Redwoods National and State Parks

Day 18 - We have 7 nights here in the Redwoods, but the state parks and national park are scattered along the north coast of California, so we only have this campsite for one night. We relaxed all morning, went for a run through the Nature Trail and turned in our completed Jr. ranger booklet for a poster, certificate, and patch!

The whole reason for staying at Humboldt Redwoods State Park was so we could drive the Beautiful Avenue of the Giants!  This drive is labeled as the most scenic drive in North America and it did not disappoint.  We hitched up the Casita and slowly headed to our next Redwoods stop only 90 miles north, but first we stopped along the famous drive to admire the Giants and hike at Founder's Grove.  Check out the Dyerville Giant!  Huge!!!  It fell in 1994!

We accidentally hiked it backwards, but we eventually found the Founder's Tree.  Amazing!!!

We loaded back into the truck and strolled up the Avenue of the Giants to our hiking venture to the Grieg-French-Bell Loop.  

You're literally hiking through a rainforest. The ferns and clovers on the floor below the Giants and incredible and lush...just beware of Poison Oak...leaves of 3, let it be.

One might ask how we plan a trip like this.  Once my family picks their Floathouse dates, it starts with a map of the USA, and a "we need to get from Texas on June 3rd (last day of school) to the Floathouse in Coeur d'Alene Idaho by...'this date' (July 4th)...do you want to go to Grandpa's in Albany before or after the Floathouse, and where do you want to go on the way?"  From the locations, we choose dates and number of nights to stay, research campgrounds, specific campsites, and make our reservations exactly 6 months to the date before each stopping place....this gets very tedious around December and January, but I only made one mistake with reservations this trip 👍 (thankfully I caught it around February and we still managed to reserve a spot).  The summer is set and reservations are pretty much completed by January 31.  

We spend the next 4 months researching our locations, and by the time we're ready to go, we have a daily itinerary with grocery and laundry built in (which we seldom stick to, but at least have an idea), directions and reservations printed, and a meal planner.  Crazy?  Yes!  But if you've never visited a National Park, and just say "hmmm, let's go to Yellowstone"... you arrive with a "now what?" feeling.  It takes a lot of maps, driving, and Visitor Center chats with the Rangers or else you may miss something spectacular.  Thankfully, Curtis and I have stocked up on books of the National Parks, Secrets of the National Parks, etc. so when we arrive we avoid the "now what?!" Feeling.  This is the time in our planning where the fun begins...reading and learning about the history and facts on each of our destinations!!!  School ends, we load up the Casita, and we're off on our adventure!

Back to the Redwoods...we finished our stroll of the Avenue of the Giants and drove north another hour on 101 to Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park.  I was super excited about this stop for a number of reasons:

1.  We visited this area 3 summers before, but stayed in a 3 bedroom/2bath cabin at a whopping $300 a night instead of $15 for our campsite.

2.  The closest Campground to the Redwoods National Park.

3.  Hiking distance to the California coast

4.  4 WHOLE NIGHTS IN THE SAME CAMPSITE!!!!  We haven't spent 4 nights in the same place since we were in my house in Frisco, Texas!

We pulled up and our campsite was perfect!  Curtis and I drove through here 3 summers ago and said, "when we come back, we'll stay here."  And we made it!!!  Our site was nestled in the trees, backing up to a little flowing river and next to the Revolution Loop Nature Trail.  It felt as though we were the only ones in the forest.  The boys immediately put on their sandals and headed for the river.

We have arrived!!!!

Day 19:  This turned out to be quite an interesting day.  We started with a bike ride then hike down the Revolution Trail to the Visitor Center for Jr. Ranger Swear in!  The boys worked on their booklet for an hour the night before.

The ranger told us we were in luck....today, Sunday, June 26th was the "Centennial Celebration at the Redwoods for the National Parks"!  John Muir's Great-Grandson was speaking, a plaque was being presented, and there was a special Jr. Ranger program planned. We were in!!!

We pulled up and it was a small festival of sorts, but we made the most of it.

We even were able to use traditional tools to saw our own Redwood plate.

Soon enough it was time for the Jr.Ranger program, then the boys were awarded with a very special "100th birthday" Ranger Badge! The boys have quite a collection now....9 badges on this trip so far!  In 19 days, that may be some sort of record!

After the presentation, we hiked up to the new Centennial Tree and were ready to go back to the campsite.  We were greeted at the campsite by a herd of Roosevelt Elk.

We finished our evening with play at the river, campfire, smores, and a few games of Uno.  Fun times for all!

Day 20:  Wow, it's beautiful here!  We started our day with a 5 mile run/bike up the Davidson Trail and returned to the boys up, dressed, and ready to go!  👍. (Let's hope this trend continues when school starts.). We loaded up the truck and headed for the 10:00 Ranger Walk at Lady Bird Johnson Grove.

The picture does not do it justice.  The whole world was sparkling as the sunlight brushed through the trees.

 

Our Ranger was so informative.  This was the best Ranger Talk we'd been to all summer!  We learned about the trees, the ground floor, second growth, the lychen on the tree tops, the effects of the ocean breeze and humans on the trees, and all the and berries that grow in Lady Bird Johnson Grove.  Awesome!  I highly recommend it!  He said he was even featured on the National Parks YouTube channel.  Search "Ranger Minute Redwoods"!

This area may not have the biggest trees we've seen in the Redwoods, but the most beautiful flowers grow here in Lady Bird Johnson Grove....the perfect grove to honor everything she did to preserve the beauty of the earth. Especially for our dear state of Texas.

I know my sister, Sarah, will enjoy these!

Too soon our Ranger talk was over and we left the beloved Lady Bird Johnson Grove.

We went back to the Casita, are a quick lunch, and then it was BEACH TIME!  Today and tomorrow are the only two days we have on the California Coast and we wanted to make the most of it.  Curtis and Cole decided they were going to take the what we thought was 5.3 mile bike trail while Carson and I drove the truck up the bumpy dirt road.  It was a race to the beach!

I started getting nervous for them as I drove the truck up a steep dirt hill into the forest.  We had no cell phone service, they forgot the walkie talkies...bears...you know, the normal Mommy nerves.  When I pulled up to Gold Bluff's Beach Ranger Station I asked nervously if he'd seen my husband and son...."Yes!  They just rode through!"  I double checked...."two green bikes?"...."Yep, that's them!"  HALLELUJAH!  They weren't eaten by a bear!  We finally caught them another mile in!

What they thought was 5 miles out an old road turned trail turned into a 10 mile single track mountain bike trail on the cliff.  Cole said it was the hardest ride of his life!  Eek!  (We won't be doing that again). We hit the little muddy walk/trail out for the beach.

And sat!

The weather was amazing!  It was absolutely still....no wind at all!  Eerily calm....I've never seen the coast this calm.  We enjoyed the watermelon and Modelo I brought for a snack and chilled at the beach for 4 hours!

Does this strange foggy beach look familiar?  Fern canyon is where John Lucas filmed the Ewok scenes in Return of the Jedi.  Too soon it was almost 6:00, so we hiked back, showered a freezing no hot water ice shower in the park, fixed burgers, and hit the shack.  Tomorrow is another beautiful and magical day in the Redwood forest!

Day 21:  We've really started to learn how to relax here in the Redwoods...conditioning the boys for the relaxation at the Floathouse.  We started our morning sleeping in until 9 (that's 11:00 am Texas Time) just hanging around the Casita reading.  I packed pb&j lunches and we headed for a full day at Gold Bluff's Beach.

We played in the sand, chased the water, made a sand castle, took naps, and spent the whole wonderful day by the coast!

We tried to dust off the sticky sand, and took the windy road back to the campsite (no bikes today).  After showers, it was time for tricks and showing off on their bikes while we cooked dinner.

Eek!!!  Scared Mommy!!!!  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIyFuBnmOn8

Tomorrow, we pack up and head north to Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park.  It has been a glorious stay in this incredible National Park!