Humboldt Intro

We are officially "residents" of Humboldt County. Depending on where you are from, you may have heard of Humboldt County, CA because (unbeknownst to me until about my third time visiting the redwoods) it is apparently the marijuana (smoking & growing) hotspot of the U.S. However, we are learning that this area is well known and well worth visiting (/living in) for more than its weed!

Here are some of the ins-and-outs of our new stomping ground:

Humboldt County is named for the German naturalist and baron Alexander von Humboldt; the area was formerly inhabited by a number of different Indian tribes but currently, the demographic distribution is approximately 81% white, 10% Hispanic, 5% black, and 2% Asian. Arcata, our city, has a population of around 17,000 (plus the students who come from all over to attend Humboldt State University, which is just down the street from our house). Eureka, the "big city" eight miles to the south, where the closest Target and mall are located, has about 27,000 residents. The county is very rural, with thousands of acres of protected redwood forests, and also many farms. Fishing (halibut, perch, oysters) is also a large industry, as we are right on the Pacific ocean (i.e. tsunami zone). It takes about 5 hours to drive to SF, and probably about 2-3 hours to get to the Oregon border, but we are still about 7.5 hours from Portland.



It is really gorgeous in this area. I must say that I'm a but apprehensive of the weather, which, in contrast to the "desert" climate of Sacramento (100+ degrees on our wedding day), is rather cool and foggy (highs of the 60s in the summer!). I am also worried about how much we'll get to see friends and family given that the closest major airport (San Francisco) is about 5 hours away by car (there is a dinky airport in McKinleyville which has a few, overpriced flights per day to other CA cities). However, I am so excited to explore the outdoors and all of the natural beauty in this area and really feel that we are fortunate to get a chance to live here.

We have obtained a publication called "101 things to do in Humboldt County," and started tackling items this past Labor Day weekend.

On Saturday, we drove north about 15 miles to outside the fishing town of Trinidad to hike in Patrick's Point State Park, which is popular for its old seastacks, including "Wedding Rock" where some couples tie the knot, and 6 miles of hiking trails. While the route was not overly strenuous, we enjoyed walking the Rim Trail, which circled along the Pacific bluffs and then back through the forest. We also hiked down to Agate Beach, which is popular with surfers (way too cold for me to want to venture in!) and gem-finders. We heard the sea lions on the rocks but couldn't see them, due to fog, which eventually lifted to reveal a very beautiful, sunny day! There are great whale-watching opportunities here, particularly when the whales are migrating (Nov-Jan, April- June); however, humpbacks apparently can be spotted at any time of the year. Open year-round, Patrick's Point SP is also a great place to go camping (we can go if you come visit :))






On Sunday, we got quite sucked into watching U.S. Open tennis (we are LOVING having cable!), but did venture to try out a community church in McKinleyville and hiked in the Arcata Community Forest, a large area (2100+ acres) of public land no more than 1 mile from our house, which permits hiking, mountain biking, and even horseback riding! (we passed a few horses and their riders on our trip). Kelvin, my dear city boy, was amazed to see a "real, wild" deer within the city limits...





On Labor Day, we checked out an Arcata block party benefiting a town in Nicaragua (Arcata's sister city), and then went kayaking on Humboldt Bay, which was a wonderful way to spend an afternoon! Humboldt Bay (along with the Bay Wildlife Refuge and Woodley and Indian Islands) houses over 250 species of birds, along with tons of fish (unfortunately, we didn't see any leopard sharks!), as well as mammals like foxes, deer, racoons, and seals which we saw surfacing at several different points of our trip!

This monument on Woodley Island recognizes the many fishermen who have died at sea (the waves during the winter, which is the best Dungeness crab-catching season, lures several people to their deaths each year):






Today (my day off [nice to work two days, be off for four, then return for three!), I did a lot of errands both in Arcata and Eureka (including a trip to Costco [hoping to get a discount] for gas, which is running $4.09/gallon, only to realize I couldn't pay for it because I don't have an American Express Card; aargh! ). However, I was able to go for a run on the Hammond Trail, a five-mile trail from Arcata to McKinleyville voted the "best place to walk, jog, or bike in Humboldt County" (horseback riding is also permitted :)). The route parallels the ocean and you can sea many glimpses of the impressive sand dunes from the paved trail.

This is just the start of what I believe will be many great years of exploring. After this weekend, there are only 97 new things left for us to do in Humboldt County :)