Redwoods

We made it to the campground right around 6pm and discovered that we were the only ones camping in the tent sites, and there were only a few other people using the RV sites... Benefits of visiting during off-season: total peace & quiet!

We went across the street to the local mini-market to pick up some supplies, and discovered one of the downfalls of visiting during the off-season: the shelves were practically empty! So we bought an $8 pack of hot dogs, a loaf of bread, some pre-packaged deli meat & cheese, and a bag of grapes (probably the best find out of everything else!)... At least the store had little to-go packets of ketchup so we wouldn't have to buy the giant bottle that was all they had!

Then we headed back to the campsite to set up our tent in the dark, since sunset is around 6:30 now... Major accomplishment for the day: getting the fire started with only the logs from the bundle of firewood we bought, some newspaper, a few rotten sticks we found in the woods, and a couple of matches! And I didn't even go to boyscouts! So once the fire was going nicely, we cooked our hot dogs on sticks, and then enjoyed a few s'mores for dessert. Ah yes, camping at its best!

Camping at its worst came the next morning, when we awoke shivering in our sleeping bags, stiff from head to toe from the hard ground, and everything that wasn't in the jeep overnight was damp and cold as well. But after getting up and getting dressed in many layers, we were ready to explore. The nice old lady who runs the campground with her husband gave us a hand-made map of the area and all the points of interest that we should check out. So we started off with a trip to the tour-through-tree, where we got to drive the jeep through an enormous redwood! Apparently, there aren't many trees left that you can drive through anymore, because they have either fallen over (I wonder why? Maybe something to do with the fact that 3/4 of their roots have been hacked out so cars can fit through?), or the owners have stopped letting people onto their property to drive through their tree...

Next, we took the coastal drive, where we would supposedly get a nice view of the ocean at over 1000 ft above sea level. However, once we got to the cliff-edge, all we could see was a mass of thick, white fog! It was still pretty cool, because it really felt like we were standing at the edge of the world and that there was nothing beyond, just endless white. The fog was so dense that we could barely even hear the ocean crashing on the rocks below, so it really felt other-worldly, like we were in this little bubble with the dense forest behind us, populated by giant, prehistoric trees, and then absolute nothingness in front of us. Pretty strange and like nothing I've ever seen before.

Toward the end of the drive, we were further inland, and driving through the national park, where we saw monster trees, one after another. There was one that had been cut down, and lay with its cut end facing the road, so I decided it was time for a little climbing... I don't think pictures can really show just how huge these trees are, especially because you can never fit the whole thing in one picture, and up against the other trees, there is really no scale reference. That is, until a person stands next to one...

We had originally planned to go hiking that day, but we got kind of a late start (didn't leave the campground until almost 1!), and by the time we got to the good trails, it was after 3, with sunset quickly approaching. And aside from all of that, we were pretty exhausted from a terrible night's sleep and the 7-hour drive from the previous day. So we decided to drive up to Crescent City to pick up a few things that we discovered we needed, and to try to find firewood that cost less than $6/bundle.

We arrived back at the campsite after dark and took nice, long, hot showers to warm up our bodies, and bundled up in warm pajamas, wool socks, thick sweatshirts and gloves- we were determined not to get cold again! And then we relaxed by the warm fire for s'more s'mores!

Although we didn't get cold, we were still stiff and uncomfortable on the hard ground, so after we woke up, we decided to go hiking to loosen up our muscles a little. We hiked to the Lady Bird Johnson redwood grove, which was about 1 mile, and played hide-and-seek among the old trees with hollowed-out bases. Then we went over to the national park to see the Big Tree and we found another trail to hike. The Big Tree is a giant redwood that measures 287 ft tall, 23.7 ft in diameter, 68 ft in circumference, and is estimated to be approximately 1500 years old! The trail we took wound around the foothills of the forest near the Big Tree, and was about 3 miles from start to finish. After the hike, we ate lunch under the big tree and then headed back to the campground. On the way, we spotted some wild elk that were right on the edge of the road, and despite the signs warning people to stay away, there were crowds of people standing outside their vehicles, merely 20 feet or so away from the wild animals! Maybe I'm a chicken, or maybe I've heard too many stories, but I kept a safe distance and stayed INside the car, because I was not about to get gored by an angry, territorial bull following his natural instinct to protect his women!

When we got back to the campsite, we decided that we did not want to spend another night on the cold, hard ground, so we packed up, checked out, and headed north to Portland, stopping at Starbucks in Crescent City to find a place to stay. By way of persistence and excellent negotiating skills, I was able to book a room with 2 beds at the Days Inn in Portland for only $45/night! The best online deal I could find was $47/night for a room with only 1 bed, so after calling the hotel directly, I was able to talk the price down and the accommodations up... Not to mention the place also has a spa with a sauna & a hot tub, AND a complimentary breakfast!

So we hit the road, taking rte. 5 north to Portland. Little did we know, but the majority of the ride was spent winding around narrow mountain roads that had no street lights and in a distance of 10 miles, I had to turn the hi-beams on and off over 20 times!! So when we finally hit the interstate, we actually sighed a breath of relief. The second breath of relief came when we found a gas station, since there were none along the winding mountain roads, and by the time we got to the first one for miles, the gas tank was empty and our bladders were full! As I hopped out of the jeep to pump the gas, I was quite startled to turn around and see a young man taking the gas cap off and reaching for the pump... Turns out Oregon is just like New Jersey- all the stations are full service, and he even cleaned the bugs off the windshield for us! By the way- are you supposed to tip those guys?