Sightseeing in Eureka

Well, we are beginning week 3 here in Eureka and are still awaiting our parts.  They are scheduled to be delivered tomorrow, but then work won't begin until Monday.  Hopefully, things will work out and we might be able to leave next week.  We are getting a little stir crazy stuck in the dealership parking lot.

We have been making the best of out time sightseeing around the area.

We took a cruise around Humboldt Bay on the Madaket.  This boat is 120 years old and was used as a ferry around Humboldt Bay.  

We are enjoying the cool temperatures.  It is usually around 58 when we get up in the morning and the highs are usually in the high 60's.  We're not getting a whole lot of sympathy from family and friends in Texas right now. :)

During the cruise we passed this Great Blue Heron in its breeding plumage.

Next was part of Samoa Island that one of the original settlers had built up for a dairy farm.

However, it was also a rookery for Great White Egrets and that is what it is today.

Lumber is this town's main revenue and this is a conveyer built for wood chips. The chips are blown into tankers.

We also saw these Brown Pelicans flying close to the water

and this Cormorant drying its feathers.  

We also passed this gigantic stack of logs that we were told are bound for China.

Table Bluff Lighthouse stands over the bay.

This is the Fisherman Statue that honors those "whom the sea sustained...and those it claimed." It was dedicated in 1981.

Downtown Eureka also has many charming Victorian buildings.

We liked this shop's name as well as the planter of flowers out front.

This is the Carson Mansion built in 1885 by a lumberman who wanted to keep his men busy during slow times.  It was built at a cost of $80,0000.  Today it is an exclusive club and unless you are a member you cannot go inside.

Across the street is The Pink Lady which was also built by William Carson for his son and new wife.

We have also discovered Samoa Cookhouse.  After driving the causeway across Humboldt Bay, we came to this big, red building built in 1893.  It is the last surviving lumber camp-style cookhouse in the West. 

Inside, there is a lumberjack museum that's pretty interesting.

Once seated, food is brought to you family style.  There are no choices.  Everyone is served the same meal.  The night we went the meal included vegetable soup, salad, fried chicken breast, roast beef and carrots, baked potato, homemade bread, and all of that was topped with a peach cake for dessert. It was really good and a unique dining experience.

We still have some more places to see, so stay tuned.