Day 12
Wednesday August 26
Today was supposed to be an easy drive day with one stop along the way. There’s a natural bridge relatively close to Yosemite National Park. Natural Bridges Trail covers a two mile, well trafficked loop. However, the park is temporarily closed.
My goal was a fairly straight drive west to the coast and Carmel By the Sea. In the reality of these times, my morning also included a visit to CalFire’s website. Adjusting today’s route to avoid the River Fire would be fairly easy, requiring a more northern route to the coast. Friday’s drive will require some plotting and planning around the much larger Dolan Fire.
With all that in mind, it was time to pack up the room and head out. Funny how spread out you can get with five days on one room.
From the hotel, it was a nice mountain drive west on Hwy 140. I stayed further out this way the last time and had forgotten about the two one way bridges. It’s really long light since you have to allow traffic to cross both bridges and the quarter mile of one lane road between them.
Outside Briceburg, I stopped to investigate a bridge I saw off the side of the road. The speed limit across is 5MPH and the turn onto the bridge is awfully tight. Good thing I just walked it. But, you know I couldn't pass it up.
Eventually, I drove through Mariposa and stopped at a nice place called the Pony Expresso Coffee House. The wifi and coffee were both really good. I chatted with Linda, my barista, about routes west. She agreed it was probably best to take the longer way around.
Once past Mariposa, Hwy 140 opened up into farm country. On the approach to the town of Pladana, I came across fields and fields of corn. I don’t know why that struck me as odd.
The town was first Geneva by Swiss settlers, then renamed Whiten by railroad officials. In 1911, the town held a contest to rename it again. Planada, Spanish for plane, was the winning entry.
Sometimes you drive along and catch something out of the corner of your eye. Sometimes, it’s something you just can’t miss. Thus is this memorial at a rural crossroad in the town of Tuttle.
This marks the resting place of George Hicks Fancher who died here in 1900. He was a rancher and businessman. Upon his death, he had ordered a sixty-eight foot memorial marker. It’s still the largest in the state of California.
As I as getting back in the car, I heard a familiar sound. The ding, ding, ding of the railroad crossing gates coming down. This was followed by the sound of a train's horn. I’ve seen many freight trains around this country. I don’t remember ever seeing one moving quite this fast.
My original plan was to drive to Salinas, then cut across on Hwy 68 into Monterey. The CalFire website showed the River Fire right by the highway. Instead, I drove further north before cutting back down again. While I never saw any smoke plumes, you could see it everywhere. Even with the car’s exterior vents closed, I could still smell it.
When I saw signs for Monterey, it was time to stop for lunch. After parking my car by Fisherman's Wharf, I noticed a restaurant that looked a lot like it had once been a railway station. This had been the freight depot back in its day. Now, it’s the home of Dust Bowl Brewing.
As everything seems to be these days, all seating was outside. Funny how a thirty degree drop in temperature seems so drastic. I had the house stout with lunch and found myself sipping it by the fire pit.
The Carmel River Inn is a little off the beaten path in Carmel By the Sea. It’s on a small dead end street right off the Pacific Coast Highway, one block from the turnoff for downtown. And yes there’s a “river” out back, more like a small stream.
Not expecting anything, I still drove out to the beach before sunset. There are also plenty of signs scattered around downtown reminding people of the mask mandate and the $100 fine if you don't wear one.
While it was obvious sunset was going to be just shifting shades of gray, it still felt good to be walking in sand again.
On the way, I drove through the touristy part of town. Many restaurants have commandeered the parking spots directly in front. They’ve built wooden barricades, complete with flower boxes to block them. Then they’ve set a table in each parking spot.
Hwy 1, the Pacific Coast Highway, runs right by the motel. A half block up there’s a big sign announcing closures. Right by my turnoff is a sign saying it’s closed thirty miles ahead, “No Detour.”
With the River Fire inland and the Dolan Fire shutting down the PCH, it looks like I might need some help getting out of here on Friday.
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