Two days rest in Arcata and then I was back on the highway to head south on the 101. Arcata was a nice rest, its a town filled with hippies, lot rats and drifters but it was still clean and quaint, a little Nelson up the northern coast of California. I drove through the majestic Redwood forests, or whats left them, along the Avenue of the Giants, where a small 2 way road weaves through groves of these amazing tree’s where your so close to them at times you could reach out of the car window and touch them as you drive by. I drove through little towns dotted along the 101, beautiful country side with ranches and vineyards, the more mountainous parts of the northern 101 was turning into wider valleys and hotter temperatures. I had a destination today though, another place I had heard of from my friends for many years, Harbin Hot Springs. I finally made it and my god I found heaven again. The place is set up with beautiful hand crafted buildings for eating, sleeping, doing yoga and of course, soaking. The springs are open 24 hours a day so at anytime you get the inkling to go for a soak you can. Clothing is optional of course which means everyone is naked, moving in and out of the varying degree pools, steams and sauna’s and the cold dip. Most of the pools are silent so you just absorb the healing waters while listening to the crickets and looking up into the star filled sky. Surrounded by kindred spirits, seekers and lovers the energy and mood here is so peaceful and lovely, this place is the shit I have decided and will come back here again for a much longer stay than my brief 24 hours, but it was time for me again to hit the road. In a few short miles I ended up in Guerneville, a town relatively short drive from San Francisco but deep enough in the hills of Mendocino county to feel like your far away from it all. Vineyards are all the eyes can see but up in those hills, behind those endless fields of grapes lay the real cash crop, Ganja, state sanctioned medicine. I was here to see Dark Star Orchestra play in a sweet old movie theatre that at one time seen Jerry Garcia and John Kahn playing shows, so close to there homes and another 25 grand for some serious powder abuse. I was in heaven again as a writer, watching what seemed like the wild west, where the lead characters where endless in supply.. young dread heads and older weathered growers, all with tanned skin and huge spliffs hanging out of there mouths.. This region as is our community is ancient, its been around for a long time. Not to say its all easy street, I saw a lot of desperation and disfunction too, but it had, to my eyes, this frontier feel, this is California.. in its awesome beauty and harsh reality where the economic climate instills a fear that everyone here would rather forget with another ice cold Sierra Nevada, a dank spliff and some good old Grateful Dead music..
