Switchback Mountain

Wednesday, July 9 - After going through Redwood National Park on US-101 (which we had been on ALL down the Oregon coast), we were excited to hit the Pacific Coast Highway: California Highway 1. That meant that we were on the final stretch of the trip. Little did we know what we had coming in front of us... You have to go up and over the mountain before you get to the coast. It was definitely the toughest driving we had on the entire trip. The switchbacks as you go up and down the mountain are unbelievable. Many of the curves are marked as 15 mph, and they were not kidding. You REALLY have to go 15 mph. Not only are the roads narrow and winding, but huge trucks are on them too! This driving was not just exhausting, but it also made us a little bit green around the gills...

"Oh my god, another curve?" "I gotta open the window; I don't feel very good..."

"The air is smokey, I gotta close the window. It's giving me a headache."

"A 6% grade downhill? Gotta put the car in low gear."

"Oh my god, there's no guardrail. Don't look down."

We were so happy when we finally saw the ocean. We immediately got out of the car to get some fresh air.