Lots of Activities

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blog 10-01-17 Lots of Activities

After chores it was about 10:15 am that we got on the road and headed to the Redwood National Forest. We only had to drive south about 4 miles and then we drove into the park which was just a narrow 2 lane road with huge trees on either side. I had to take off my sunglasses because it is very dark in the forest with the huge trees blocking out the sun. The trees are huge, very big around and extremely tall but really hard to show the scale in a picture. We drove to the visitor center, got our Park books stamped then asked about short hikes and some facts about the trees. The girl at the desk was really nice and told us about a walk that was just behind the visitor building so we went on the Interpretive walk. We walked through a forest that was filled with fern on the ground level and lot of pine needles that made the ground very soft and quiet walking. The redwood trees are so huge in height that photographing them so you understand the scale is almost impossible. They reproduce by seed from a very small pine cone or from a family group, where the smaller trees spring up from the larger ones roots. They also produce an appendage that will be dormant for years until the tree is injured and then that outcropping will grow into another tree. You see huge trees with a smaller tree growing right along side of it, it's offspring for the next generation. Their roots intertwine giving them strength in the wind as they have no tap root. We saw the older, taller trees in ravines where the wind doesn't get to them. There is a pureness to the air, very fresh smelling.

The thing that really impressed us is that some of these trees are 2,000 yrs old. Just standing there, living, growing and being part of nature.

The forest was beautiful, peaceful and awe inspiring but the rain forest was the most spiritual to me. We are going to see the Sequois in two weeks so I'll compare the 3 different forests.

On our way home we took a slight detour to circle a mt near the campground. We drove through more redwood forests then the road became one way and unpaved and we knew we would see the real woodlands. We went through an Alder forest then the coast appeared. It was a long way down with rocks on the shore line and an interesting line in the water color. On further investigation we found the Klamath River empties into the ocean at this spot and the river water is a different color than the ocean.

A little further down the road we heard seagull callings and sea lions too and wondered what that was all about. The king salmon had started their run today and the seals were gorging themselves on whatever they could catch. The salmon were late this year and just started running up the Klamath River to spawn. The regular salmon fishing season was over but the local Native Tribes have the right to fish the salmon and they were there catching what they could.

We watched them from far above and wondered how to get to the beach and a litte further down the road that question was answered for us. We found the beach access and decided to go home, have lunch then take the dogs to the beach with us.

We did just that and walked the beach til there was only water. I noticed a trail in the woods so we took that and found it to be very challenging. We went over logs, around rocks and ducked under fallen trees but it lead to the exact spot we wanted to be. There was a high sandy cliff and we watched the water running out of the river loaded with salmon and seals. Along with them come the seagulls and the Native people were there too fishing for King Salmon.

I talked to one group as they were leaving and asked if I could see one of the fish but they said they were too heavy, had to keep going, but they were king salmon and very large fish.

We stood on the sand hill overlooking the drama as the salmon tried to get up the river without being eaten by the seals or caught by the fisherman. The seagulls were there ready and waiting for all scraps that would come their way. The dogs were profoundly interested especially Alfie, who sat there watching so excited.

The wind was an issue and when the sand started blowing in our eyes it was time to beat a hasty retreat. What a great experience to have had.

We went home and settled on our chairs overlooking the river for happy hour and talked with some neighbors. A mom and her 4 yr old came by and the girl started talking about playing with the dogs. She came into the enclosure and loved all the dogs to death. She ate pretzles and talked about everything. Then she spied the water gun we use to keep the dogs from barking and she thought that was great fun to squirt. She squirted her mother then Ginnie and that didn't go over so well! She took pictures with my camera like a pro, amazing how smart kids are now- a- days.

She entertained us for 1/2 an hour or more then finally went home and left us exhausted. Alfie and Watson had gone in the house by then and Linus stuck it out with the kid. What a guy!

We had dinner and collapsed.

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