Covelo, California to Berkeley.
What a long, but excellent, and rewarding day. traveling close to 500 miles today, on the last day of our road trip together. But, first things first. I was very happy to finally find a blackberry pie, which I’ve been looking for in every convenience store since hitting the south west and west. You just can’t get these anywhere else, and they’re difficult enough to get out here. Yum!
We drove almost 300 miles from Reno to Covelo, California, where Bev and I (and our dog, Truck) lived together in our first home as a couple, from 1981-1982. This was where Bev for her first teaching job after receiving her master’s in special education from San Francisco University, and we loved living there, even thoiugh it was so very remote, about 180 miles north east of San Francisco, in the Round Valley, just outside of the Mendocino National Forest, and really in the middle of nowhere.
Getting there was another adventure. Google Maps took us the “back” way in, from the north and east, and the drive in got somewhat harrowing, as at some point, only about 50 miles from Covelo, we went off paved road (and that might be an understatement) for about 45 miles through the Mendocino National Forest. Prior to that, it was slow-ish going, on route 162 west, but was okay. Then I saw a chilling sign that said, “paved road ends,” and it meant it. Sheesh.
It took us close to 2½ hours to travel those 45 miles on what was still called route 162, but was barely what you’d call a “road,” at speeds between 12-17 mph most of the way, significantly slower at times, on completely loose dirt and sand roads high in the Mendocino forest, full of twisty turns with major drops down the mountainside at times, and at times on a road that was more like a wide trail, just wide enough for one car. I locked the car into 4-wheel drive, which was reassuring (somewhat, at least).
The real concern was not the driving, which was very, very slow going, but whether the road would actually get us through to Covelo, or would be closed or become completely undrivable at some point. That would have meant going back the same way, adding hours to our drive. But, happily, it did go all the way through.
Way back, when we lived here in 1981, this route in and out of Covelo, was unpassable as the Mendocino Pass was snowed in year round. But, thanks to climate change, that’s no longer the case, as that’s exactly what we did, coming through the national forest and through the Mendocino Pass.
For a long time, we saw no other vehicles at all, and then we saw some heavy dust, wondering what it was ahead, until we realized it a truck coming the other way, kicking up a pile of dust. It was tight getting by, but not as tight as when a tractor trailer carrying cut timbers came round the bend, like a bat out of hell in a massive sand storm of dust and sand, taking up a lot of the narrow road. Of course, we pulled over as far as we could (but there’s not much room to do that, and little room for mistakes).
After that, we infrequently but regularly saw vehicles coming the other way, and as we got further and higher into the forest, we saw people camping in this very desolate wilderness, at designated campsites, even up here. So, we weren’t alone, and that made us hopeful we could through this way to Covelo. We waved at one another as cars and trucks coming the other way passed, kicking up piles of dust (nothing like that logging truck, though), and we were kicking up lots of dust too, making it difficult to see out of the rear window, which was caked in mud. Good thing it wasn’t raining. I can’t imagine what that would be like.
The photos below don’t really do justice to just how narrow and harrowing the road was much of the way.
We saw quail along the road a number of times, lots of forest squirrels, large soaring birds flying over head (we hoped not vultures waiting for us), and at one point a magical swarm of dragonflies along the road, flying all around us.
It’s clear there was a major fire in the forest at some point, as for many miles we saw burned out trees everywhere, with some that survived but most just blackened stems. It’s growing back, though. Nature finds a way (from Jurassic Park).
As we got closer and closer to Covelo, we had increased hope that the road would make it all the way through, and we were very pleased to finally see the Leaving Mendocino National Forest sign. We started to see see some homesteads scattered way off the road – this really is living off the grid – but we didn’t fully take a sigh of relief until we finally reached paved road again, still maybe 10 miles from Covelo. Then we started seeing more homes, still rugged, but signs of life.
Unlike, I think, many others, Kaye was never thrown off or unwilling to take the risks that came with this journey through the Mendocino Pass, and just like when we came close to running out of gas, she remained poised, unfazed, and funny throughout our little adventure, although we were both holding our breaths the whole time (figuratively); would we make it through to the other side?
Then, finally, Covelo ahead! Population 1,175, elevation 1400 feet.
The rear of the car was caked in dirt, but definitely now seasoned with its first off road (well, off paved road) trip behind it (literally).
Covelo is not very changed from when we lived here, but I was prepared for the changes that have taken place because Bev and I came to visit Covelo, with our buddy, Steve Shapiro, just a few years ago, in 2016. The main street is bare now, with the few stores that were there in 1981 now gone or in ruins, but the residential streets are much the same, with some newer houses. Photos I took back in 1981-82 show what the main street looked like then, which helped jog my memory of where things were.
The house we lived on in Greely Street is completely gone, which is no surprise as it was sort of a wreck then, but I couldn’t remember where the actual spot was.
We, of course, visited Round Valley Elementary school, as there really wasn’t much else for us to visit here. The special education trailer that Bev taught in back in 1981 is no longer there (happily), but the school is otherwise much the same (although, in a sign of the times, there is now a elementary charter school in town). I taught there as well, as a certified substitute teacher in Bev’s class, when needed.
We scattered some more of Bev’s ashes in town, on Greely Street and at the school, on the fields and by the school sign.
We headed out of town, and stopped on the way at Dos Rios, about 15 miles away, and half way to route 101, which is the main road down to Ukiah and points south.
Back in 1982, just before we left Covelo, we had a bunch of friends come up to Covelo for a party (the First Covelo Yahoo and Get Together), and we all went swimming in the Eel River at Dos Rios, where we scattered some more of Bev’s ashes today.
Kaye picked up the driving once we reached route 101, and we zipped the 180 or so miles back to Berkeley, while I caught up on some emails and texts. We came over the Richmond Bridge around 8:30, after a long day, and almost 500 miles, and I snapped a couple of shots from the car as we were coming into the east bay before getting to Kaye’s apartment and Kaye was reunited with Cooper, her cat.
Kaye and I traveled almost 2,000 miles, from Denver to Berkeley, almost 2,000 miles over 11 days. Great trip with Kaye. Couldn’t have been better.
