6000 Mile EV Road Trip - Stay 25
Eureka and California’s Redwood Coast | July 31 – August 1, 2024
Written by John Martinson
The drive to Eureka through Redwood National and State Parks was nothing short of spectacular. To really see these Parks, one needs to spend at least a few days here, but our itinerary only allowed a drive-through. We chose the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway, which runs parallel to Hwy 101. It is a ten-mile (16-km) drive through old-growth redwood forest in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park.
The three types of Redwood include California Coast Redwood, Giant Sequoia, and Dawn Redwood. Walking amongst these elders, I was awestruck and hope to return someday via our Rivian R1T, a better vehicle for exploring the Park’s other routes on steep dirt roads.
We arrived at the Carter House Inns in Historic Old Town Eureka for a one-night stay, and discovered a kind of hotel guest community, where guests and staff appeared to know each other from numerous stays. The small upper bar overlooking the lobby was abuzz with a lively crowd of returning guests, first-timers like us, and locals who meet there often (maybe daily?) for the bar’s afternoon happy hour and conversation with the bartender (who looked like Sting’s twin brother). The lobby’s seating was arranged to encourage interaction among guests. We had a great time talking with a couple (and petting their Corgi) who lived in a nearby town. This is their favorite hotel get-away and after the husband went up to the bar for a few minutes, he returned and told us that he ran into some colleagues he hadn’t seen in a while who out-of-the-blue asked him to work on two upcoming construction projects. We dined al fresco at the Brick & Fire Bistro for dinner at their suggestion.
As we departed Eureka, we visited the Carson Mansion, purported to be the most photographed Victorian in the USA. Along the western edge of the property, we discovered the “Lost Coast Fauna in 17 Views,” a walkway made into a mural by artist Jose Marino painted on 17 columns bordering the Mansion.
