Us and some really tall Trees

August 11

Miles driven 141
So today was a pretty great chill day woke up after a good night’s sleep and went into Crescent City for a breakfast recommended by one of our guide books and some great huevos rancheros. Then found our first visitor center for this park, which wasn’t even submerged in the park or amongst trees. It was in fact in my opinion a bit creepy. We got our stamp though and registered for the coolest part of our day the Tall Trees grove which they needed to give us a combination to access since they only allow 40 cars a day access to this part of the park.

We then drove as far south as the park is and checked out a different visitor center got some souvenirs and checked out the ocean. They have Elk up here like we have pigeon. It’s almost a shame because they almost become commonplace.

The Tall Tree Grove truly seemed like mission impossible as a locked gate guarded a 6-mile dirt road to the trailhead, which descended 700 feet over a span of a little over one mile. We were wondering if we were up to it after our treacherous trek a couple of days ago. But we put on the camelbacks and started down the trail. It was spectacular as we felt like we were the only two people in this huge forest with trees jutting 300-350 feet to the sky growing for at least 2000 years. An amazing site to behold. There were cool trees with goospens that had been hollowed out by fires, trees used as bridges. One of the neatest things was the trees sounded as though they were talking as the wind blew them. I think Laura found this more creepy than cool as these huge trees only have a root system that goes 6-8 feet into the ground.

After the tall trees grove we headed out on the coastal drive and found ourselves a great place for a picnic on hidden bluffs. It seemed like an Irish picnic as the weather was cold and very foggy but we ate some great California foods to make it a California picnic including figs, fresh Gouda and homemade bread and some soymilk. A very fun experience with some great views as provided underneath the fog to see the coastline.
The rest of the drive was great and we finished off with some Laundry, which is an important survival on this trip, and when we got back to camp Laura invented a new sandwich called the BOAT that is Bacon, Onion, Avocado and Tomato as we chilled by the fire. It was a really nice day and the seclusion of the campground was great.