After a quiet night, I set forth at 6:45 biking through the rest of Eureka. Dark clouds hung low in the sky with patches of fog but no rain. I bundled up to stay warm. At 15 miles I reached Fernbridge where 101 headed south up the broad Eel River valley. Not much flow in the river. Ten miles later, I stopped at Rio Dell for a rest, coffee, and a donut. By this time, the clouds disappeared and the sun shown. I scaled back my biking gear. A mile later, I passed a massive sawmill with thousands of logs stacked awaiting sawing. Thousands of pallets of finished lumber awaited trucks to haul them away. I left 101 for the Avenue of the Giants, a 28-mile stretch of old Hwy 101 with many stands of gigantic old-growth redwoods. A delightful experience. I stopped at the Burlington Campground for lunch. A huge, sawed display redwood trunk was alive prior to 1069 when Cambridge University opened its doors. Humbolt Redwoods State Park protects most of the groves. Small signs denote the names of people who contributed money in the 1920s to buy tracts of redwood forest (see photo). As I gained elevation, the climate dried as evidenced by grassy hillsides with small oak trees in addition to conifers. I stopped in Garberville for chocolate milk, water, and food for dinner. Onward to Richardson Grove State Park for the night. The redwoods seemed out of place in this relatively dry location. I checked into a hiker-biker site. Lots of kids in the campground for the Memorial Day weekend. 81 miles today.
