We are in the land of the giants...the largest living creatures on earth. The coastal redwoods reach as high as 370 feet and the largest living specimen is estimated to be 2,525 years old. The trees are so large that the diameter can be as large as our 24 ft RV making for a circumference of 65+ feet!
Our first night was spent in Prairie Creek State Park adjacent to Redwood National Park. The next two nights were in Humboldt Redwood state park south of Eureka.
We hiked 6 miles through the forest enjoying all the trees. Many trees have burls and knots on their trunks that take on human features like noses, eyes and other bodily parts (that I'll leave to your imagination) so as you walk through the woods it is as if there are ghosts and goblins whispering to you. It is an eerie yet captivating landscape.
The trees are so tall they block most of the sunlight. Since we typically rise with the sunrise, we ended up sleeping until 9 am because it was still dark at our campsite!
We finally met our first real bear...well...real important Bear. It was Smokey the Bear's 71st birthday yesterday so the Rangers and local fireman threw a birthday bash complete with birthday cake and cupcakes. The fire crew had been battling a blaze earlier in the day. There are so many large fires burning in northern California that we are receiving air quality alerts via our cell phone. There also are reports of major roads being closed due to reduced visibility as a result of the smoke.
Our journey will take us back to the coast south toward Mendocino tomorrow and then onward to Lake Tahoe which will mark the beginning of our journey back East.
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