Jedediah Redwoods State Park

Day 22:  We were so sad to leave our lovely campsite at Prairie Creek, but alas, our time had expired.  The boys played at the stream one last time while we packed up.  Good-bye, Prairie Creek Redwoods!

I forgot to mention this state park is the home to Roosevelt Elk!  They're everywhere!  This once endangered species is now moved off the list, thanks to the Elk Prairie Meadows in the park.

So, we drove the "Tic-Tac" (our new nickname for the Casita) up the Newton B. Drury Scenic Drive, and stopped along the drive to hike the Circle Trail to the Big Tree.

These trees are extremely resilient.  They can withstand fire, floods, anything that's thrown at them.  Even when cutdown, they grow saplings and new trees from their nutrient filled trunks and the cycle continues.

We continued our drive through the ancient forest and up the coast to our next Redwoods stop, Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, only 40 miles north.  Beautiful!

You have to drive through Crescent City to move from one park to another, so the boys were ecstatic when we spotted a Pizza Hut....lunch time!!!! (And we didn't have to cook or clean ANYTHING!). We filled up on pizza, hit the local Walmart for beer and milk, and within 10 minutes, we were at our we campsite!  

Each location seems better than the one before!!!  The boys unloaded their bikes and started riding the campsite loops, we hit the Visitor's Center for maps, and we set off for the river.

Yes, it's as beautiful as it looks.  The bridge was almost constructed to be able to walk from the campground to Stout Grove, but the Ranger said it wouldn't open until Saturday, so we returned to the "Tic-Tac" to air up our inner tubes (an adventure for tomorrow).  

We fixed a yummy dinner of steak, asparagus, and skillet potatoes, then were immediately swarmed by mosquitos.  We decided a night hike was just what we needed, so we drove the truck across the windy dirt road to Stout Grove.

This beautiful grove was completely different because it wasn't filled with Pine, Douglas Fur, and other small trees. It was ONLY Giants and fern ground cover.  REDWOOD GIANTS EVERYWHERE!  

We climbed, played, and hiked until the sun went down!

Too soon, the sun was down, so we returned to the Tic-Tac for our daily Uno games and hit the sack.  Tomorrow is our last day in the Redwoods.

Day 23:  Of the 3 campsites in the Redwoods, Jedediah Smith Is my favorite!  We definitely saved the best for last!  

We started off our morning with a family bike ride around the campsite, then a hike around Simpson-Rees Grove Trail.

We were on a quest to find Banana Slugs!

Go, TURBO, go!

We returned to the Casita for lunch, then hit the river!

Yes, us Texans always travel with 3 things:

Swim suits

Tubes

Beer!

Notice the men in the orange jumpsuits in the back.  California State Corrections Fire Squad and the California Rangers were teaming up to build the footbridge across to Stout Grove.  

We relaxed all afternoon at the river while we watched them build the bridge, and guess who were the first ones to cross it?! Yep, Cole and Carson...Curtis and I floated our tubes across.  Too soon the son was going down and a chill filled the air.  We returned to the Casita for warm showers, happy hour, and dinner, then Curtis and I went back for an evening hike across the bridge to Stout Grove.

What an incredible week in the Redwoods!  Today I am thankful for time....time with my family.