Mike Breiding's Epic Road Trips 2014

August 29 - 30 - 31 2014 ~San Fran to Forks of Salmon

In order to expedite our departure from SF we had packed all but a few personal items the previous day. We really wanted to avoid the worst of the rush hour traffic so we got up at 4:45 and were heading out of The City by 6:00. In spite of this traffic was already clotting up. This was due to the usual breakdowns, fender benders and also the closure of I-280 north of the 101 split. It was gonna get messy.

We got across the Oakland Bay Bridge in short order. As we headed north on I-80 we tuned into SF NPR for the "news". There were occasional traffic updates for the Bay area which really made us glad we had gotten an early start. What a mess. We couldn't imagine going through that crap twice a day, five days a week.

Our route today would take us up I-80 to I-505 west of Sacramento and then up to I-5 which shoots straight up the Central Valley.
We passed 1000s of acres of fruit and nut trees along the way as well as irrigated hay and alfalfa fields.

We stopped in Redding long enough to do some grocery shopping and then headed over to Trinity Center to visit with our friend Lenie who I had met several years ago on a previous visit.
We had a very relaxing visit while sitting on her breezy deck having lunch. It was good to visit in person instead of only by email.

Then it was on up to Callahan. There we picked up the much smaller Callhan - Cecilville Road which snakes its way along the river. The road gets very narrow and a bit hairy in places. But, if one takes it slow then it is a very scenic and enjoyable drive.

Just east of teeny-tiny Forks of Salmon we started up the Godfrey Ranch Road. This is a steep dirt road that climbs and climbs. The van could barely maintain traction on some of the steeper sections and there were times when I though we would not make it. But we did and it was a relief to see the turn off to Chris and Meui's farm.

It was great to be back to what I think of as a retreat. Chris and Meui and the two kids live off the grid and it is very, very quiet up on the mountain. No traffic, airplane or human noise. Heaven!

When we arrived, Chris and Nadine were home, Meui and Shekina were not. There had been a terrible tragedy and loss to the community - the loss of Lucius Robbi a 21 year old who met with a fatal car accident on his way to college. Meui, along with others were with the family as a show of support and to console each other over the loss of one so young.

After the hot dusty drive we were ready for a cold beer and a dip in the kiddie pool on the deck. Ahh...
Then Chris showed us to our quarters - the "cabin" which is a hybrid made from an old Air Stream trailer with a couple of rooms added on to that. It had been previously the home of several families over the years but was now empty - our home for the weekend.

This is the view which one sees on the walk from the house to the cabin.

Looking down in the garden from near the cabin.

When Meui arrived home with Shekina, their oldest daughter, I grabbed this shot which looked into the back of their vehicle. Here, this time of year, there are veggies everywhere!

Meet Chris McCullough.
I first met Chris back in the late 70s/early 80s. Not sure of the exact time. Chris was a camper at Mountain Nature Camp and I was a counselor. Chris and I hit it off and so did his parents and I and that was the beginning of a beautiful relationship that has now spanned nearly 40 years.

Chris is holding some freshly harvested Golden Cayenne peppers which are ready for the drying rack.

We went up to the drying room where there were already layers of stacked screens with drying peppers on them. Chris layed out another screen and spread the pan full of peppers out to dry with the rest.

When throughly dried these peppers will be ground up, packaged and sold via their Pepper Forest Spice Company web site. Check it out - there are all kinds of goodies there.

We all sat down to a tasty supper and good conversation but it did not last long. Betsy and I were pooped and headed on over to the cabin around 9:00.

I snapped a couple more pics on the way to the cabin. All was quiet...

The next morning Betsy picked blackberries, then we helped with some of the processing of the Golden Paprika and then headed on down to the river where we met some other folks enjoying the sun and cool waters.

Here Chris takes instruction from one of the youngins on how to use a float board.

They had an audience who were kept amused by the antics.

Of course this lovely and private spot is clothes optional and it didn't take long before Betsy was enjoying the crystal clear and cooling water.

Here is my shot of a photo shoot. The picture of Aunt and nephew will be a priceless memento of this wonderful day on the river.

What's this? Prospecting for gold? Nope - it's a craw dad hunt! Fun for kids of all ages.

A makeshift corral was made to house the captives and we all enjoyed watching the kids play with them.

As I said, at harvest time there are veggies everywhere. This Patty Pan display was on the kitchen table.

Here are some other visitors. They are locals who are always around. And at some point one of them may end up on the dinner table.

This is my fourth visit here in fours year and Shekina and Nadine are growing like a couple of Patty Pans.

Chris gave us a tour of the garden. Here he enjoys some light reading next to one of his crops.

As you can see Chris definitely has a green thumb!

These babies grow so fast ya gotta keep 'em caged.

The pepper patch. Golden Cayenne in the foreground and Paprikas in back.

Here Chris explains some of the cultural requirements of the grape crop along with his hopes and dreams for the future.

More pepper processing. Here (l-r) Betsy, Meui, and Marie slice long ways some of the many Paprika peppers. They are placed on wire racks and then go into the smoker.

We took a break from the chores and headed down the mountain to the only store in Forks of Salmon. In front of the store grows a large chestnut tree which I was thrilled to see on my first visit. Later on a package arrived in the mail and upon opening out fell many beautiful chestnuts Chris and Shekina had picked for us. And of course there was a nice assortment of goodies from the Pepper Forest Spice Company .

What is a "beer tree"?

This is a beer tree! It is across the road from the store and it is customary for folks to stop in, buy a 6 pack and then enjoy it in the shade of the beer tree.

We then headed back to "Kathy's Hole" for more fun in the sun and water. On this day there was just Chris, Shekina, Nadine, Betsy and I. Very quiet and relaxing. The girls, then later Chris kept busy catching and corralling crawdads. Chris explained to the girls how they could be cooked up into a tasty treat.
After 6 or 7 were caught we went back up the mountain and Chris showed the kids how to boil them up. Then we all got to share in the river harvest. They were indeed tasty and the kids had a lot of fun learning how to fix them up.

The next morning we said our farewell and headed on down the mountain. This is fire season in these parts and Chris checked to make sure all the roads would be open for us. Some had been closed but all were open now.

Our route took us through Happy Camp. There were major and as yet uncontained fires in the area. The smoke was thick.

We are now in Yeti country!

We didn't get to see one of the critters but there are regular sightings.

At Happy Camp we took the State of Jefferson Scenic Byway which trends northwest. Within minutes we were out of the smoke and back into blue sky. Yippee!

That night we stayed in Grants Pass. The next day we would drive over to Oregon Caves National Monument and camp three nights in one of the best spots we have ever pitched a tent.

 

 

 

Back to TOP