Redwood Car Tunnel

From sea to sky on Highway 101

It is 630 miles from Newport, Ore., to San Jose, Calif., via the U.S. Highway 101. The Oregon stretch offers countless state parks, plenty of beach access and natural areas to explore, including the Oregon Coast Aquarium, Yaquina Head, the Oregon Sand Dunes and the Rogue River. From the Oregon-California border south of Eureka, Calif., there are three main redwood state parks that offer plenty of hiking, biking and camping. From Humboldt State Redwoods Park, the 101 cuts inland through California's wine country and into the San Francisco Bay area for a trip across Golden Gate.

From Olympia, Wash., to Southern California, U.S. Highway 101 snakes down the West Coast. The byway twists along the Pacific coastline, and takes travelers through a forest of giants and over engineering wonders that shouldn't be missed.

A recent vacation took me home to Oregon and offered an opportunity to take the lazy way home along this highway, heading south from Oregon and into the San Francisco Bay area.

CENTRAL OREGON COAST

One of my favorite stops when I'm home is Newport, Ore. Since it's only an hour drive from my family home in Albany, Ore., I've spent countless hours exploring this section of shoreline.

On this trip, a friend and I visited the Oregon Coast Aquarium. The beloved attraction features fun and educational exhibits on marine life and other marine environments.

Sea lions laze about in tanks and sea otters drift on their backs in their exhibit areas. Seven gill and leopard sharks appear outside of glass tunnels. It's hard not to dodge when the sharks are swimming straight at the glass in the Passages of the Deep exhibit, but getting to see marine life so close is a treat often only experienced by scuba divers.

Beyond the aquarium just north of Newport lies the Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area. Highlights of this destination include the Yaquina Head Lighthouse and the Cobble Beach tidepools.

Day Four: A Train Ride | Deeds & Words

One of Fort Bragg’s claims to fame is the Skunk Train , a train ride along the Noyo River canyon through stately redwood trees.  There are three choices of trip; the morning ride which goes to a camp called Northspur, about 21 miles, and back; an afternoon trip to Northspur where they serve you a barbeque tri-tip dinner, and an overnight ride to the town of Willits, about 39 miles. Tri-tip didn’t sound that good so I opted for the five-hour 10:00 am ride. 

In Fort Bragg, it was about 60 degrees, so I brought a jacket.  We waited by the three gates while they backed up the gleaming Old 45 engine, diesel-steam, a piece of elegant machinery that fulfilled all my steampunk cravings.  They totally blew the illusion by attaching the Parlor Car next.  The Parlor Car looks like a Grateful Dead T-shirt seller painted it.  It’s lovely, it’s just very. . . 1970s rather than 1870s. 

They had enough people and dogs to fill three cars.  In between the cars they have an open car; they didn’t call it an observation car.  I spent most of the trip out there.  The engine has the long, airy, mournful whistle we remember from our childhoods (or from TV), a clanging bell and a stack that belches stinky steam.  That is part of the reason for the name.  For the overnighter trips they run a full diesel engine, but I wanted that steam experience. 

We had two men in conductor garb; a gray-haired gentleman who was also our docent on the trip, and a younger guy with a magenta streak in his hair who played music and sang.  He had his wife and two-year-old daughter with him.  The train is canine-friendly and there were a number of dogs, all well-behaved, but I do wonder if they were enjoying the trip all that much.

The train pulls out of Bragg and heads north, soon leaving the city behind.  We passed the county cemetery.  For the first leg, we were in new growth oak and bay trees, horsetail ferns, water lilies, and wetlands.  Soon the wetlands sharpen up into a Noyo river, a shallow glassy stream of water tinted shades of green from the shadows and reflections of the trees.  We had to leave the open car and go inside as we went through the tunnel (I’m still not sure why. .  . fumes?) and when we came out, we were in redwoods.

The Car

The tunnel

My Car

Redwood, a tale ...

Car, A Drama of the American Workplace