to do a day trip to the lost coast, then do all the tourist stuff along the Avenue of the Giants while in Miranda. Still figuring out the itinerary, though.

 

[pinem]

I haven't driven that stretch of the 101 in decades. I do enjoy the trip through the Siskiyous after climbing out of the Central Valley.

Fake VS real N. California is an interesting concept...

Especially coming from a guy living in Nebraska, a state that has the distinction of recording the earliest head on collision in the US, in 1908. There were only a few automobiles in the state, but two of them managed to collide.

Not much has changed.

I'm just a State of Jefferson agitator .

That collision probably happened on the Lincoln Highway. There is still a segment of the Lincoln Highway north of me that still has the original cobblestone pavers. https://flic.kr/p/2jNTxhz

 

[jpmcwjr]

Sure looks like bricks! Maybe formed and laid to look like stone.

 

[yanoJL]

I'm just a State of Jefferson agitator .

That collision probably happened on the Lincoln Highway. There is still a segment of the Lincoln Highway north of me that still has the original cobblestone pavers. https://flic.kr/p/2jNTxhz

Fun fact: the Lincoln Highway was paved by the company of American entrepreneur Carl Graham Fisher. He was also responsible for the first track at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, on which he also used bricks/pavers; earning it the nickname The Brickyard.

 

[pinem]

Sure looks like bricks! Maybe formed and laid to look like stone.

They're brick pavers, not stone. Tomayto, tomahto.

 

[jpmcwjr]

They're brick pavers, not stone. Tomayto, tomahto.

I knew they were bricks, but the word "cobblestone" threw me off.
My little home town in Illinois has a few streets still with the original brick pavers, but plenty ruined with application of asphalt instead of repairing properly.

 

[Nevaditude]

PM me with your address and I'll send you one of my blends free of charge, designed for enjoyment in the Redwoods (Armstrong Woods - photo below... 3 minutes from my house):

View attachment 291973

@pinem THAT is NOT why I suggested @Humblepipe answer the question, since I knew he lived among those gorgeous trees AND because he KNOWS tobacco.
BUT, you can tell he is a great guy, one of many, here on the forum. be well...