The local natives use the greeting "Tokitae", which means "Nice day. Pretty colors". This is the season where the Olympic Peninsula is frantically blooming, with a different color in the majority almost every day. Right now it's dandelions. Every lawn, pasture, highway divide, and field is covered in blooming dandelions, sometimes completely covering the green. It's gorgeous. But it's not confined to the peninsula. Yesterday at a big gathering...
California exports 80% of it's cannabis crop out-of-state, which means only 20% of the industry is eligible to become state licensed under either medical or recreational schemes. Even if California is 100% successful in regulating the entire domestic market, the black market will still be five times the size. That's how much is needed to supply the market elsewhere in the US. Oregon is in a similar position, but on a smaller scale. The absurdity...
It was a great trip along the coast, and I hated to bid it farewell for now. Being able to see the storm-driven waves of the Pacific take bites out of the continent we live on is always an experience. Shortly after I left CA, the Eureka newspaper ran a story on Last Chance Hill which is caving into the ocean taking a chunk of 101 with it. Interesting problem this presents, as there is no solution. Oregon roads were better than California, but...
Things didn't kick up until about 5 AM, so I got some sleep. Then the winds started. The weather service measured some gusts at 72 mph, and it's been at around 40-50 most of the day. Plus rain. High winds and rain are a good combination to find leaks in an RV, and I found 2 new ones. They're easy to fix (window sealing), but they've got to dry out first. And that might be a while. Besides, I won't open my door in this weather, much less go...
A storm warning went up today, mentioning winds from 45-60 mph tomorrow, my planned travel day. So I'm staying put in Newport until Sunday. It's a great place to be stuck, though. Officially it's the opening days of the tourist season, but right now things are slow enough that getting around is a breeze. I'm at the Port of Newport RV Park next to the marina, a monster boat ramp, the famous aquarium, some museums, and the Rogue River Brewery....
The weather has been wonderful for driving the coast, but that's over for a while now. I'll be sitting out the worst of it for the next few days here, then look at the forecast. Sightseeing in the rain doesn't sound like much, but I had planned on doing just that anyway; the sunshine was a big bonus. And the coastline always looks great no matter what the weather. Stateline Cannabis opened in Brookings on the California border. They intend to...
A commonly-seen guess of how many cannabis farmers there are in Humboldt County is around 10,000. Similar guesses exist for the neighboring counties. A lot of those plots are "trespass grows" on private or public land. Then, a lot are on the up-and-up, minding their ways, paying taxes, and desperately seeking more certain rules to live by. This is the start of the growing season in Norcal, which will be completed before the new rules take...
I've only driven through Crescent City when escaping to Oregon from California. This time I stopped and will check things out. So far, I'm impressed. I was laughing driving up here from Eureka: 101 is down to 1 lane at about 5 spots in less than 100 miles. Watching the effort of the crews to keep this road out of the ocean, when it obviously wants to go there, is absurdly funny to me. Three years ago I drove this route. Today I stopped at the...
While it's been raining incessantly, the sun has been coming out in the afternoons giving me a chance to do a little sightseeing. Eureka has been the economic center in Humboldt County for a long time, logging and fishing mainly. Those are pretty much gone, so cannabis is now the industry of choice. Everywhere you look you'll see water tanks stacked in big industrial yards. A county permit for a cannabis farm requires that all water used for...
I made the land of redwoods and surf. The rain waited until I got parked, and now I'm in for it for a few days. Lotsa water, high winds, and cool. Luckily there are decent book stores around here. Slides have taken out portions of 101 between Ukiah and Eureka, but vehicles are moving through just fine. Over on the coast, Highway 1 is essentially closed for a few months because a significant bridge broke. At least through the weekend, I'll be...
It's certainly green here. The rain let up and the sun came out and I could actually see things around me. One of my favorite places is the Real Goods store in Hopland, at the Solar Living Center. The whole place is a demonstration of off-grid living ideas, and the store sells whatever you might want. I think of it as The Whole Earth Catalog in real life. I picked up some books and gifts, but had a great time just looking at all the exhibits....