Leslie and David's Wanderings: 19-20 September 2019 North Coast

Well our planning for this leg of our trip could have been better. We figured out the roads from Red Bluff to the coast are very twisty and windy which significantly increased the time it would take to drive down to the coast compared to what the map looked like. It also solidified our decision to not take the Wanderer to the coast. Facing a 4-5 hour drive one way to the coast, we decided to make it an overnight trip. So we broke out our camping gear and Leslie made reservations for a camping site in Jedediah Smith Redwoods Stat Park. It took over six hours to drive to the park. We took CA36 from Red Bluff to US101 and then drove up the coast on US101. From the map, it looks like you are driving along the coast for a long ways, but in reality we only got to see the ocean once in a while. We had not left the Wanderer until almost 1PM due to David working in the morning, so it was almost dark when we arrived in the park. The campground is nestled in amongst old growth red wood trees that towered hundreds of feet above us. We pulled out David’s old Northface VE-25 tent and tried to remember how to set it up. It had been over 15 years since David had used it last. But it was still in great shape and after a few tries, we got it set up and our air mattresses stuffed in. We then back tracked to Crescent City and found a seafood restaurant to have dinner. As we were walking into the restaurant, we could here the harbor seals barking at each other. Returning to our campsite, we pulled out our sleeping bags, zippered them together (so we could cuddle!), set up a bed for Etta at our feet and climbed in our tent for a good nights sleep. This is the first time we have camped in a tent since our backpacking trip in the Chisos ten years ago for my 50^thbirthday. It definitely reminded us of why we like RVing!

The next morning, we packed up and headed south toward the Redwoods National and State Parks. Just south of Crescent City is a large open beach, se we stopped to take a stroll on the Pacific Ocean beach. We let Etta off the leash and she took off running, doing spins and rushing back to us. She was having a blast running in the sand and into the low water. We have not seen her this happy in several months and were ecstatic that we stopped and gave her this opportunity!

Redwoods National and State Parks is a unique, in that it is co-managed with multiple California State Parks, which are so intertwined that it is hard to figure out which is which. The state parks were first set up by California in the early 1920s to try and preserve some of the remaining old growth Redwood groves. The National park was established in 1968 and expanded in 1978. But most of the lands in the national park had already been logged in the late 1800s and early 1900s, some areas were logged just prior to the national park being established. In the old growth area, some of the trees are over 1000 years old. The Redwoods can grow to over 370 feet tall and live up to 2000 years. They grow 5-6 feet per year when they are seedlings and slow down as they get older. Their bark can be 6-12 inches thick, which protects them from fire, and have an additional layer between the bark and heartwood, which has anti-insect and anti-fungal properties. The Giant Sequoias don’t grow as tall but can live to 3000 years old. We stopped at the Prairie Creek Visitor center to collect our 52nd Passport Stamp,looked through the gift store, exhibits and talked with the Park Ranger about hiking options. The building occupied by the visitor center was built by the CCC and did not have an auditorium. We decided to hike the Cal-Barrel road trail because we could take Etta with us. We took the trail about a mile out before heading back to the truck. After a while, one giant tree starts to look like another. We then drove on to the Kuchel Visitor Center on the coast and watched the park movie. We talked with the rangers there about the Bald Hills Road which runs up along the northern border of the national park and continues on into the Yurok Indian reservation where it eventually runs into CA199. The Rangers on duty did not have any information about the road beyond the park boundary beyond “there are no services”. Which just piqued our interest! So we decided to take it to CA199, which would lead us back to Redding. This section of the park was logged in the 1920s to 1970s, so it is all relatively young second growth. Not a lot to look at other than where the park service has replanted the forest and tried to fix the scars of logging. Near the park boundary, the pavement ended and for the next couple of miles the road was compacted gravel and dirt. But then to our surprise, the pavement started again and the road was actually better than it had been in the park! This area of the reservation reminded us a lot of Texas Hill Country with rolling hills, beautiful meadows and windy roads. We eventually came ot CA199 and took that to Redding. This road was much better than CA36 and if we ever want to take Wanderer, this would be the road to use. Although still windy, the turns are larger and made for faster speeds and the road was much better maintained. Once we got into Redding, we decided to find a brewery to have dinner at which would allow us to have Etta. We found the Final Draft Brewery in downtown Redding and sat on the patio for dinner and a couple beers. We arrived back at the Wanderer around 8Pm and quickly unpacked. We were really looking forward to sleeping on a mattress tonight!