BodesWell

Couchsurfing in Trinidad

Posted on September 2, 2009 by jason7 Comments

We drove up through the sleepy tourist town of Ferndale and grabbed some lunch and looked around for a few minutes.  That’s about all there is to do there.  If you like charming Victorian storefronts and trinket shops, this is your place.   There’s a mini-farmer’s market, but you’re better-off hitting the one up the road in Arcata.

Arcata is a great little college town that we haven’t ever made it up to visit.  We have friends who went to school here years ago, so we knew it existed, but never had any good reason to drive all the way up to check it out.  A groovy little place with a downtown built around a well-manicured town square.  Lot’s of VW buses.  Lot’s of twenty-something neo-hippy kids lounging about, playing guitar, smoking dope and napping in the grass.  All is well with the world.

I was impressed with one guy who parked his bike/trailer/solar-cooker combo in front of the local Co-Op and spent his entire day espousing the benefits of solar cooking.  His own soapbox, I suppose, and a valiant cause.  He showed Bode and I how he cooked beans in an old stadium light housing (great focal properties… and free).  He also had Mylar-lined umbrellas and old satellite dishes and demonstrated igniting a piece of paper in just few seconds.   The beans would be ready in about an hour.

After a lazy afternoon, we headed a little farther north to Trinidad for the evening.  It was our first CouchSurfing.org experience as guests and it was a good one.  We always liked the idea (what are you doing with your empty guest-room?) and had hosted CouchSurfing travelers in the past and met some really great people, so now it was our turn to surf.   Our host was kind, shared some interesting conversations, and generously hosted us on short notice.  In the morning, we were treated to breakfast made with all locally-grown ingredients, including blueberry muffins made with grains freshly ground in her kitchen.  It just doesn’t get any fresher or tastier!

There isn’t much to Trinidad itself other than fog and a harbor, but it’s a naturally beautiful spot and was a place we would not have ordinarily visited.  We took a short hike out to the harbor and got to witness all the action on the first of a ten-day salmon season.  The word on the water was that there were no salmon out there.

Onward and upward to Oregon!

–currently headed towards Crater Lake and Bend–