After we left Humboldt County, CA and the redwoods in the state parks, we headed north to the National Redwood park where we camped 2 nights before heading up the Oregon coast. The National park did not disappoint us. We took several hikes among the Redwoods, camped at Jedediah Smith State Park for a couple of nights, and had hot showers (rare commodity in some CA state parks). Due to the state's long standing drought, water is not available at many of the state parks. Yet here among the Redwoods where the normal WINTER rainfall is 100" there seems to be plenty of water. The trees drip moss, lichens, and fungi, ferns abound and salamanders, snails and frogs are plentiful. It rained the day we arrived and poured all night, and by the time we left, I was glad to head north in search of sunshine in Oregon. So far it's been cloudy in Oregon, but at least not wet.
4/26-4/30/2016 After we left Humboldt County, CA and the redwoods in the state parks, we headed north to the National Redwood park where we camped 2 nights before heading up the Oregon coast. The National park did not disappoint us. We took several hikes among the Redwoods, camped at Jedediah Smith State Park for a couple of nights, and had hot showers (rare commodity in some CA state parks). Due to the state's long standing drought, water is not available at many of the state parks. Yet here among the Redwoods where the normal WINTER rainfall is 100" there seems to be plenty of water. The trees drip moss, lichens, and fungi, ferns abound and salamanders, snails and frogs are plentiful. It rained the day we arrived and poured all night, and by the time we left, I was glad to head north in search of sunshine in Oregon. So far it's been cloudy in Oregon, but at least not wet. We chose to stay at Sunset Bay state park on Cape Arago, OR, and it's a nice little park a half mile from the Pacific. Whereas CA parks are the most expensive of state parks we've found (of 15 states so far) for fewer amenities, other campers have raved about Oregon's. In CA $35/ night will get you a place to park and a fire pit, but usually no shower, electricity, or water. (There may be a vault toilet or port-a-potty.) Some parks at that price will have PAY showers which can cost an additional $1-3.00 for a 4-10 minute shower; quarters only and bring them because they don't make change! We have discovered that for the most part, we only need 5-8:00 showers. So this of course is not expensive, but it is inconvenient - especially if you have no quarters which has happened to us. In comparison, Oregon charges between $18-28 for campsites with electric, water, free hot showers (for as long as you like), and the parks are in really nice shape. I must say that the last CA park (Jedediah Smith) had a brand new shower facility with new tile, large areas for changing, and heat was pumped in, BUT we had to have quarters and were limited to 12 minutes. In Oregon at Sunset Bay we got a hot shower - no time limit, but no heat pumped in, and the facility was years old. We paid $26, and we had a very private site (and extremely quiet this time of year) with water and electric. There is no dump station, but we can take care of that at our next park. AND where CA does not allow dogs on most trails, Oregon does and publishes a pamphlet outlining which parks have dog friendly trails. The other thing I liked about Sunset Bay in Oregon is that we were a short 2-mile bike ride from Simpson Reef. Here you can watch California Sea Lions, Stellar Sea Lions, Harbor Seals and even some Elephant Seals haul out on the rocks and beach or see the seals play in the surf while you whale watch from the bluffs above. This time of year, the Harbor Seals are pupping, and the sea lions haul out to rest during this non breeding season. There are 2 species of Sea Lions here: California and Stellar. The male California Sea Lions (chocolate brown in color when dry) haul out to rest on their journey from British Columbia to California where they will breed this summer; they will return again in great numbers in the Fall. The Stellar Sea Lions are the largest sea lions and are light sandy brown in color. They will breed in Oregon this summer but not here on Cape Arago. They haul out here during the non-breeding season. When you arrive at the overlook above Simpson Reef, you may have trouble seeing the sea lions without binoculars, but there is little chance you won't hear them. The barking is a dead give -away, and we rode our bikes 2 miles north of the reef and could still hear barking. The only animals here that are making that sound are the California Sea Lions. I can only imagine how cacophonous it must be here in the Fall when there are 1,500-2000 males! Along the coast on our bike ride lies the Shore Acres Garden state park. Here in the early 1900's Mr. Simpson and his wife built a mansion by the sea and had a beautiful English garden installed. We strolled through and saw brilliant rhododendrons in full color, many, many varieties of roses (some in bloom), daffodils and iris and lots of plants we didn't recognize. Sadly, we are a week too early since next weekend they will have Shakespeare in the Park which would be wonderful to see amidst the blossoms. Next week, we have to be in Coburg, OR for an RV service call and will be working our way to Washington state afterwards. But this is a lovely place, and I'm glad we got to see the marine wildlife and gardens. Thank you both California and Oregon for preserving critical habitat for wildlife and recreation areas for us two-legged critters.
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Yesterday we walked through a grove of some of the oldest trees on the planet - California Redwoods -and it was a humbling experience. These majestic giants are over 2200 years old and so tall, it's' nearly impossible to see the crown of one in the woods. My photographs can't capture the whole tree, and even video with sound and movement doesn't do the trees justice. I was awestruck, and being near them took my breath away. Like trying to describe the Grand Canyon, superlatives just can't faithfully express how grand and wonderful the trees are. Walking among the gentle giants is a must. We walked by Giant Tree which measures 363' tall with a circumference of 53.2'. Taller than the Statue of Liberty, these are the tallest living organisms on Earth! The sounds of the creaking branches swaying in the breeze combined with the beautiful bird songs provided an interesting soundtrack to our walk. We passed felled trees and wondered what it must sound like when one comes crashing down and why are so many still standing? The reason they have survived here is they are protected from fierce Pacific storms by the King Mountains to the west. By reducing their exposure to powerful winds, the Redwoods here can put more energy into growing taller instead of re-growing broken tops. Another factor that makes these trees survive is they have 3 times the chromosomes other trees have, allowing them to withstand wind, fire, and floods. We came first to the state park in Humboldt County which is 100 miles south of the National park. The Avenue of the Giants is a 32-mile road that winds through the park with pull- offs and hiking trails - many mark a place of interest - i.e. Giant Tree, Founders Tree or Rockefeller's Forest (John D Rockefeller gave a million dollars to help preserve these trees before there was a National or state park). The state park encompasses 17,000 acres of old-growth coast redwoods, the largest remaining one in the world. Just off of the Ave of the Giants and heading west is Mattole Rd. It's a rough road with crazy potholes to dodge that winds up and over the mountains - you wouldn't want to take an RV. We took this road 45 miles which took about 2 hours and found ourselves on the Lost Coast. It is spectacular! The surf was roaring with fury, pounding on rocks and churning up sand after a night of rain. There was no one there, and the wildflowers were a profusion of yellow. We followed the road north up the coast, and it began to ascend steeply into the King Mountains where cattle grazed the emerald green pastures...stunning views. Eventually the mountains take you away from the coast and you wind down to a town (Ferndale). Main Street is dotted with pastel colored homes with wrap-around porches, cupolas, trellises and bursts of colorful flowers everywhere. (Oh, and the American Pie Comp. has a deli here.) Rather than turn around and dodge the potholes on a long journey home, you can join Hwy 101 and head south where you came from, making it a quick journey home. In our case, home is the Ancient Redwoods RV park near Redcrest. We had planned to stay in the state park at Burlington Campground, but when we arrived were told our rig was too big. The RV park is clean, neat, quiet and has hook-ups which is a bonus since the park does not offer water or electric and is only about $4 less. There's no cell service, but for a change we have WIFI so we can watch the news (day old) on the IPad, catch up on NBC series GAME OF SILENCE on IPad, and I even listen to several of my pastor's sermons via podcast! It seems that the National Redwoods Park may be a let down, having seen the oldest and tallest in the world, but we'll head there next.
Exactly 110 years ago this week, the earth shook so violently in the place we're visiting that the peninsula shifted 20 feet northwest! We didn't plan to be on the San Andreas fault on this anniversary, especially when earthquakes in Japan and Ecuador have made Americans aware of our vulnerability....we just wanted to move up the California coast and look for whales. Point Reyes National Seashore is a great place for that this time of year. The quake of 1906 that killed over 3000 Californians measured 7.8 on the Richter scale. That's devastating but not the highest measured - some of the most violent measured 9.0 (Honshu, Japan 3/11/2011), 9.2 (Alaska 3/28/1964) and 9.5 (Chile 5/22/1960). Still, any quaking of the earth gives one pause... Point Reyes is just over an hour north of San Francisco, and deep-water upwellings offshore carry nutrients to the surface that nourish the estuary of Drakes Bay (named for Sir Francis Drake) and a host of invertebrates, fish, birds and predators. The national seashore includes critical birthing area for Harbor Seal pups, important migratory paths for Gray Whales, Humpbacks, and Blue Whales and coastal prairies where cattle and Tule elk have ranged for over 150 years. It is incredibly beautiful here, and we've come when the wildflowers are in bloom, the seals are raising their pups, and the Gray whales are continuing their 10-14,000 mile journeys from Mexico to the Bering and Chukchi seas - one of the longest of all mammalian migrations. We arrived late afternoon and drove to the point where the lighthouse shines. Almost immediately Terry spotted the spray from a whale south of us. Then we saw another, and after enjoying the scenery of the point looking out from the bluff, we drove to a beach and saw more whales! It was amazing how small they looked from high on the bluff looking down when compared to seeing them from level ground. We think they were Gray Whales since this is the season when they travel by. But it was hard for us to discern, and both Blue Whales and Humpbacks returning from Hawaii with calves are traveling to AK by here. We camped at the Samuel Taylor State Park which is a half hour south of the trails we've been hiking. The state park is built around majestic Redwoods with rail fences around large campsites that are nearly all shaded - not a great place for generating solar power, but we can't complain. There's a paved hike/bike/dog walking trail nearby which we've enjoyed with the dogs; yesterday, I rode my bike with Rocket on leash pulling me along. That was a great way for him to get exercise since he can't hike with us on the National park trails. One day Terry and I hiked the 9 mile Estero trail to Sunset Beach in search of Harbor Seals. The trail passes through the grasslands where we saw Tule Elk (and cattle), passes near an inlet where we watched dozens of little crabs scurry, saw a Pocket Gopher munching on leaves he uprooted and placed conveniently over his hole so he could eat from safety, saw many shore birds, Red-tail Hawks and vultures, and at the end of the trail (Sunset Beach) we saw the harbor seals. These creatures are known for being very playful, but they were on sand bars quite a ways away so we couldn't enjoy close-up interaction. (This time of year kayakers are prohibited in the bay to protect the seals.) I'm guessing there were a couple hundred mothers and pups basking in the sun Another day I hiked alone on the Limantour Spit, a trail that should have afforded an overhead view of the beached seals, but the trail was overgrown and confusing and instead of ending up on a bluff with a good vantage point, I ended up on the beach. I saw coyote tracks in the sand and followed them to an inlet and to my great joy, I saw the coyote shaking his coat on the bank of the other side of the inlet, like he had swum across. I watched him through my binoculars for a few moments before he scurried behind a rock face, and out of my sight. While I was disappointed I didn't see the seals, I was thrilled to see him. On my way back up the beach I noticed quite a few coyote trails, and even some sea otter tracks leading from the water up the beach. I knew these were not dog tracks since there were no other human footprints (it was a drizzling, rainy day and early morning) and also dogs aren't allowed here due to sensitive snowy plover nesting habitat. In the 3 days we've been here, we've sighted the following wildlife:
200 Harbor Seals, 83 Vultures, 57 crows, 54 ducks, 49 Egrets, ant 3 dozen Mole Crabs, 41 cormorants, 38 Tule Elk, 20 black tail deer, 19 Quail, a pod of dolphins (guessing abut 10), 10 Hawks (5 Redtail), 9 Great Blue Herons, 5 Sea lions, 5 whales, 4 Hummingbirds, 3 each. Osprey, Turkey and Ravens, 2 chipmunks, 1 each of rabbit, squirrel, gray fox, coyote, river otter, snake, and pocket gopher! We have to leave our campsite, and rain is in the forecast so we may head inland - further away from the San Andreas fault...luckily we've not felt the earth shake, but I can see why people are drawn to this beautiful coast! Yesterday I saw zebras grazing alongside cows in a field across from the Pacific Ocean. I watched young elephant seals in the shallows hold their heads out of the water with their noses pointing skyward, some mouths open. I saw butterflies pollinate, Quail run for cover, seat otters frolic in the kelp....it was a good day. We came to Hearst San Simeon state park for a day, and stayed a week. In part because we liked it, but also we took our dogs to the vet for annual shots and had to wait for test results for Shady - turns out she's hypothyroid. Funny how both she and I discovered thyroid problems on this trip. (Mine seems to be under control now.). We hope wth medicine, which she starts today, that she'll have more energy, less gagging, and her coat will grow back on her back. This state park has two campgrounds, and we chose to stay in the primitive area which has less shade (better for our solar panel) and views of the San Lucia Mts. A couple of the sites have views with a slight piece of the Pacific Ocean, and at night we can hear the roar. The park is 5 miles south of the Hearst Castle which we didn't tour (at $25 each). Old man Hearst at one time had a zoo, of sorts, for his guests to gawk at. It included zebras, giraffes, elk and other animals that grazed the fields leading up to the castle so that when visitors arrived, they would see his exotics. A few species are still left, hence the zebra in a field overlooking the ocean! The park is also 10 miles south of an elephant seal rookery that claims to number 23,000, but all are never there at the same time. This time of year, the mothers have given birth, nursed and weaned their young and are lying on the beach molting. During this three months on the beach, they don't eat or swim out to sea. Some juveniles are on the beach sparring with each other -practicing for the time when they will fight for dominance of the beach. In the Fall, the bulls will return after months at sea to intimidate, fight and claim dominance. There will be about 100 dominant males (over their harems) along the six mile stretch of beach. Near the rookery we can also see sea lions and harbor seals on distant rocks and sometimes sea otters playing in the kelp. But 25 miles south from here in Morro Bay is a group of 30 resident sea otters; we went there to watch them, and you can see them roll in the kelp, feed, and play with each other at pretty close range. What an unexpected treat for me! The campground has a three mile hiking loop that travels through the fields leading up to the San Lucia mountains, across the wetland area of San Simeon Creek and through forested parts. I've hiked it daily while Terry biked up the coast (better for his back than the uneven turf). I've seen deer, lizards, red tail hawks, vultures, bluebirds, snakes and even two skunks (both from the car). A neighboring camper even saw a bobcat with a squirrel hanging from his mouth and got a photo! On Saturday, we went into the town of Cambria a few miles away for a chili cook-off. Unfortunately they didn't have any vegetarian chili, but I did sample the local brews - Firestone's 805 (nice blonde ale) and Tapit which were both delicious. Next we will head up the coast to enjoy more of California, including the giant Redwoods and then head to Oregon and Washington before landing in AK.
I thought I knew what a vortex was, but I learned a new meaning this weekend. We left the Grand Canyon Friday, and my friend Patti Devlin suggested we check out Sedona, AZ and the red rocks - so we did. We camped in the Coconino National Forest at Pine Flats campground on Oak Creek, about 12 miles north of town. When we arrived it was raining so rather than hike right away, we went into town. I always thought of Sedona as a place to rejuvenate at a spa. What we saw of the town showcased restaurants, boutiques, wine tasting shops, art galleries, and fine hotels. Lots of businesses cater to tourists - those that will take you on scenic helicopter rides, Jeep tours into the canyons, or allow you to rent 4-WD vehicles. Inside the visitor center, we got a great hiking newspaper, and the woman we spoke with referred to being in the vortex. What the newspaper says is that many people believe vortexes are energy sites that enhance meditation, healing and creativity. It goes on to explain that during the "Harmonic Convergence," Sedona's already new-age reputation gained more exposure. The paper, produced by the US Forestry Service writes that many places believed to be vortexes are on national forest lands - places designated as wilderness, pristine and beautiful. With that, we decided to go hiking in the wilderness to check out the vortex. There are many, many hiking trails around Sedona into canyons and through the forest. We hiked an interesting one through Sterling Pass to Vultee Arch and then onto Bear Sign trail, stopping after about 11 miles. It was cool (high 50's) and overcast, but since it rained the day and night before, we were happy it didn't rain on our hike. The beginning of this hike is strenuous, but when you get to Sterling Pass, the view of the red rocks and canyon walls with many green trees below is beautiful. As we continued to the canyon floor, we were excited to see wildflowers in bloom and a variety of trees. We've been hiking so much in desert areas lately that to see streams, flowers, and lots of green trees reminded us of East Coast hiking - even though the vegetation is different. I can't say we experienced a new age state of mind, or a harmonic convergence (whatever that is), but we did enjoy being in the wilderness with Rocket and spending our time with each other. At one point we intersected with a 4-WD trail and saw two couples who had rented Jeeps and had stopped to sip cold beer and eat Doritos. I'm not sure the forestry service writer had their experience in mind, when he wrote about vortexes in the wilderness, but it looked like they were having fun too.
It's named Grand, but superlatives like magnificent, brilliant, superb, wonderful, inspiring, awesome (although overused) all describe our latest destination. Over a hundred years ago, there were those who wrote that it was merely a large hole in the ground, a vast wasteland that no one would venture into. But today, the Grand Canyon hosts 5 million visitors/year!! I knew I would stand in awe, but it's absolutely true that words can't express the sheer size, wonder, and majesty of the place. And while I try to tell the story with photos, I know that my pictures pale in comparison to the 3-d, in-person images absorbed in the canyon's edge. We spent 6 days along the south rim (north rim opens in May) enjoying the geology, the wildlife, the hiking and the surrounding Kaibab Forest. We came on a whim and discovered no spots in the campground as Spring Break is a very busy time in the park. But just 5 miles from the entrance is dispersed camping in the National Forest. We were quite comfortable there, and the dogs loved not having to stay tethered and enjoyed our frequent forest walks. In the park campground, there is no electric nor showers and sites cost $18/night. We would have had ravens and elk for neighbors there (we biked around the campground during mid-day and counted over 20 elk and 8 Ravens). But our free campsite came with an elk skeleton - the rib cage, spinal column and hip bones were set up for easy viewing, and Rocket found hooves and legs nearby. Nightly we were serenaded by coyotes which was a thrill, and during the day there were interesting birds in the Ponderosa Pines whose song reminded me of a horse whiny. We did some of our longest hikes of our road trip down into the Canyon. I really wanted to ride a mule down, but those reservations generally need to be made a year in advance! One trip they take into the canyon is overnight, and you can camp in a tent or stay at the ranch (no dogs allowed). Maybe we can come back and try that; there is a kennel at the south rim. It was interesting to see and touch examples of rocks from varying time periods, some 1.8 BILLION years old! To put things in perspective, the canyon is 277 river miles long, 18 miles wide, and a mile deep. The beautiful Colorado River cuts through with fast moving currents in many places, making it a wonderful rafting destination - perhaps we'll come back and ride it. Both days we hiked into the canyon, we went as far as the river, something the park service doesn't recommend you do in one day due to heat and physical exertion required. But we knew we were in good hiking shape, had the right gear, took plenty of water, and the temps weren't excruciating like they can be in summer. And the river was a beautiful emerald green and quite refreshing even though we just got feet, hands and head wet. We had excellent weather - sunny with temps at night between 28-35°F and afternoon temps of 60-70°F on rim.). There is a 20 degree difference between the rim and the canyon - hotter inside. We hiked the Bright Angel trail one day (15 miles) and the South Kaibab trail another day (14 miles plus another mile from our car). There are rest spots along the trails for those who don't want to hike 13-15 miles. You can turn around after 1.5 or 3 miles and still get the feel of being down in the canyon. We averaged 30 minute miles going down, but coming up we slowed to 45 minute miles. It was exhausting coming up because the elevation gain is between 4,340-4,700', and while we started early (around 7-7:45am), by the time we finished around 4 or 5pm, the heat and lack of shade (particularly on S. Kaibab trail) really sapped my energy. We rested a day between each of these long hikes, and when we weren't spending all day hiking, we went to the visitor center, walked the rim trail with the dogs (so nice there's a place they can go), biked on the bike trails, and even did laundry! The facility for laundry near the campground has showers, and $2.00 gets you an 8-minute heavenly hot shower- especially welcome after a 9 hour hike in the hot sun. One day we heard a park ranger talk about the California Condor. In the 1980's these massive birds were in dire straits. With only 22 birds left in the wild, the Fish & Wildlife Service began a captive breeding program in hopes of saving the species. They succeeded, and today there are over 400 birds - about 73 live here at the Grand Canyon, one of the release sites. These birds have a wing span of 9-10' making them the largest bird in North America. Unfortunately we didn't see any soaring over the canyon, although we did see vultures, hawks, crows and ravens. During early morning and around dusk, the female elk and deer come to the visitor center (and campground) to browse. We saw plenty of them every day as well as squirrels, lizards and birds. We're leaving on a cloudy, rainy day, and I feel sorry for folks who just arrived as the weather forecast for the weekend looks overcast and rainy. But this is a spectacular place with unimaginable vistas, ever changing colors as the light changes, and diverse habitats. I'm so glad we had the chance to be inspired here and to travel into the Grand Canyon.
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AuthorFormer documentary film producer, wife and mother of one...I'm taking time off to see the US with my husband Terry. Here's where I'll write about our adventures RVing until the money runs out! Archives
August 2021
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