For everyone who is eager to know exactly where Willits is located, well, here are some clues. Mapquest tells me that Ghirardelli Square, in San Francisco, is 2 hours and 25 minutes from Ardella's in Willits. And because you will have to travel through Santa Rosa to get there, you may want to add ten or twenty minutes to that estimate. Ukiah is the Mendocino County Seat - headquarters for the government of our county. Distances in the US are still measured in miles, so that's what the numbers stand for. Heading north, in the upper picture, my photo isn't so clear. (I know, I could have gotten in closer on these, but then you lose context. Click the images to enlarge them.) Laytonville is 22 miles away, Eureka (a fabulous town, in my opinion) is 132 miles north, going through some lovely redwood parks, with Crescent City way up there at 216 miles away. Now you know. Willits awaits you.
15 comments:
These beautiful shots really make me miss taking road trips up north!
I really like to visit Willits.I can say it is a dream of mine!
USA government do not give Visa easily to Iranian people.So it is just a dream for me to travel there,unfortunatly! :(
How did you come to be a resident of Willits?
I need to get away...
I can place it now from the realtionship to San Francisco.
Distances are so much further in the USA. Does that mean you only have one town within an hours drive, or are there others you didn't mention?
This is a beautifully framed photo. My road shots never look this classy!
Laurie - You really are very kind. If only all points along the way were this smooth and clean. This is where our generation's love of automobiles really grabs us most compulsively.
Sara - And you are very kind as well! I think my pictures will have to be a substitute. I like the opportunity to visit Mashhad through your pictures too.
PA - It's the only town in Mendocino county that would have me.
Kelly - A couple of my best road trips were in autumn. Pretty soon all the vineyards in southern Mendocino, and Sonoma and Napa, will be turning brilliant colors.
Ooops! More visitors while I was writing!
Mo - On some maps, you might only see San Francisco and Eureka, and this places us exactly half way.
Bursa - It takes about half an hour to drive to either Laytonville or Ukiah, and those are the nearest true towns to us. Calpella and unlisted Redwood Valley are a little closer than Ukiah, but are more dispersed rural homes with tiny village centers. But yes, it does demonstrate how widely spread we are compared to most places.
In the last 3 years or so I've gone from Vancouver to LA once by car and twice by train. By car I went US 1 all the way into Oregon.
By the looks of the map the Coast Starlight doesn't go through Willits but there does seem to be a rail line.
What I found most interesting, yes, I needed to be prodded in to looking up Willits on the map, was the rail line going from Willits to Fort Bragg. It has to be seen to be believed.
Is there passenger service on this line Elaine or is it mainly for the military?
Now that you mentioned Ghirardelli square in SF (of which I have fond memory of), I can imagine whereabout Willits is. Unfortunately you did not mention which direction it was ... :( - Is it north or south? :)
Anyway, I like the picture of this road and the sign - I think, it's the quintessential (?) American road. It brings a lot of memories of how convenient it is to drive through those roads.
I sort of liked not knowing exactly where Willits is. Sometimes, I don't really believe a place like that could exist! :)
I have very fond memories of camping around Willits when we still lived in CA. Love seeing your photos.
I'm going to Willits for biscuits and gravy. Who's up for a road trip?
Yes,Your pictures are like a trip to Willits,Thank you
Wayne - I've never done that all at once, but I did travel with my mom on a lingering road trip up the coast when I was ten. We actually got as far as Vancouver! I took the Coast Starlight to Santa Barbara and back a few times in the early 80s. It goes inland to Sacramento, then up the valley and over the Cascades. But! But! The Amtrak bus comes as far as the Willits train depot for people connecting to the train down in the East Bay area (Martinez, I think). Sadly, our north-south rail doesn't carry any traffic anymore. Low economic value and a lot of landslides to repair. If you go to my blog label list and hit the word "railroad" you'll see my previous posts and some explanations and links. The Skunk train runs on that route you see between Ft Bragg and Willits. Only the current owners don't run it all the way through. It's a tourist excursion that someday I'll get around to blogging here.
Eki A. - Click on the linked word "Mapquest" in my caption, then scroll down to the map. We are very much north, as you will see. ;^)
Halcyon - Ever since I read your comment (at work), I've had the theme of Brigadoon going through my head. I suppose some things are best left to the imagination. 8^) But I'm not making any of this stuff up! There are too many local readers who would set me straight if I did.
Sarah D - Wow! We'll still be here if you ever come back. 8^)
Susan C - That's the spirit! Ardella's is open Wednesday through Sunday, and accepts cash or checks, no plastic. The way I see it, you could organize the previously suggested bus, OR you could rig your convoy of vehicles with CB radios, and come up as a vast stream of enthusiasts, OR get really down home, and come up as a pack of bikers. Now THAT would blend in, yes ma'am. Even the king of Jordan went for that.
Sara - I think it's the best thing our blogs can do. 8^D
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