Best Of Humboldt -- Staff Picks | North Coast Journal

news story / By North Coast Journal Staff

Best Of Humboldt — Staff Picks

So even if you’re not based in Orick or thereabouts, go ahead and travel the extra miles. You will come back refreshed, enlivened, enchanted and a little bit wistful. Go, and bring a piece of Portland home with you.

— Hank Sims

BEST PLACE TO FIND SOLITUDE

For a relatively large county, geographically, we sure are a small town. You’re almost as likely to run into someone you know while hiking on a weekday as you are shopping at Wildberries on a Saturday.

Short of wandering into random woods (not recommended), finding solitude can be challenging. You could sequester yourself in the Rose Court Cottage, book a private sauna at Café Mokka or wander over the Wildcat range to see how Cape Mendocino’s holding up, but for the ultimate in introspection, book a float at Chumayo Spa. Chumayo is located on the other corner in Blue Lake — the one that’s not the Logger Bar or Dell’Arte or Stardough’s. Within the New Mexico-inspired décor lies the flotation tank, a magic place where the constraints of gravity, sound, light, touch and other people fall away. (120 H Street, Blue Lake)

— Jennifer Savage

BEST ETERNAL RESTING PLACE

Go to the end of Main Street, Ferndale — beyond the gingerbread sweetness of the Victorian Village’s mercantiles, antique shops and B&Bs — hang a left and there, through a foreboding wrought iron gateway, you’ll find a spectral hillside graveyard worthy of Edgar Allan Poe. Scattered amidst the tilted wooden crosses, unmarked graves and eroding granite tombstones you’ll find an odd array of baubles and remembrances, presumably left by loved ones — a garden of ceramic figurines bleached white by the sun; a rusted kerosene lantern surrounded by stones; fabric flowers turned gray and papery with time.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 NEXT PAGE >SHARE

NINE Comments

Comment / By jordan rollins / Sept. 10, 2009, 11:09 a.m.

i must say that i too love that jacob nunes from dutch bros. hes a keeper for sure!

Comment / By Tim Daniels / Sept. 10, 2009, 6:20 p.m.

I concur with the choice of best single-track. I think it’s some of the best single track trail in the country. Of course, my opinion is heavily biased.

Comment / By M’Aerie / Sept. 12, 2009, 12:19 p.m.

yes! Jacob Nunes from Dutch Bros is a wonderful young man and I so much enjoy his enthusiasm, his singing to the loud tunes, and his memory of what I like to order. He takes one look at me in the morning and knows if I want decaf or regular. What a darlin!

Comment / By Carol Ballard / Sept. 12, 2009, 7:09 p.m.

Where is the best reason to live here?

Comment / By Ryan Burns / Sept. 13, 2009, 5:44 p.m.

It’s in the readers’ picks section, Carol.

Comment / By Carol Ballard / Sept. 13, 2009, 9:27 p.m.

Thanks!

Comment / By BTP / Sept. 16, 2009, 6:58 a.m.

This was the most entertaining, funny, and interesting ‘best of’ i have ever seen! Well done! Thanks to NJC for trying to remind people why we all live and love here. I wish the Times-Standard would write like this….

Now, if only Mike Dronkers would call me and discuss how I can get paid to report on the happenings between Trinidad and Orick! Mike?

Comment / By Bill Moehnke / Sept. 18, 2009, 3:57 p.m.

Thanks Jennifer for proclaiming the library “Best place to be seen”! I would like to point out, however, that the library owns a copy of “Party girl”. You can check it out for a week with a valid library card.

Comment / By wendy / Jan. 5, 10:30 a.m.

Best Bar in eureka is The BOILER ROOM!!! Lots of booze, frendship and single people!

→ post a comment

on the cover

School Bus Breakdown

After near-miss, more yellow lights ahead as major cuts loom

editor

news story

Slow Skating

Raising cash for a skate park in Mack Town ain’t for quitters

the town dandy

media maven

savage money

mielke

Local Valentine

seven-o-heaven

Old Town Arcata

Will Plaza Point put the kibosh on Arcata whippersnapper shenanigans?

mailbox

A Relic’s Rant

Rail Worth Saving

Today

Label GMOs Signature Gathering Training

meetings / 4 p.m. Sun Yi's Academy of Tae Kwon Do, 1215 Giuntoli Lane, Arcata. Help gather valid signatures to get the 'California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act' on the 2012 ballot. E-mail northernhumboldtlabelgmos@hotmail.com. 223-0424.

Open Celtic Music Session

music / 3 p.m. Cafe Veritas/Mosgo's, 180 Westwood Center, Arcata. Informal monthly gathering of musicians playing Irish and other Celtic music. Hosted by Seabury Gould. seaburygould.com. 845-8167.

Nonviolence Action Camp

etc. / 10 a.m. Chinmaya Mission near Piercy. Weekend-long direct action orientation features workshops, role playing, seminars, ceremonies and field trips. Bring food, bedding, warm clothes, signs, banners, bikes, drums, acoustic instruments. Pre-register. saverichardsongrove.org. 932-5898.

Audubon Society Field Trip

outdoors / 9 a.m. Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge, 1020 Ranch Road, Loleta. Meet at Refuge Visitor Center off Hookton Road. Leisurely, two- to three-hour trip intended for people wanting to learn birds of Humboldt Bay area. 822-3613.