West Coast trip WA - CA april 2013

[bcj]

13-04-06 Saturday
Started off on the Old Belfair Hwy trough Union and Shelton. Hooked up with I5 at Olympia down to Longview.
Took the bridge to 30 and caught Hwy 47 at Clatskanie. That up to 202 at Jewel where I took 103 to 26 and over the mountains.
Turned off on Hwy 53 to Nehalem. From there it was down 101 past Tillamook and the air museum to Newport.
Rained for the better part of the day, so no opportunities for pictures.

Hwy 47 and Hwy 53 are definitely technical driving roads. Potholed and scabby, but very tight corners.
Managed to run them without significant rolling roadblocks.
Tried these two out because I've never been on them before. Have done 202 from Astoria to Jewel and 103 before.
That section of 202 is interesting as well.

[finch1750]

Where in CA are you headed? Were always looking for reasons to meet in the bay area. haha

[DuMa]

pics or it didnt happen

[bcj]

No plans. Probably Arcata area tomorrow. Think I'll try out 96 and 3 on the way back up. Weather up here right now is the pits.

May stop off at Alice's sometime midweek. I'll update again tomorrow.

[bcj]

13-04-07 Sunday
Still raining. Breakfast pizza from last night. Nice sections of 101 around Cape Perpetua and Hecita Head, though short.
Pavement is mostly awful these days. Very noisy. Stopped at Sunset Bay west of Coos Bay and the sun came out for a minute or two. Pictures today.



Seven Devils road south from Charleston on Coos Bay to just north of Bandon is interesting.
Pretty tight corners and elevation changes in the north end, but well populated with lots of driveways.
Keep it sane and don't squash pets, children and bicyclists.
At the north border of Humbolt Co. there's a turnoff for Prarie Creek Redwoods byway. Old growth timber right on the pavement edge. Good road surface too.



Arcata tonight. Still pouring. Going south.

[bcj]

13-04-08 Monday
The sun came out. My gosh, but gas costs an arm and a leg in No-Cal. Everything from the border north of Ft. Bragg is $4.50
Should have topped up before leaving Oregon.

101 from Fortuna to the Ave. of Giants has changed a great deal since I was there last.
Back in the 80's it was a two lane barely paved cow path. Now there are sections of 4 lane divided highway that are in great repair...
connected by the 2 lane 101 I remember. The Giants road was much longer than I remember and there was a lot of debris and fallen
branches from the windstorm last night. It was like that all down the coast today.

Turned off on Hwy 1 near Leggett. That section is very much as I remember. Very tight corners and lots of up and down.
Did this way back when in my GTV and my Civic. It's nice having a new car. No rattles or suspension bottoming.
Very few people were out there today and I got to set my own pace for the most part.
I'm fine with the posted speeds and I'll do that all day as long as I don't encounter cars parking the corners.
The FR-S can torque through some amazing sections as long as it's 2750 or above. It sounded happy all day.
This was one of the straighter sections.




The shoreline section of Hwy 1 had a half dozen places cut down to one way with automated signals.
It looks like they're making progress, and should be fixed up by another month or so.
I was usually lucky enough to drop in first in line. Found gas in Fort Bragg for $4.25.

After Bodega Bay, I missed the turnoff and wound up in Petaluma. Dur. I backtracked to the Coast Guard Training Station where I should have turned right.
The section just before, and the north end of Tomales Bay are tight and well paved. Sweet. Then the trees closed in and a 35 limit.
A LOT of debris and branches down along there, so I took my time.

Since I've never done it before, but wanted to, I drove out on Point Reyes to tick off the bucket list.
First off was Point Pierce Road. 35 limit, but trust me, you don't want to go much faster. A real boneshaker.
Next I went out to PR Lighthouse and Drakes Beach. Muchness of the same. It's a valid test of the suspension.
The FR-S held up well, and I'm not bleeding yet.

[suaveflooder]

Bad ass!! I want to do something like this so badly! I envy your trip! Keep the pictures coming!!

[bcj]

13-04-09 Tuesday
Started by back tracking, sort of. Went up Lucas Valley Rd. back to Point Reyes Station to get back to Hwy 1.
Never knew there were so many rich people (Lucas) and they're all in prisons with tall walls. Lots of guards in evidence.
Farther up toward Nicasio they live in hovels in the woods but they've got the weirdest gee-gaws thrown around.

Followed 1 down to Stinson Beach, then turned up Mt Tamalpais on the Panoramic Highway. That was interesting. Nice.
Then down to Mill Valley and into Sausalito to get to Bunker Road up on the Marin headland just north of the bridge.
Have to get pictures from there whenever I'm in the area.



After that I went around the north end of the bay to Vallejo and south across the bridge to the East Bay.
Traffic was awful and I went around in circles several times. Events: San Pablo Dam Rd, Wildcat Canyon, Grizzly Peak Blvd, Skyline (eastbay).
Then I had to circle back because I missed the turnoff to Redwood Rd. Did that. Followed up with Palomares before finishing today in Fremont.

I've heard people on motorcycle forums moaning about how sketchy Redwood is and that it's in such bad repair.
Geesh. That's nearly a super highway compared to the numbered Hwy's in WA. I think they need to put their big-girl panties on.

Over the last three days, I've had 33.3 Mpg listed on the monitor. Manual Transmission. It went down to 32.7 today. What a crock 8)

Going to try to be at Alice's for lunch tomorrow about 1: ... (apr. 10) not promising though. Skyline (westbay) and LaHonda

[bcj]

13-04-10 Wednesday
Started out crossing the south bay on 84 to get to the north end of Skyline. Turned off there down Tunitas Creek to Hwy1.
Tunitas is a single lane paved road that is very tight and steep with many blind corners. This is one I would prefer to do by motorbike.
Didn't bring a bike this time, but I did have an FR-S and that was more than capable.

Been seeing turkeys all over the back roads for the last few days. Today I got chickens crossing the road at the bottom of Tunitas.
Went back up the hill on 84 and hung out to read for a bit near La Honda, then hit Alice's at 1:
Met M&M_Hwy9 there. He was kind enough to offer me a guided tour around Big Basin and Bear Creek.
Not *quite* as gnarly as Tunitas, but close. We spent the afternoon tying knots in the roads.
Saw someone with an original 86 along the way twice. I think he was doing the same loop in the opposite direction.



Forgot I had reset the f-stop on the camera for some other pictures so it really is Whiteout. The Asphalt looks ok though.

After all that Markus and his wife went out for dinner with me in Santa Cruz.
Discovered that we had a another friend in common from flying kites. Small world. Great day all in all.
Tomorrow looks like Big Sur and maybe ending up near Goleta.

[bcj]

13-04-11 Thursday
Out of Monterey (not early) and down 1 to Carmel where I got coffee and a bisket for breakfast.
Pulled into Point Lobos Park and paid for a day's park privileges.



A few miles down the road there's one lane bridge construction and a full size tractor trailer headed down the coast road.
Followed him and a whole lot of cars clear down to Molera Park where he finally pulled into a turnout to let people pass.
Sure hope he wasn't going all the way down. Extreme sillyness.

Stopped off at Nepenthe for a pretty costly Cesar salad. Didn't hurt too bad though. It's a beautiful place to kick back for a while.
Lots of very nice cars in the lot today. Neglected to enumerate them all.





Went a little further down the road for a scenery picture



Down the road a way I stopped off at Hearst Beach Park.
It's a nice place to chill and unwind or let people with hurt feelers get down the road a bit before setting cruise on the divided hwy.
I like the beach much more than the tour headquarters, but the beach restrooms were broken and I had to go up there anyway.
Saw a red Scion in the lot with a Cal plate on the back only. Probably on one of the tours. I took care of business and headed out.



I pulled off at Los Alamos to peruse maps. Saw Drum Canyon Rd heading south over some mountains and thought I'd try it.
It fairly quickly turned into barely pavement, so I chickened and turned around. Took the cutoff at Buelltown on 246 then 154
along Lake Cachuma to Santa Barbara. The grade from the top of the pass is a very good road.
I put it in 5th and let it run all the way down. No brakes needed.

[SC David]

I do a similar trip like this every year, but have yet to do it in the FR-S. Looking forward to getting up to Astoria this year hopefully. So many great roads along the way. How do you like this car for the long haul?

[bcj]

It's been very comfy. Ergonomics work well for me. After a 10 hour day I'm feeling fine.
A blanket across the back seat covers up things I need acess to during the day in the rear seat wells.

[bcj]

13-04-12 Friday
Out of Santa Barbara this morning. Stoppped off out by the beach in Carpenteria for a picture of palm trees. Who doesn't like palm trees?



Back on 101 south, I turned off on Mulholland Hwy. It lives up to the hype. There's graval falling off the cuts into the road to look out for.
Saw some people shoveling coal into garbage cans from an open seam alongside the road. Black gold, Texas tea & etc.
Took a picture of "The" corner on Mulholland where everyone biffs it into the wall trying to show off.



The mountain hills were mostly deserted Friday morning. Good conditions and beautiful weather.
Stopped off for a picture at the Rock Store on Mulholland.



At the south end of Mulholland I turned off onto Stunt Road. Nice surface and mostly moderate corners.
Then onto Saddle Peak Road. Nice digs up there with well maintained greenscape and views everywhere you look.
Slow and tight.
Then I turned onto Tuna Creek road. No centerline, reminded me a lot of Bear Creek up by SC. Tight and winding.
But a bit further down it turns into one way - down the hill. Wow.
I could use the whole road and not worry about someone coming the other way around all the blind corners.
Found a hiker and one mountain biker going the wrong way. Keep it sensible. There are other users.



Got back on 1 at Topanga beach and tried my best to hustle past LA along the PCH.
Wasn't bad just after lunch but it got worse and worse as the day drew on.
It was mostly stopped and a little bit of go getting into Sandy Eggo. Pulled into Chula Vista about 7:

[bcj]

13-04-13 Saturday
Can't seem to get picures loaded this evening. I'll try to update those later.

Primero, Imperial Beach drive up to the Coronado for a picture.



Hwy 8 east from the mission. Traffic was thick out of town. At least it wasn't like last night.
Picked up Hwy 79 at Descanso. Excellent surface and tight corners on the south end out of D.
I had been up this route before in my van, but the fr-s was much better. Last time was just after a fire.
The landscape has improved dramatically but there are still a lot of dead trees in the state park area.

There was a motorcycle accident just north of Cuyanaca Reservoir. Fire engines, aid trucks and a stater.
There were a group of cycles. Saw at least 3 pulled up, but there was other debris in evidence along the road.

Followed a standard firepump / hose / tanker down to Julian. Was amazed at the way they boogied it down the corners.
It was following a couple of sedans though. Wish I could have seen him run it without impedance.

Hwy 79 straigtens up further north. Interesting geology in the area. Extremely weathered granite.



Turned off northeast on Route 371 at Aguanga. A short connector between 79 and 74.
Mostly straight with a few dip and wide sweepers. Hwy 74 northeast goes over the Santa Rosa Mtns. to Palm Desert.
The moutains look like what cairns aspire to. Huge stacks of weathered boulders with barely a shrub to be seen anywhere.
Here's a closeup of a representative example that did have some company.



Near the top of the grade down into Palm Desert, there's a viewpoint where you can see most of the route down the hill.
It was fun.