The Sandoz Collection by Sandoz Diego Cerveza (best short books to read .TXT) 📖

Lakes area. A large statue of Paul and Babe stand across the highway from a VFW in Michigan. One night, in a drunken VFW galaxy far, far away, a bunch of bleary-eyed VFWer's waltzed out of the tavern across the highway from the imposing statues, determined to save the planet from havoc wrought by these giant beasts no doubt. One very loaded veteran, with a very loaded double barreled shotgun managed to get off a couple of shots to off the large concrete blue bovine balls sported by Babe! Today, the results of that bizarre castration remain..the Babe balls are still missing in action!

California's Trees of Mystery located just off Highway 101 near the Klamath River is Paul Bunyans retirement home. Exit your vehicle to take the tour, and a giant two-story talking Paul statue shouts out greetings to the family, generally scaring the crap out of small children. There is a Native American museum, cafe, motel and a gift shop with unique redwood items.The latest in Redwood attitude, now includes a ride of redwood altitude aboard the Sky Trail Tram. Swiss made precision for a trip to the top that takes 10 minutes to the Redwood canopy. Take a shuttle, or walk the almost mile long Trail of Tall Tales to the Sky Trail. The trail is devoted to the mythology of all things Paul Bunyan, and is worth the forest jaunt.

It gets even weirder, with the appearance of another "larger than life legend" that also hails from the land of the plaid and proud..the Great White North of Canada! Paul it seems has deep Canadian roots. He was apparently created around blazing woodland campfires during those frigid Canadian nights when lumberjacks and lumberjills, spun tall tales of legendary men and creatures of the north. It is all too obvious that these conversations were fuel injected with copious amounts of Canadian alcohol.

Sasquatch, better known on the West Coast as Bigfoot was also given birth in Canada. While Paul hangs his axe and toque in Klamath, Bigfoot kicks back in Garberville. There's a shop with all things Big Foot, and a carved figure of him/it to pose with for that photo op that will knock'em dead back in Minnesota. (Bigfoot Footnote: There are reports of numerous actual Big Foot sightings in the Del Norte Six Rivers National Forest! So now you can pitch your tent, settle back and camp where Big Foot gets campy!

There are rustic secluded areas for tent camping, and plots to park your RV...the new Conestoga Wagon of the American asphalt pioneer blazing trails across the tourist frontier. State parks and acres of Redwood trails invite hiking, while a network of rivers beckon to the hearty white water types for rafting or kayaking. On foot or on the hoof, you can hike or ride horseback underneath the Redwood canopy of natures forested cathedrals. Other outdoor activities include beach combing beachbum style on beaches more expansive than the landing strip aboard an aircraft carrier. Crescent City has some of the best surfing waters in the region and longboarding is a religion, so hang ten with a Beach Boy beat and ride the wet suit wild waves.

Lighthouse afficianado's will delight in the Crescent City light. It's called Battery Point and is on an island just off shore. Built in 1856, it is still a working light, with it's alter ego functioning as a nautical museum with artifacts, photographs of shipwrecks, seafaring memorabilia and a gift shop with gifts for the Nauti-boy or Nauti-girl in your life. When I explored the island, there was a plethora of coastal flora, succulents and wild flowers with a rainbow of colors and hues hugging the rocky coastline cliff. If you are planning on visiting the museum, you have to watch your timing..it's all dependent on the whims of the Pacific tides. The island has a strip of rocky shore to walk to get to the location, but once the tide is high, the rocky patch is completely underwater and access to and fro is cut off.

Heading south parallel to the Pacific Oceon on Highway 101, the charming, artsy community of Eureka welcomes you to it's parade of Victorian architecture. This combination of art and architecture is what defines Eureka's downtown oldtown. Eureka's peculiar Pacific persona is punctuated with a plethora of art galleries and artisan studios, unique shops and eateries, where shopping is a near spiritual experience and the food is to die for! Cruisin' the Harbor with the experienced cruise crews of Humboldt Bay Harbor Cruise is one way to nautically explore the area, while critters and gardens dot the landscape of Eureka's Sequoia Park and Zoo.

All of the various towns and cities along Highway 100 in Redwood Territory not only offer unique shopping and dining experiences, but lodging choices are varied as well. You can stay at hotel or hostel, motel, cabin or campground. Plush it or rough it, the choice is yours. Some of the citizenry, who comprise the local cast of characters, are straight from the pages of a Charles Bukowski novel. It is a coastal highway for transients, the same Haiku Hobo Highway that I used to travel in my days living on the road and on the streets...it all was too familiar and not much had changed...only the names of the ragged rucksack army had changed. It was deja vu all over again, and today, the beat goes on...to a Pacific Left Coast Redwood beat and cadence...


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Publication Date: 01-26-2011

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