Pacific NW here I come!
But first let’s start with Northern California.
Great flights to Sacramento with lovely seat mate, Carolyn, from Indiana returning to her hometown for friend’s funeral. She was wearing a head covering, and I asked if she was Mennonite. She belongs to a similar religious group, the Church of the Brethren. We chatted about family and travels and shared wry smiles about the man on her other side who was close to using her shoulder as a pillow while he snored!
I chatted with an interesting man waiting for our rental cars. He was decked out in a stunning camel cowboy hat with a leather and metal band and beautiful boots. I asked him if he was from Texas? “ Yes, Madam, I am”. I laughed and said I was so glad; I was afraid he would say he was from New York City or LA! He gave me a lesson on hat quality and discussed boots. Very informative...and his boots were crocodile skin!
I had a 4-hr drive which became 5-hrs due to construction delays to Garberville, CA. Even though it was early afternoon I was on east coast time w/ little sleep. Thank goodness for cat naps on both flights even if I did miss the drink cart! Breakfast was a muffin in Chicago, and I planned to find a light lunch along the way now. Beware when you travel; eat when you see food! After I turned off the CA interstate and headed west into the foothills, there was NOTHING!
I saw my first coastal redwood before reaching Garberville right by the road. Maybe I was just tired, but “Oh, my gosh” was my reaction. It became the first of many for two full days.
Redwood National Park has been on my bucket list, but I found that the California coastal redwoods are combined into a joint state and national park. Concerned citizens began saving groups of these giant trees in 1918 and donating them to a conservancy, Save the Redwoods League. Only 5% of the 2 million acres of redwoods remained after the logging industry decimated them in the 1800’s and early 1900’s. Many of the best groves were already in state parks before the national park was formed. Helpful contributors on Fodor’s travel site steered me in the right direction, or I would have missed the most impressive trees!
A nightly wine and cheese reception greeted me at my first hotel. Realizing I was more sleepy than hungry, dinner became cheese, crackers, salami and a glass of wine. It was a lovely welcome after a hard day of travel. Garberville has a cute little...I mean, 1-2 blocks...of downtown which invited a stroll but sleep now and an early morning start meant I would need to return.
Sleep was fleeting as I was up throughout the night w/ a GI bug. Not fun, but I kept thanking God it was now and not on the plane! Unfortunately, my toilet didn’t flush and in the middle of the night I hated to call maintenance! As the story unfolds, I finally got a plunger in the morning.
Thank goodness I didn’t have a roommate!
Breakfast was included, and now I was hungry! Biscuits and gravy and bacon... with yogurt for some good bacteria for my gut. Yes, I knew better than to eat greasy foods, but my last meal was leftovers cleaning out my frig before leaving town! Give me a break!
I also made two bacon biscuits for lunch, and grabbed two oatmeal packets for future breakfasts. I figured I had paid for two breakfasts so I just expanded my meal opportunities!
I was just south of an amazing....that word again....grove of trees called “The Avenue of the Giants”. Exiting Highway 101, I soon was surrounded by enormous redwoods right by the road each with a reflector so you won’t run into it. Duh, if you miss these get your eyes checked!
Accidents unfortunately happen, and with a speed limit of 45 mph, people were zipping by. I on the other hand was driving 30 mph because I was in awe! (Yes, boys, there are lots of turn-outs so people can pass the slow pokes like me.)
There is a quiet reverence in the forests of these giants which range from 500 to 2,000 years old. John Steinbeck said,”The redwoods once seen, leave a mark or create a vision that stays with you always...from them comes silence and awe.” “The most irreverent of men, in the presence of redwoods, goes under a spell of wonder and respect.”
Coastal redwoods which differ from the giant sequoias south near Yosemite National Park have been called “eternal” and are the tallest trees in the world. Their scientific name, sempervirens, means “ever-living”. They grow best in areas with heavy winter rains, moderate temperatures, under 2,000 ft in elevation, and climates that create banks of daily fog in the summers. They actually absorbed moisture from the fog through their leaves and needles accounting for 40% of their water intake.
Some interesting facts:
*The fibrous bark which may be a foot thick is filled with tannic acid making the trees resistant to disease, insects, rot and even fire.
*The root system supporting these trees which may reach 60 stories high is ONLY 6-12 feet deep. However, the network of roots extend for hundreds of yards intertwining with the roots of other trees. Talk about it takes a village!
*Tree diameters may reach 26 feet!
*Burls develop around the trees where clones of the original tree will sprout when the tree is stressed. These have a greater chance of survival rather than the tree from a seed.
*The pine cone is the size of an olive and the seed the size of a tomato seed. Who said size matters!
*If fire does destroy part of the tree at the base, it forms a hollow called a “goosepen” where animals and people can find shelter.
The Eel river runs nearby, and it is a beautiful bluish green. I was to find out later that this is due to the mineral and gives the water the lovely color.
I spent over 6 hours in this 32 mile stretch of redwoods. There were no ranger programs, but I hiked 3 short trails, toured the visitor’s center, napped under one redwood, and ate under another....in my car so no crumbs for the critters. I drove and walked and listened. The quiet is so deep I felt guilty for the car engine’s noise or the squeak from my shoes. I turned off the car’s radio since music seemed too foreign here. I wanted to commune with the trees. I figured they were older and wiser, and I wanted to learn from them.
Next stop, Trinidad, a quaint seaside town where I checked into a little cabin in the midst of a forest setting.
I try to save money on meals when I travel, but I definitely wanted dinner out tonight. The recommendation of the Trinidad Bay Eatery was a winner where I was tempted by fish and chips, cioppino, the seafood platter, fried clams. Oh my! None of it light but settled on a simple salad and “award winning” by their account, clam chowder.
The salad was beautiful and delicious and the clam chowder good but don’t know about awards. The blackberry cobbler was tasty, but the chef should mine! My only regret is I was leaving in the morning without another chance to try one of the other menu choices.
Hopped on Hwy 101 and 1 1/2 hrs later I was in Crescent City, CA. to start my tour of another redwood state park and the official Redwood National Park. I was warned at the Visitors Center to protect my valuables. I can take my purse in my daypack but what to do w/ 2 suitcases with everything I need for the next month? With my suv having no out-of-sight trunk, a helpful volunteer suggested tucking the suitcases behind the front seat to prevent a quick snatch and grab. I did more than tuck; I wedged my luggage tightly so a thief would hopefully be sufficiently discouraged. Of course, this meant I would also have to pull...and pull...and pull every stop, but my luggage was safe. Just like a vehicle chastity belt!
Jedediah Smith State Park is covered with trees, ferns, walking trails and a windy pot-holed dirt road where trees are so close you cannot open the car doors driving through. I don’t know the speed limit, but I was going 5-10 mph with frequent stops to listen. I kept expecting noise and sometimes you heard a distant bird but silence was dominant. Again, awe...wonder....reverence!
Driving through these friendly giants is wonderful but to really experience them you need to walk among them. I stretched my back bending backwards continually looking up...and up. The forest floored is carpeted with ferns and the footpaths are a blanket of fallen needles. It’s a great place for kids to run and yell and release energy, but I heard parents shushing them. They must have felt it too....reverence!
Between these two parks, I spent another day...me and the trees. While the oatmeal pack came in handy for breakfast, it wasn’t very good. I had stopped in Eureka at a Wal-Mart for supplies so lunch was peanut butter and jelly in the shade. I had to use my finger as a spoon; should have gotten one from the first breakfast buffet!
A final hike through the Stout Grove and time to leave the trees and head north to the Oregon coast.
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