Road trip; my father used to announce… off we would go!
“Road trip”, my father would declare in the 1960s as he would pack our Ohio family into our Ford station wagon for a trip near or far. I was raised in a family with three boys and parents who would take us on frequent expeditions from our home in Ohio to the East Coast, to see points of interest like Great Smoky Mountains or Acadia national parks, to visit battlefields like Gettysburg and Antietam or to visit relatives in Connecticut, Michigan and Pennsylvania.
We would seek historic sites in southern Ohio or scenery in northern Indiana and odd-ball attractions like the Rotary Jail in Crawfordsville, Indiana (a jail with revolving cells) . My brothers and I remember my dad saying, “boys, let’s see where this road will take us“, and off we would head down some back country road in the general direction of our ultimate destination.
As an adult, I have maintained that interest in back roads, frequently choosing that option. I travel interstate highways only when we’re in a hurry to get to a distant destinations. Often our choice is an historic highway, such as the Lincoln Highway that winds its way all the way from New York City, across the US, through San Joaquin County and onto the Bay Area. Or the venerable US Highway 50, that ends in Sacramento, heads east around Lake Tahoe, becomes the “Loneliest Highway in the US” in Nevada, and connects such gems as Great Basin National Park in Nevada (featuring towering Wheeler Peak, at 13,063 feet tall, the second tallest peak in the state, with the stunning Lehman Caves at its base), Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in Colorado and scores of interesting historical points and small towns along a 3,073 mile route to the Delaware coast.
Hence, I am advocating both local and more distant road trips, exploring back roads (last week’s column offered four local suggestions). Road trips can be one day in length, multi-days, or, tackling some of these suggestions, can be done in segments, separated by weeks or months. As an example, exploring the local and national historic Lincoln Highway can be navigated by a city, or a county at a time, following the course of the old highway using easily accessible guides.
First, I offer several suggestions for one or several day road trips, targeting some of the wonders we have both east and west. Consider a favorite, what I call the Sierra loop, heading east to the high Sierra on Highway 4, crossing the Sierra’s Ebbets Pass, heading south down Highway 395 and returning up Highway 108, over lofty Sonora Pass and west back to the Central Valley. That route takes you to lovely historic Gold Rush towns like Murphys and Arnold, through Bear Valley Resort, along the high Sierra wonders including Lake Alpine to the eastern Sierra, brings you back on 108 inviting invites a stop at Pinecrest lake and lovely Gold Rush towns like Twain Harte and Sonora on the return. It can be done in one day; better best to take several with an overnight stop (suggesting several good motels and the lovely Steam Donkey restaurant in Pinecrest). Quaint motels and lovely campgrounds dot both state highways.
Or, look to our Northern California coast, from Pt. Reyes National Seashore and its epic lighthouse, north to Bodega Bay and Bodega (where Hitchcock’s classic movie The Birds was filmed), Jenner and Fort Ross. If time for another day, continue further north along the coast to Mendocino and Ft. Bragg. Lovely beaches and spectacular state parks await with camping, and quaint-to-classy motels are found in most every small town. Shorebirds, sea lions, quaint towns and spectacular Pacific coastal scenery are your reward, with a most scenic stretch of California coastline and late summer/early fall the best time of the year to visit! Midway, stop at Ft. Ross State Historic Park, celebrating the old Russian settlement active from 1812 to 1841. The fort was Russia’s southern-most outpost in its attempt to colonize North America, and functioned as an agricultural base, a center for ship building and was the site of California’s first windmills. The Rotchev House remains from the 1830s, with the balance of the fort, stockade, blockhouses and chapel all reconstructed as original; docents lend an air of historical authenticity and hands-on experience!
With your spouse/significant other, or kids or grandkids, find a favorite theme and build a road trip around that theme, such as historic bridges, Native American history, quaint towns steeped in Gold Rush history or historic highways. For historical travel and a pivotal route in the development of the western states, build a road trip touring historic Route 66 in bits and pieces, starting in Santa Monica, the western terminus, and heading east along the “Mother Road”. More on that trip, next week!
For a treasure-trove of odd-ball wonders, purchase the Atlas Obscura, by Foer, Thuras and Morton, a fabulous collection of weird and wonderful travel attractions across the US and the world, or Weird California, by Bishop, Oesterle and Marinacci. Then do a Google search, or consult travel websites like Visit California, and plot your course.
For more information: Lincoln Highway, lincolnhighwayassoc.org; Route 66, route66roadtrip.com; Sierra Loop, gocalaveras.com and visittuolumne.com; Sonoma County/N. California coast, sonomacounty.com; For camping reservations, reserveamerica.com.
Where are you headed? Contact Tim, tviall@msn.com. Happy travels in the west!
This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Road trip; my father used to announce… off we would go!
