The Lost Coast: the bull and the blackberries

Up till now, we had prided ourselves on taking the “scenic” routes rather than the direct route. As we ventured out from Eureka towards Ferndale, we knew this could be our most adventurous scenic route yet. Our plan was to drive around the Lost Coast. We’ve read that most Californians don’t even bother to drive this route as it’s too remote and takes too long. We knew this was a challenge worth taking.

First things first, we stopped at the cute Victorian town of Ferndale. What a great little town! It’s like a trip back in time; the days when a town was centered on Main Street and everybody knew each other’s name and business. This is the town I envisioned when I was reading the great American classic – “To Kill a Mockingbird”. On our way out of Ferndale, we talked to our waitress about the drive around the Lost Coast. She was surprised that we were inquiring about the trip as it can be quite dangerous in the winter time. I must admit that I was a bit hesitant at this point, but we pressed on.

To say the road was a bit treacherous is an understatement. We drove on uncomfortably narrow one lane roads with no guard rails and climbed up the sides of very large mountains. While traffic was understandably light, there were a couple of large semis carrying lumber that passed way too close to us. Even with danger at every turn, we thoroughly enjoyed the magnificent views that this part of the unspoiled California coastline offered us. It’s definitely a must see for those that want to get off the beaten path.

The Lost Coast had a couple more surprises for us that were much more tangible and up-close. We knew we were in rugged territory. Sometimes the paved road would turn into dirt for a while and houses were the exception not the rule. What finally struck us, almost anyways, was our encounter with a huge bull that was between us and the rest of the road. I’ve hit a deer with my car before - unintentionally. I’ve seen sheep on the road, but I’ve never seen a bull in the middle of the road before. There was a small part of the road that it didn’t occupy, so I told Krista to drive slowly but continue to drive around the bull. We were inches away from the bull as we drove past, and, from the driver’s seat, Krista said that they made eye contact. She looked right at his huge face as we slowly cruised by. The look on his face could only be described as an apathetic annoyance; definitely irritated by our presence but much too lazy to do much about it. It was pretty freaky! Luckily, nothing happened. I will admit that I was scared. Not for me, but for my car.

Our last surprise of the day was the discovery of a huge plot of blackberries on the side on the road. We love blackberries, and we picked and ate our way through them. It was amazing to enjoy some fruits of the land. I felt like I was on “Survivorman”, and I just found some food. I will say that after picking blackberries for a little while, I can appreciate why they cost so much. There are prickly needles everywhere. Needless to say, I was a bit cut up after our blackberry adventure.