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| Essi taking in the big trees |
Monday, October 24 , 2022
Continuing down Hwy 101, we crossed into California (where we could pump our own gas again) after a brief stop at the border. It's still the U.S., but there was a border stop. hmmm... Is California planning something we don't know about? :-) We were allowed to keep our apples and we were glad Indiana wasn't on the watch list... for some contaminate or other.
We arrived at Redwood National Park. And State Park. It's the only national park that is also a state park. They share, and seem to do that very nicely. We had no idea how we would be affected by these giants. We'd seen trees, right? We live in trees. We have a dawn redwood in our yard. We knew we'd see tall trees. Well, silly we. Again.
Being inside a forest of ancient trees took our breath away. There are several types of redwood trees that flourish on the Pacific Coast. But one type, the Coast Redwoods, have been diminished greatly. Less than 5% of the old growth coastal redwood forest remains.
We spent a night camped in the forest in the northern section of the park: The Jedediah Smith park.
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| the little white turtle tucked in among the giant trees |
We left early again to drive the Howland Hill Road. Our ranger friend told us it is the best up-close vehicle access to old growth redwoods. She assured us our turtle would fit. It was a gravel, one-lane, winding, enchanting drive. We took our time and had it to ourselves but for one maintenance truck, and two cars coming from the other direction. One continued on, the other stopped and we oo-ed and ahh-ed together for a few minutes. Because we were alone, the 10 mile-road took us about an hour. It was a holy experience.
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| that's the road - we could reach out and touch the trees |
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| twisty-turny path in the forest - so cool |
Most people know Redwood NP as home to the tallest trees on Earth. But the
Parks also protect vast prairies, oak woodlands, wild rivers, and 40
miles of rugged coastline.
We drove south into the southern section of the park - in the Prairie Creek area. We visited Big Tree, but after our time on Howland Hill Road, we didn't want to contaminate the pictures in our head with other less pristine memories.
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| Big Tree facts |
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| Jerry taking a photo of Big Tree |
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| Jerry's photo of Big Tree |
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| my favorite sign. maybe ever |
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