The Mighty Redwoods

Hi there folks! Since our regular posts stopped due to lack of cell service and wifi, I don't know if anyone is actually reading this. It all seemed so much easier while in the routine of writing every morning or evening. But we have had some exciting times in Redwood National Park, which we are currently eleven hours away from.

Monday, July 21. Today we reacquainted ourselves with Redwood by tackling one of the biggest dayhikes in the park, the James Irvine/Miners Ridge Loop. This is one that we did five years ago, and it was like visiting an old friend. An old friend who makes your feet hurt. The official mileage is 6.5 miles but just going by our feet we know that's not accurate. Dad's GPS app said 8.something miles and mine had it at 9.2 miles. We saw every cool thing there is to see with the Redwoods on this hike… trees that are 350 feet high; trees that are just a shell of bark for 200 feet but are still alive and growing at the top; trees that were broken, then grew horizontally, then were broken again, then grew up, giving them a lightning-bolt shape; trees that you can climb under and through. After the long hike, we rewarded ourselves with a 40-minute drive up to Crescent City and our favorite NoCal seafood restaurant, the Chart Room. Which is closed on Mondays.

Tuesday, July 22. We have kind of a steadfast rule which is that you never follow a big day of hiking with another big hike, and so this was the perfect day to go to Hidden Beach. Hidden Beach is a beautiful spot in the shadow of one of those massive, magnificent rocks that sit on the beach or just offshore in the Pacific Coast. (If you know if there is a name for those massive, magnificent rocks that sit on the beach or just offshore in the Pacific Coast, hit me with some knowledge.) It's a great spot for climbing on rocks, light saber dueling with driftwood, and viewing life in tidal pools.

We spent the rest of the day at the campground picking wild blackberries. From four nights and three whole days, we have at least four gallons in the freezer, and probably ate another 1½ gallons. Once again, Isabella is the grand champion of berry picking.

Wednesday, July 23. Sneaker Beach, Ladybird Johnson Grove, and Fern Canyon. For our final day in Redwood, we visited three essential parts of the park: the Huechel Visitor Center, at “Sneaker Wave Beach”, as we call it; the Ladybird Johnson Grove; and Fern Canyon. I'll let the pictures do the talking. I figured out how to do vertical panoramas on my iPhone just in the nick of time.

Thursday, July 24. Drove the frightening & exhausting Route 99 out of Redwoods. An 11-hour driving day to Truckee, California. Tomorrow we arrive at Great Basin National Park. We have made a slight alteration to our calendar. When we planned this trip, our first out west in five years, we wanted it to be a “greatest hits” vacation of visiting some of our favorite places. But the past few days, while very enjoyable, have made us realize that we don't just want to rehash old vacations; we want to explore and see new places. So we are bypassing one of my favorite spots, Rocky Mountain National Park. Instead we are adding time to two places we have stopped at once before that deserve much more attention: Great Basin and Capitol Reef.