August 31, 2016 "I think I shall never see anything as beautiful as a tree..."

Today we drove about 20 miles north on Highway 101 to Crescent City, California.  After a visit to the Visitor/Information Center and a Farmer's Market we found the Howland Hills Road through the Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park.  Twelve of the seventeen scenic miles were unpaved; but it was worth it.

How many words can you think of to describe a tree--especially a redwood tree?  Massive; giant; awesome; colossal; majestic. 

When logging began in 1890, roughly 2 million acres of ancient or "old-growth" coast redwood forest canopy mantled the coastal mountains of California.  Today, just about five percent remains.  

Most of these trees reach nearly 400 feet tall; they are resistant to fire; they grow in colonies; the roots are a mere 8 feet deep; a hard wind can sway the trees up to 25 feet.  Redwoods are wider/thicker than a sequoia; sequoias are taller.

Pictures do not do the redwoods justice; they don't show the tallness or the width or massiveness of the tree.  Most of these pictures have a vehicle or people in them for some perspective.  Enjoy.  

 Compare Doug's pick-up to the grove of redwoods.

 Glen is standing in front of two trunks growing from one base.

This is one redwood.

Guessing...this one is about 25-30 feet across.

This is a banana slug that lives in the redwood forests.  It eats anything growing--EXCEPT redwoods!  The slug can get up to six to seven inches in length.  

Know everyone?  Mildred, Doug, Gary, Evelyn, Jeff, Marcella, Gayla, Glen

This section of a redwood is one side of the road.  Jeff.

Marcella is in the root section of the bottom half as the same tree (as above).

California sea lions in the harbor at Crescent City, California

 Battery Point Lighthouse at Crescent City, California

Glen spied this beautiful black oyster catcher on the rocks surrounding the lighthouse.

Lunch was at The "Chart House" where we enjoyed fresh prawns and scallops.

While we were in Crescent City, we had to go to Wal Mart.  We all had grocery lists!  

Klamath, where the RV park is located, has a population of 750; has no grocery store, two restaurants.  

August 30, 2016 Perfect Day for a Boat Ride

Today's adventure was outdoors.  It was a perfect 75 degrees!  But on the water there was lots of wind!

We enjoyed a twp-hour ride on the red jet boat.  Chris was the Captain.  Mildred was in the teal headband; and Evelyn was in the gray headband.

 Here's our RV park from the Klamath River Jet Boat ride.

It was a beautiful day on the river.

 The leaves are beginning to change colors. 

The boat on the right is a wooden boat, called a dug-out.  There were several boats/fishermen on the river hoping to catch some salmon.

 The family group was seated in the last two rows--called the wet section for a reason! Gayla, Glen, Marcella, Jeff; Gary, Evelyn, Mildred, Doug.

Captain Chris calls out "hold on.  Here we go!"  It was time for a 360-degree turn on the river!  Basically, a "donut" on the water with the boat.  Yes--it slung water up into the boat.

There wasn't an abundance of wildlife, but we did see a golden eagle, a bald eagle, common merganser, great blue heron, black oystercatcher, great egret, gulls, brown pelican, seals.

More planned for tomorrow--of course!

August 29, 2016 Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, south of Klamath California

Just a few miles south of the RV park is the Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park.  We drove a 12-mile scenic road this morning, admiring the beautiful, TALL, big redwoods.

Sit back and enjoy the pictures, keeping in mind the tallness, the beauty, the aroma doesn't show in pictures.

 Here's all of us in front of ONE main trunk.

I'm pointing to three marks that indicated at some point someone wanted to cut this tree down.

 Yes, we all fit inside this.

 It is hard to show how tall these trees are.

See the left tree growing off the base of the main tree.

 Can you see Glen?

 We barely take any space against this tree trunk.

 This is called the "Corkscrew Tree"...three trunks twisted from one base.

The ferns grow tall under the redwoods.

Glen says this is at least 30 feet across.

This indicates the tree below is 304' tall, 1500 years old.

Here we are at the base of the Tall Tree.

This is looking up toward the top of the Tall Tree.

I am sure we will see more coastal redwoods in the next week.  

August 28, 2016 Southern Oregon (Klamath River RV Park, Klamath, CA)

It is a good thing you can't sense my frustration!  Not at you!  NO, at this silly computer.  I have finished one complete blog, but it was erased!  Pictures and everything!!!

Let's try again.
We left Coos Bay Oregon yesterday morning, traveling Highway 101 south into California.  There were many pullovers with many beautiful vistas of the shore.

There was one more lighthouse in Oregon.  Cape Blanco Lighthouse is the oldest standing lighthouse on the Oregon coast, commissioned in 1870.

It was a wet, drippy, foggy, windy morning.

This is the Cape Blanco Lighthouse.

These are the coves around the lighthouse.

Here some of the pictures of the stunning seashore vistas as we traveled.

 Do you see the two sea stars at the edge of the rock?

 This lighthouse was several miles out to sea, off the coast of California.  Name unknown.

The beautiful Klamath River is our view from the windshield at Klamath River RV Park, Klamath California.  It is a beautiful setting.  We are here for eight nights.  It was difficult to find a park that had dates available over Labor Day week end.  The downside to this is creature comforts: steady and strong WiFi, dependable cell phn service, and only one diner in the village of Klamath.

August 27, 2016 Playing in the Sandbox

Some of the family group checked out the "Blackberry Festival" taking place downtown.  They reported there were some "blackberry" goodies.  

About 11:30 the family group traveled north about an hour to Florence Oregon to play in the sand.

There is about 80 miles of tall, up to 500 feet, sand dunes along the coast of the Pacific Ocean.  The southern-most dunes are located here at Coos Bay.

(L) Mildred and Doug, Gayla and Glen; Evelyn and Gary; Marcella and Jeff in the 28-passenger buggy we toured the dunes in.

Wind has moved the sand from the beach to form the dunes.

The dunes fall to the edge of the ocean.

This is Gary and Jeff on the right; but...there were ten of these ladies from Japan that dressed to be warm and to avoid any blowing sand (there wasn't any)

The "barrel-like" things are used to seed oyster farms.

Umpqua Lighthouse, Winchester Bay, OR; this is still operational

Our truck, Jeff and Marcella, Glen and I, stopped at the "Sourdough Bakery" in Winchester Bay.  Their sourdough cinnamon rolls are as big as dinner plates!  

We are back at the RV park.  There is some music making going on.  Gary has dessert for later.

(This is the last night at Lucky Loggers RV Park, Coos Bay, Oregon)