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Redwoods NP, California

Wednesday, July 27th, 2011

July 6th-July 8th

We had a pretty long drive between Lassen Volcanic NP and the Redwoods NP on the northern California coast so we broke the day up with a couple of interesting stops. First, we stopped in Redding, a large town on the Sacramento River, to see the Sundial Bridge. The website describes it as a functional work of art, and that it is, with its enormous span made of steel, glass and granite. We tried to catch a glimpse of a river otter from the trail, but no luck. Our next stop was in the Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity Recreation Area, a big name for a big lake. We went for a swim with the ducks (yes, it was hot!) and picnicked there. Then we stopped in Weaverville, a charming little gold rush town, which was well decorated for the 4th of July.

After a long day (that started with a run), we finally arrived in Redwoods NP. It was a foggy 60 degrees when we stopped at the Kuchel Visitor’s Center in the southern part of the park. Just as we were parking, we saw a bear feeding in the meadow across the highway. We were in a hurry to get camping information before the center closed, so we missed out on getting a picture. There was little chance of getting a site in a public campground, so we chose a place near Klamath, California. We were surprised to have a private, wooded site for less money than the state parks. We were exhausted from the long drive, and finished the evening with a couple of beers.

The following morning, we started early so that we could fully take advantage of seeing these incredible trees. We took the scenic parkway to Elk Prairie where we saw Roosevelt elk grazing in the meadow. After chatting with a park ranger, we decided to do an 11-mile roundtrip hike to the coast. The hike took us through beautiful stands of Redwood trees, relatives to the Giant Sequoias but even taller. We gazed up through the dense canopy, awe-stricken, towards the tops of these mammoth trees. We finally arrived to the beach, a long stretch of white, sandy beach named Gold Bluffs after the gold they found there more than a century ago. We walked about a mile up the beach to catch another trail back through Fern Canyon. This lush green canyon feels like something directly out of J.R. Tolkien novel. We hopped across the river on strategic logs until we picked up the main trail which we followed back to Elk Prairie. It was both exhausting and rewarding. On the drive back to the campground, we saw a crowd of people gathered on the side of a small bridge over Klamath River. We stopped and watched for a moment, not understanding what the excitement was about. Then we saw a gray whale and her calf surface. Apparently, they had swum through the channel a week before and were having difficulties getting back out to the ocean. Though we were delighted to have a chance to watch such magnificent creatures, I truly hope they found a safe and effective solution to putting them back on course. We passed our campground and took the coastal road for a couple of miles which had some beautiful views of the Klamath channel and coastline before heading back to the campground and resting our weary bodies.

Our final morning in the park we woke up to the omnipresent fog. We took a hot shower, packed up and started the drive with a scenic lookout over the ocean. It was cloaked in such a thick fog, we could barely make out what was 20 feet in front of us. We hoped that the sun would break through for our drive up the Oregon Coast. Our last stop was in Jedediah Smith State Park at the famous Stout Grove. The drive to get there was on a narrow dirt road and we encountered several vehicles that were having trouble navigating it. We did a short interpretative trail though this grove of giants which left us with a feeling of awe and admiration for the mighty Redwoods.

Next destination: the Oregon Coast and Coos Bay

Lassen Volcanic NP, California

Wednesday, July 27th, 2011

July 4th– July 6th

On Monday morning, the 4th of July, after breakfast and saying our good-byes to our wonderful hosts, we took the scenic highway 89 three hours north to Lassen Volcanic Park. We were expecting hot weather and lots of mosquitoes, so to our surprise we arrived late in the afternoon in a campground still covered in snow. In fact the road was only open several miles into the park- they were still plowing the road near the summit for summer visitors. It was too late in the day to change our plan, so we set up camp (the air temperature was reasonable- around 70 degrees.) I took a spill trying to climb a small snow bank with the ice chest and skinned up my knees- that’s what you get for wearing shorts and sandals in the snow and then we spent a cozy night in the shadow of Lassen Peak. On this end of the park, there were a couple of interesting things to visit, including the Sulphur Works, where you find smoking fumaroles and bubbling puddles of mud. We also hiked up the closed road for a view of a 20ft snow bank and Lake Helen which was just starting to melt. The melting water was a breathtaking light turquoise color.

As our options were limited on that side of the park, we drove to the western entrance at Manzanita Lake on Tuesday. It was warming, and the campground was in a pleasant location next to the lake. After visiting the small visitor center, which had some fascinating pictures taken of Lassen Volcano’s last eruption in 1915, we took the scenic road to views of the Desolated Area, the area that had been wiped out after the eruption. There were numerous “hot rocks,” or rocks that had been scattered for miles throughout the recovering forests. Later in the afternoon, we took our kayaks out on to Manzanita Lake. We saw lots of geese and a muskrat in the lake along with some incredible views of Lassen Peak. It was actually warm enough to go for a little swim. We finished this beautiful day with a nature walk around another nearby lake and lagoon area where we finally found the mosquitoes we’d been expecting.

I woke up early on Wednesday morning feeling refreshed and motivated, so I went for a run around the lake. It was a great way to start the morning- with a couple of deer sightings. I got back to camp where Fabien had breakfast waiting. Then I took advantage of the pa y shower before we finished packing up and left the park for our next destination…Redwoods National Park.

Lake Tahoe, CA: Paradise in the Sierra Nevada

Tuesday, July 19th, 2011
June 26th- July 4th After a good long night of sleep, we woke ready to head up to Lake Tahoe to see our good friends, Angie (who we met in Prague) and Mike. We started the morning with a quick visit ... [Continue reading this entry]

Yosemite National Park, CA

Tuesday, July 19th, 2011
June 24th-June 25th We had tried to reserve a campsite in Yosemite but everything had been booked for months. I half expected to find camp site reservations on Ebay for astronomical prices- it’s that popular! Nevertheless, it’s not a park to ... [Continue reading this entry]

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, CA

Monday, June 27th, 2011
June 19th- 23rd After recovering our car from the parking garage where it had spent almost a week, we left San Francisco to return southeast towards the Sierra Nevada mountain range to visit two great parks: Sequoia and Yosemite. The first ... [Continue reading this entry]

San Francisco Reunion

Monday, June 27th, 2011
June 14th- June 18th When we got to San Francisco Tuesday afternoon it was a beautiful sunny day. We drove to Lynduh’s, one of my good friends from B.U. who convinced me to move to San Francisco after college and then ... [Continue reading this entry]

Pacific Coast Highway: Santa Barbara to Monterey, CA

Monday, June 27th, 2011
June 9th-June 13th When we left L.A., it was foggy along the coast and a little bit chilly. This is what the southern Californians call the “June Gloom.” The warm summer air meets the cold Pacific Ocean and creates a thick ... [Continue reading this entry]

Welcome to Los Angeles, California

Monday, June 27th, 2011
June 4th -9th It took about four hours to drive from Death Valley to L.A., and the first two hours we didn’t see a sole, let alone a gas station. Then, in an instant, we went from the middle of nowhere ... [Continue reading this entry]

Death Valley National Park, California

Tuesday, June 14th, 2011
June 2nd- 4th The stretch of land between Las Vegas and Death Valley was barren and unexciting. We did pass through the Nevada border town where we saw an onslaught of advertising for massage parlors and modern day brothels. Prostitution must ... [Continue reading this entry]