Day 17

After sleeping two nights in a cabin, last night I was back in my tent and slept well. One underrated aspect of sleeping outdoors, especially in the early morning hours, is the sounds of the bird world waking up. Many of the birds are familiar sounds from my childhood, and even if they are in Seattle, they are not the predominant songs. The cooing of the mourning doves, the white-crowned sparrows whistling and buzzing, and the Wilson’s Warblers chips are appreciated. Riding from Trinidad to Eureka, I also inhaled the scents of wild mustard, eucalyptus, and anise that I recognized from my childhood. It was a wet ride until lunch, and since I was warm and most of it was on a paved bike trail, I didn’t mind.

Sitting here at my temporary home and picnic table at the Humboldt County Fairgrounds, I am able to look west toward the Eel River delta and see nothing but dairy farms. I am in the town of Ferndale, California – established in 1852 – where dairy is the primary income-producing means. It’s also home to immaculately maintained Victorian homes and businesses, aka Butterfat Palaces. The downtown is quaint, but beautiful this time of year. 

Just north across the Eel River is Loleta, a small forgotten town that seemed to be imploding. I stopped by to investigate a large, decomposing brick building next to rusted railroad tracks. The Diamond Spring Creamery was built in 1893, and after it changed hands it became the Loleta Cheese Company. It’s now in disrepair. Fortunately for me, just by driving into the little hamlet, I discovered (and was rewarded by) the Foggy Mountain Boys Ice Cream shop and it was hopping! Just up the road is the Humboldt Creamery, formerly a sole source supplier of Kirkland Ice Cream. While watching all these grass-fed cows, it’s pretty obvious to me that organic milk is the product coming from these dairies. It’s also a nice source of income for folks whose restored homes outside of town look like the 1920’s. 

I ate lunch in Eureka yesterday and then went to the Morris Graves Museum of Art housed in the town’s restored Carnegie Library building. What a gem! Being one of the “Northwest School” artists and having spent a much of his life in western Washington, I was curious about their collection and exhibitions. I wasn’t disappointed. They displayed some of Graves’ personal collection from a Hong Kong artist who incorporated the mysticism permeating Graves’ works as well as a few of his paintings which hung in the basement, protecting them from UV. Additionally, they had other exhibitions from Humboldt State BFA students and one that particularly caught me off guard from Ann Savageau featuring figures made from driftwood called, Guardians: Spirts of Protection. 

It wasn’t until I arrived at the fairgrounds that I learned Graves lived in lonely Loleta the last 35 years of his life. Evidently he commissioned Ibsen Nelsen, a modernist Seattle architect, to design his home on a piece of property he called “The Lake”. He lived there until 2001 when he died from a stroke at the age of 90. (The image is from Hart James, an incredible artist herself with pieces now at the Northwest Museum of Art in LaConnor called, Silva Cascadia: Under the Spell of the Forest.)

The evening before I left Trinidad (north of Arcata), I walked in a drizzle to Trinidad State Beach. I didn’t see anyone else and there were no footsteps from previous visitors in the sand. Quite a treat. 

Onto the Avenue of the Giants!