Road Trip Along the California Coast

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After teaching summer school Chris and I decided to take a much needed road trip in our new Honda Element. We decided to drive from Seattle to San Francisco. Here is the outline of where we went.

Once we got on the road, we left Seattle and headed to Yakima, where my parents live, as they were gracious enough to watch Otis. From Yakima we traveled through the Dalles and over the Columbia Gorge. We did not stop driving until we got to Eureka California. We had intended on staying in Crescent City however, when we got there, we found the accommodations to be less than savory. Crescent City although a great mid-point between Washington and San Francisco, was not the cleanest place to stay. Before we pulled out of town heading south we stopped at the Redwood National Forest Information Center. The ranger who was working was so helpful, presenting us with a free map that was very easy to read. She even offered us suggestions on how to break up the drive and which roads would take us to the most impressive trees in the forest.

When we got to Eureka we stayed at one of the many hotels along the main drive. By the time we got there we were so tired we just wanted to grab a quick meal and head to bed. The next morning we woke up early, and started on our path to the Avenue of Giants. As we continued on the fog started rolling out to sea and we were able to drive through some really cute little farming areas along highway. The best part was because it was so early; we were the only car on the road. We were able to actually stop in the middle of the road and walk around without anyone in sight. After visiting the forest first thing in the morning, we felt that it really was the best time to be out there amongst the trees.

The redwoods are so impressive and amazing to drive through; it really makes you feel small and in awe of how amazing nature can be in its purest state. Then we got to an age old tradition in my family and that is the drive thru trees. Although we refused to pay the $10 to drive through the Chandelier Tree that my grandfather had driven through 45 years before, even though some of the money benefits the National Park, we just didn’t feel right doing it. We managed to drive through the next best thing the "Tour Thru Tree"; which is a very tight squeeze through a tree that has been cut to accommodate smaller cars. We thought it was awesome, but scary at the same time to drive our brand new car through a big tree.

Along the way we passed the Trees of Mystery in Klamath, where the colossal Paul Bunyan and his ox Blue.

We also had to pull off the side of the road when we spotted a giant Bigfoot statue. In Garberville there is this store that sells burl (pieces of redwood that sprout little baby redwoods) and Bigfoot things it’s called "Legend of Bigfoot" it had all of the carved "Bigfeet", Bigfoot cards, books, key chains, coasters and anything else that a person could ever want relating to Redwoods or Bigfoot.

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Photos

Smoldering Ground Outside of the Dalles
There had been a huge fire sometime before we got here and the ground was still smoking, we had never seen anything like that before.

The Columbia Gorge
Driving through the Dalles from Washington to Oregon is so pretty it really breaks up the dry landscape that leads from highway 97.

Christopher and I
We are near the Redwoods

Sasquatch
Apparently there have been huge amounts of Bigfoot sightings all over Northern California and we happened on one ourselves.

Redwoods
So many of the trees have these huge holes in them that you can stand in and look up for what seems like forever.

Avenue of the Giants
We had to capture some of the pictures of the new car in the environment that it was meant to be driven in.