Redwood State and National Forest

On our days off this week, Phil and I drove to northern California for a visit to see the giant coastal redwoods. It was about 420 miles, and we took 2 days to drive here, and we will drive all the way back Thursday, which left about 1 1/2 days for our visit. We did not bring the camper since it was so far, but opted instead for a hotel in Medford, OR, Monday night and then 2 nights in an AirBNB in Klamath, CA, where the Klamath River meets the sea.

Our drive was through remote stretches of Oregon across sagebrush high desert, through other wildlife refuges, near Crater Lake, and finally across the Cascades and south into California. It was great scenery. The temperature dropped from 97 F in Medford to 55 F today in Klamath. A huge difference!

Last night, we drove a one-way coastal trail along the cliffs on the Pacific, where the Klamath River meets the sea. We saw a WWII radar station (disguised as a farmhouse) and stood on the cliffs and watched sea lions, pelicans, and shore birds in the surf through our binoculars

We also went to a feature near our AirBNB called the "Drive through tree". It is a hole cut in giant redwood that you can drive your car through. The place was mobbed, and it really seemed so disrespectful to the tree. It is on private property, and we paid $5 to see it. People were filming themselves driving through and doing stunts like standing up in the skylights of their car, etc. I didn't like it at all once we saw all that.

We spent today at the Prairie Creek Redwoods. In the 90s, the state and National Parks joined forces to protect these magnificent trees that grow only in this cool coastal climate. The redwoods are one of 3 types of trees that grow this large. The Sequoia, which is also in California, is in the Sierras. A third type of similar tree is in China.

The trees are really massive and live up to 2,000 years. They grow up to 350 feet tall. Driving and walking through the park was really such a privilege. Only 5% of the redwoods that were once here are left. Logging took most of them even up into the 1990's. Now, they are protected. Only a portion are on public lands.

The beach is also part of the park system, and we also stopped there today. It's cold here and windy at the beach. There are enormous rock formations in the water. It's not like any other beaches where we've been, but it was beautiful all the same.

We'll get up early tomorrow and drive back the whole way. We volunteer again on Friday, but this has been a great trip!Read more