California dreamin’
Arcata was great! The weather was perfect – a little cold at night but nothing we couldn’t handle – and the days were sunny, warm and bluebird skies. It actually was a little too perfect, the way that the weather changed as soon as we crossed over from Oregon into Cali… clouds slid away and the sun appeared, and then again, on our return, when the reverse happened right as we crossed the border.
The film was well received too, there in the Arcata Theatre Lounge. Between 100 and 150 people, hard to say precisely, but we talked to quite a few of them and the response to the Ikkatsu story was solid. The Q & A after the film was over was good too, with lots of quality questions and a great level of engagement.
On the way down, we had the chance to stop at a few places, the light house in Crescent City being one of them. Even found the remains of a black bear on the beach… probably swept down a river in flood, drowned at sea and then returned to shore by the tide.
Another stop, at a roadside trailhead that led up into the redwoods… we hiked up the hill among the giants for a while, through deep shadows and shafts of sunlight, with rhododendron and sword ferns covering the forest floor. Hard to guess at the age of some of the largest one, their fluted trunks rising like Roman columns to their distant crowns high above.
I really like it there in that little corner of northern California. I’m glad to be home but I wouldn’t mind going back again sometime very soon.
About Ken Campbell
New Release
A story of sea kayaking and science on the rugged coast of Alaska. Coming – Spring 2014.
Follow Us On Instagram
