One Wood, Two Wood, REDWOOD, Blue Wood

From Petaluma KOA we headed North on the 101 on Monday (8/25). Due to some computer glitch, lost in cyber-space problem, we didn't have a campground reserved in the Redwoods, so we were hoping to make good time up to the park in order to secure a campsite. The drive in itself, was uneventful, and other than being long, was fairly nice. We knew that one particular campsite, Gold Bluffs, didn't take reservations, so we were planning on trying there first, and getting a campsite set up before checking out any of the visitor centers. When we arrived at the entrance to the park where the Gold Bluffs campground was located, we took a little tiny dirt road deep into the forest. As soon as we entered the trees, the light dimmed significantly. It reminded me of the part during the Wizard of Oz when Dorothy enters the forest. A couple miles in, we were starting to get a little bit worried, as we hadn't seen any sign of there being an end to the road. Luckily, just when we were getting ready to turn around, I caught a glimpse of blue through the trees. A few minutes later, we were out into the sunshine once more, at the entrance to Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. They had a campsite!! A couple, in fact. We actually got a 15 minute pass (which was more like a 10 minute pass) to drive the two miles down to the campground and check it out. The lady who was running the entrance made it sound like they were going to send in the cops after us if we weren't out in 15 minutes. We had to drive down a bumpy, washboard dirt road for two miles, zip around the campground, find a spot we liked (out of the 5 available), and zoom back to the entrance. Even so we were late. One good thing about the California state park is that they include day use fees along with a camping pass, unlike Colorado. So we got to our campsite (which you can see was GREAT) and decided that it was such a long drive into the park from the highway (6 miles along tiny winding dirt roads) that our time would definitely be better spent setting up our tent and just spending a nice relaxed evening. So we set up the tent, which took about 15 minutes because we're so practiced, and got to making dinner and settling in. The only bad thing about this campground was that they were very concerned about black bears. Bears had been troubling campgrounds up and down the area, probably because all of the fires had driven them from their homes, and the rangers were on alert. Luckily, there had been no sightings at our particular campground, yet, and there were none while we were there. Another great thing about the Gold Bluffs campground is that they had free showers with solar heated water. That's right, free HOT water!!! It was really nice.

After our snuggly cold night on the beach, we actually went out to see some big trees on Tuesday. We first drove down to the visitors center, looking for the information on the park, and wanting to find where the best places to go were located. We got to watch a pitifully short 12 minute film on the redwoods and got pointed in the direction of the Lady Bird Johnson Grove, a nice short hike with lots of big ole trees. As a bonus, there was soon to be a ranger led hike around the grove. Our path set, we ventured off to find some trees. We got to the grove just as the walk was about to begin. There were four of us in all, plus the ranger. We learned that the sequoias and the redwoods aren't all that different; they belong in the same family, both being conifer trees. However, the sequoias are very hearty trees, living mostly above 3000 feet in elevation, and are able to endure harsh climates. The redwoods, on the other hand, are actually very picky. They won't live above 3000 feet, they can't tolerate high levels of salt, so don't live near the beach, and need a lot of precipitation to survive. Other than that, once they are in their little nitch, they are practically indestructible. Their bark is 8-12 inches thick and protects them from almost all natural hazards. It is very resistant to fire and insects, having only one beetle that can bore through the bark to get to the inner heartwood. Another protection against insects is the tannic acid that is produced by the tree, giving it the characteristic red hue. One of the coolest thing about the redwoods is their leaves. They have two different types. With the tree being perhaps 250-300 feet tall, the branches don't start until about 150 feet up. The closest branches to the ground have broader leaves (though still really small, about the size of a pencil eraser) to gather sunlight and photosynthesize. It is the leaves near the top of the tree that are the most unique. They are long, porous projections, maybe a foot long. These are made so that when the fog rolls in, or rain falls, they can absorb all of the moisture like a sponge. At 300 feet high, the circulatory system of the tree would have a really hard time pumping all the water it needed from the roots all the way to the very top of the tree. So what it does, ingeniously, is take the water it absorbs through its uppermost leaves and send the water from the top on down, using gravity to its advantage.

Wednesday morning was our checkout day, so we tore down the tent (which took a little longer than usual due to the went sand that had plastered itself to the bottom). For only the second time on our trip, Nickey drove, from the Redwoods on 101 to Crescent City, where she proceeded to hit a chainlink fence at a coffee shop. Cody regained the reins! Wednesday's goal was to reach the Oregon Caves National Monument outside of Cave Junction, Ore., and spend the evening in Bandon, Oregon (for Nickey's parents). Check us out next time for photos from the underworld!

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