Day 2

Again, a day of meeting awesome people. It started out when I left C-----‘s house, where I’d spent the previous night. I ran into a hitchhiking harp player, on his way to Seattle. I told him my plan to walk up the road, and he promptly told me that was a very bad idea. He’d hitched this road before, and if I went any further it’d be miles until I came to a place with a wide enough shoulder for people to stop. Instead, I should go back to where I’d tried the night before. By far a better place, according to him. And you know what? So it was. Within a half hour of getting to the stop light, I was on my way with another one of the best rides I could ever ask for.

There’s a lot to learn when you meet new people. R------ is a contractor and, due to the economy, bartender. As we talked, he told me about a building material I’d never come across before: redwood pipes. While reading up on them online has shown that there were different methods of construction, the one he had grown up with in Point Reyes involved binding slats into a pipe with metal bands. As long as they were kept in use, constantly wet, they could go on being used for years. He had no idea what their life expectancy was, since they’d existed for years and had yet to fail.

I mentioned that I’d been to the Sea Ranch Chapel, and he told me about the three men  who built it, people who he’d actually known. A rather interesting crew, from the sound of it. They weren’t exactly the best wood workers, as can be seen by the quality of the construction, but they were given free rein to do whatever it is they felt worked best for the place, and that’s what they did. No real plans, but if something looked like it worked, they’d do it, and if not, they wouldn’t. It was more of an art project than an architectural building. And when all is said and done, the end result was incredible.

He was planning to go further down the road, almost to Arcata. He had to stop and pick up his girlfriend and her daughter first, and said that if I didn’t mind the detour I could come along and he’d take me as far as he could. Sounded good to me. As they say, a bird in hand is worth two in the bush. And so we went to her parent’s house, where I was offered a much more substantial breakfast than the almonds and raisins I’d been snacking on, and I met another set of incredible people. The daughter, T------, was especially fun. She even  gave me a few issues of the Funny Times to read on my travels (something I’d be glad for in the days to come). As we talked about my travels and their plans, it came up that while R------, K------, and T------ were off to the fair, K-----‘s parents were heading in the same direction, but would actually be going further, into Arcata. They offered to take me up, and even packed me a lunch for the road! It was a very kind offer, and one I gladly accepted. And was glad I did, because on that part of the journey I learned more about gold mining than I could ever have asked for! I learned the basics of panning, hand sluicing, using pump systems, and the like. I didn’t realize how much of a community there is that does this, or the regulations that surround it. S---- and S------- have been at it for years, though, moving up through the various methods. It’s a hobby, not an occupation (it doesn’t pay for the gas to get to the spot), but it sounds like a fun one. I think I know something that I’ll have to do when I get up to Alaska.

Trip Stats:

Total Distance Traveled: 230 miles
Total Time: ~11 hours
# of Rides: 6
Total Cost: $0.00