Moved a little south of Eureka, to the Victorian village of Ferndale, so I could be closer to the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge and also the road to “The Lost Coast” of Northern California. Highway 211 is a rough, narrow, twisting, and often very steep highway that goes along a segment of the coastline that was too rough for Highway 1 or 101 to go. I wanted to drive it to see if I could take my trailer over it. The only good thing you can say about the 211 is at least it is paved, except for a few very small segments. I would not want to take my trailer over it. If it was a one-lane, one-way road, maybe.
The first picture above is the stretch of coastline you get to after going over the mountains from Ferndale. The second picture is of “The Wall”, a one-mile 18% grade just north of of the coastline stretch.
Picture of the South Spit Management Area of Humboldt Bay. A five mile road lets you drive over it.
A paraglider was able to take off and land in the same spot on a bluff over the South Spit.
Birds seen along the sand spit: brown pelicans, cormorants and sandpipers.
Below, a goodwit seen on mudflats on the wildlife refuge.
Below: a black phoebe and a dark-eyed junco.
