Winter is coming … but activities still abound. Get fired up in front of old outdoor hearths surrounded by ducks and redwoods. Fuel up where young royals dine and old whalers pick perfect crab. Or feast your eyes on Yurok art and color saturated murals. Afterward, two trip trifectas await. On the Humboldt State University […]
Humboldt Insider
Posted inStories
The Spirit of a Place
“You’re playing hooky today,” Jerry Rohde’s mom informed him one autumn morning when he was 12. They piled into her 1954 Ford sedan and headed into the San Bernardino Mountains to explore a historic Wild West village she visited when she was a girl. Set in a pine forest surrounded by steep cliffs and rocky […]
Posted inShopping
Out of the Past
Eureka’s historic Old Town is known for its beautiful Victorian architecture, independent bookshops and quirky locals. In recent years, several of Eureka’s lumbering old hotels and redwood office buildings have been restored, breathing fresh life into the city. Amid this makeover, the northern end of Eureka has quietly carved out space for high-end furniture and […]
Posted inSpecial Sections
Grazing
A sketch from the comedy show Portlandia mocks a food-aware couple at a farm-to-table restaurant who demand specifics about their chicken. Unsatisfied with the animal’s name and history, the couple asks the waiter to hold the order until they’ve visited the local farm that raised the animal. Far-fetched joke? In Humboldt County, the source of […]
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Perfect Summer Trips
Trees, trees, everywhere — and not just evergreens. Maple madness, a little known tradition in Humboldt, offers fall foliage and apple orchards bear the fruit of a festival and award-winning hard ciders. Feast your eyes on Eureka’s sculpture scene (which is looking up), a world record steer, Shakespeare in the redwoods, a rare lunar event […]
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The Old-Fashioned Way
The Back Porch 1380 Ninth St., Arcata Open Friday and Saturday, 10 am–5 pm or by appointment. Locals remember when you could go down to the old recycling center in Arcata and get a door, or an old sink, or some random wood for a project you dreamed up that morning. Well you can again, […]
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A Trip Back in Time
Sixty-five million years ago the Earth changed dramatically when a giant asteroid struck. A mass extinction ensued with dinosaurs disappearing as the planet warmed. Before the asteroid, conifers, like dinosaurs, ruled. Almost unimaginable forests of cone-bearing trees decorated the Earth with as many as 20,000 species, including nine different redwoods. With the global warming that […]
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Treat Yourself
If you stroll by between 7 am and noon, go around the side to the walk-up coffee window at Sweetness and Light, and you might get a peek at Matt and Tami Toste tempering chocolate or hand dipping the old-fashioned candies that fill the cases at this Ferndale institution. Inside, treat yourself to browsing the […]
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Farm to Glass
“You’re making this hard for me,” says a regular who’s sidled up to the standing-only bar that divides the small tasting room from the tap house at the Humboldt Regeneration Brewery. He came to get a growler filled, but with 28 unique beers on tap, and a small littering of empty tasters in front of […]
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Shopping the Farm Stands of the North Coast
The one place that’s closer to the source of our scrumptious North Coast fruits and vegetables than our fabulous farmers markets is the farms themselves. And fortunately for us, an increasing number of local farms have produce (and sometimes farm-raised meat) for sale to the public right on their farms. Some also offer pick-your-own, or […]
Posted inStories
On the Rise
In the buttery warm bakery air, plump loaves rest on cooling racks like hens in a coop. The back door is propped open to let the breeze in as three people work at a wooden slab table dusted in flour. With one eye on the clock, the bakers knead and form dough. “Deli rolls come […]