Days 4 & 5: Giants

The last two days have been spent taking in the wonders of the Redwood Forest.  Those are some big trees.  I have to be honest, as we were driving there I thought to myself "how impressive can these trees really be?  I've been out to La Push, I've seen big trees in Washington's rain forest."  Well, these my friends are not big trees.... these are Giants!


Day 4:   We left Crescent City, California, and began our trip into the Redwoods. 



Pacific Ocean just south of Crescent City, CA



Our first stop was on the north end of the Redwood Parks at the home of Paul Bunyan and his blue ox Babe.  There we took the Trees of Mystery Tour and rode the Sky Trail up through the redwoods to a great vantage spot high above.  It was a lot of fun and not scary, well, not too scary. 

Trees of Mystery Tour- views above the Redwoods



Leaving Paul and Babe, we stopped for lunch just a little south in a town called Klamath (there's not much to Klamath- but John said it was the best BLT -minus the T and mayo per his request- he'd ever had).  While we were there we drove through a big tree and thankfully, we didn't get stuck!



Barely squeezing through the tree in the van

 We continued on making it to Eureka, CA, about 4:00.  We learned Eureka means:  "I've found it" and it is California's state motto.  We arrived with just enough time to find an auto glass shop open to get a new chip in the windshield filled- ah, "Eureka!" we will always remember you and our $50 chip repair. 

We headed on south to Fortuna, CA, where we stayed for the evening and ate at the Eel River Brewing Company Tap Room and Grill.  Highly recommend this brewery if you are ever in this area of the country.  Erik said the beer was great and both he and my mom enjoyed the fish and chips which were dee-lish!


Day 5:  This morning we headed out of Fortuna, CA, and took the scenic road called the Avenue of the Giants.  We had a great time on a short hike at Founder's Grove which allowed us to get up close to some really big trees. 

To give you an idea of how big these trees really are: 
John, Sally and Flat Sam- still not at the top of the tree that had fallen on the ground.

Before we left the Redwoods we found a few more interesting places including  The One Log House which was(as the name says) a "house" carved completely out of one log.  It has wheels on it and traveled around the country on display prior to it's current location.  Now THAT is a cool RV!

Tonight we are in Ukiah, CA.  When I asked at hotel check-in how they pronounce the name of the town I was informed that it is the word haiku spelled backwards  Uh, interesting....but we are still not sure how to pronounce the name.  Any hoo.....We had a fabulous dinner at a restaurant called "Branches".  Another must stop if you are coming through this part of the country.

Tomorrow we are driving an hour south to visit two special places for the kids.  Here is a hint (since they won't see the blog before tomorrow).  Place #1 hint:  security blanket, beagle, Sally.  And place #2 hint: Ronald Regan's favorite snack, in a multitude of flavors.  Can you guess where we are going based on my hints?  Check back tomorrow and see if you were right. 

And, just to make it fun.....post a comment below with your guess on the two places we plan to visit tomorrow.  I will draw one name from the correct guesses and we will send that person a souvenir from tomorrow's second stop! (Be sure to post your guess before tomorrow night when I post the day's adventures.)