After following a semi-truck for an unknown number of miles on a two-lane road flush with traffic—so, not enough time or space to pass—accelerating onto U.S. Interstate 5 is an exhilarating feeling; two lanes going in one direction, a speed limit of 70 miles per hour, and traffic in the fast lane going 80 to 90 miles per hour.
As I turned off California State Highway 41, which at 6:30 p.m. on a Friday is probably as slow going as it gets, I could feel energy surge down from my hip and into my toes. I slammed that pedal down to the floor and went for it. “Woohoo!” I thought. Five miles later, I was back on a two-lane road, bumping along at a steady enough pace. Although this time, I was the only one on the road and would be for a while.
It’s the part of California that’s so flat, I could see the blinking red light of the stop sign that’s 19 miles away from the top of the Highway 5 overpass. I know what you’re thinking: This is a Daytripper, and it sounds like I’m heading for the middle of nowhere on a Friday night.
I kind of was, but I believe this is a trip that could be done in a very long day or stretched out into a relaxing weekend. It depends on what kind of time you have on your hands. Either way, driving through the flat, commercial, agricultural center of California is a perfect way to appreciate the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas, which is exactly where I was heading—a small town called Springville.
Springville calls itself the “Hidden Gateway” to the Giant Sequoia National Monument and Sequoia National Forest. As you climb into the foothills, you lose cell phone service and gain a view. The mountainsides are covered in green and the roadside is jacketed with fiddlenecks, which are little orange wildflowers that I wouldn’t recommend picking because they have little slivers all over them.
I have a couple of good friends who happen to live just outside of Springville, so I visit them from time to time. It’s only a three-hour drive from the Central Coast, and if you’re itching for some views that don’t include the ocean or shrub and chapparal habitat, like I often do, it’s not too far to go for some elevation gain and access to great hiking, camping, and backpacking.
To make a weekend out of it, you can camp or stay in Springville at a bed and breakfast such as the Great Energy Bed and Breakfast, where I’ve stayed before. It costs about $130 a night for access to a spa, pool, a homey atmosphere, and owner Michael Reed, who will point you in an off-the-beaten-path direction to all things Sequoia and feed you something healthy for breakfast.
I have to admit, I have yet to make it to Sequoia National Monument, and while that was the goal this last time around, my friend’s new, very cute baby boy kind of distracted me a bit, and, frankly, so did a trip down to the Hoot ‘n’ Holler in Terra Bella. It’s not a quick jaunt from Springville—it’s more like a 30-minute drive—but it came highly recommended and did not disappoint.
Drinks are cheap, they have live music on Saturday nights, and there were enough belt buckles, boots, and cowboy hats to put Santa Maria to shame. Of course, two-stepping and swing dancing was a must, or a must-see for those of us without the skills to partake, and everyone was so friendly, there was no shortage of new people to chat with. My one piece of advice if you’re heading out there is to call for directions rather than relying on Siri, because that little electronic voice misled us, and we got lost between Road 256 and Road 262, which are farther away from each other than you might think.
Terra Bella is also home to a couple of wineries. We checked out La Belle Winery, hidden in a big red barn that is flanked on all sides by orange groves. They have several different styles of wine, and I would say none of them quite compete with what’s available locally, but the winery often has live music in the evenings, and one of the owners, John Woodmansee, likes to chat, so he has a generous hand. He tasted us through all the wines while his big Labrador retriever hung out on the concrete floor.
However, if it’s a hike that snags your heart, then just continue past Springville on California State Highway 190 until you hit one of the Forest Service roads. There are a ton of them; you can pick one that’s closer to town, which is what I did, or head all the way into the monument. As you climb out of the foothills and out of the Central Valley, the vegetation gets more alpine-like, and snow is still visible on mountaintops. Don’t get too cocky on those windy roads, though, because apparently park rangers can pull you over for traffic violations you don’t even think about. For instance, I was pulled over for crossing the double yellow line, which was an offense I hadn’t realized I’d committed. Luckily, I didn’t get a ticket, just a warning.
Food choices are slim, but no trip to Springville would be complete without a pit stop at Cowpunchers, where I had a killer chicken-fried steak before I left town.
Check out the Springville Chamber of Commerce website for more town information, springville.ca.us/home and visit Sequoia National Forest’s site to learn more about recreation opportunities, fs.usda.gov/sequoia/.
Contact Staff Writer Camillia Lanham at clanham@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Mar 20-27, 2014.