Trinidad, a hidden gem

Bet you’ve never been to Trinidad. You’re probably thinking I mean the island off the coast of Venezuela, but I’m not. I’m talking about the small hamlet in Northern California. If you’ve traveled the 101, twenty-three miles north of Eureka, you’ve probably zoomed on by, ignoring the billboards that say “Discover Trinidad.” It’s easy to do; Trinidad is well hidden behind the trees. I ignored the signs until one day I took the off ramp and wow! There sat a funky little village, just the bare necessities, overlooking a beautiful bay.
    Trinidad has two rather famous distinctions: it’s the smallest, oldest, most westerly California town and in 1914 the lighthouse, not the replica shown here, but the one that sits on Trinidad Head, was struck by the highest wave ever recorded on the West Coast. It was the result of an unusually high tide coupled with the force of a violent winter storm. The wave shot up the face of the bluff and literally fell onto the top of the lighthouse, which stood 196 feet above sea level. It burst through the windows and snuffed out the light just as the light keeper was busy working in the lantern room. Can you imagine the look on his face as he turned and saw what he described as “a sea of unusual height?” There was no permanent damage to the building or the light and the keeper had everything back in service several hours later...after changing his shorts, no doubt.
    We love to camp a few miles north of town. Our favorite site is at the edge of a slope overlooking the ocean. In front of us are large bushes, ferns and ivy-covered trees; it’s like being in a tree house. A short distance from shore we can see several rock formations. On one of them a group of sea lions is usually doing their basking routine. They talk to each other most of the time and their barking can be heard quite clearly. They do stop once in a while, probably to rest their vocal cords or maybe to pause and scratch an itchy place. I wonder if they ever think about the noises coming from land? Nah, their thoughts are all about food, rank, sex, and who’s trying to eat me? And then there are the “words” of the big males, “Hey, you quit messing with my ladies.”
    It is great fun relaxing in our “tree house” listening to the barking seals. Trinidad is definitely one of those places that I have placed on my “Come-Back-To” list.