Feeling Small among Giant Trees

It was a cool night which we don't mind.  I think it helps us sleep better.  It worked because I didn't get up until 7:00 a.m. and I didn't get Carol up until after Sandy and I got back from our walk.  We ate breakfast and then drove to the Jedediah Smith Redwood Forest.  What a drive through the enormous redwood grove of that park.   The road was dirt an gravel and for the most part one-laned.  Fortunately there were a number of pull-overs when meeting cars from the other direction.

This tree was hollow all the way through to the top yet it was alive.  

We stopped to take a a trail through the trees but unfortunately a tree had fallen across the bridge so we had to turn back.

A kind man offered to take our picture.   

The road was lined with huge ferns.  The road was so dusty that the ferns were covered with dust.

This stump was hollow.  With Carol inside the stump, it offers perspective on how large the tree was.

We stopped at another trail.  It was amazing to walk among the trees.  We walked along awe-struck as we looked up at the towering trees.

This trail led to the Klamath River.

This bridge, like the road we were driving, was one-laned.

I had to take a picture of the knobby roots of this tree.

This little tree and a stump right beside it made a nice seat for Carol

Someone had the energy to gather rocks of different sizes and stack them on this log.  I thought it deserved a picture.

The redwoods are protected jointly by both the State of California and the federal government.  There are several state parks with redwood groves in them.

After we left Jedediah Smith Redwood Forest, we drove south on Highway 101.  In places the mist rolled off the Pacific Ocean.

The Pacific Ocean.

Our destination on S. 101 was the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway.  Unfortunately we discovered that the road was closed.  We had no clue why it was closed.  Further down the highway we found Davison Road which ends at Gold Bluffs Beach.   As we had began the drive, we found this large herd of Roosevelt Elk.  They were traffic stoppers and we stopped as well.

Elk on the roadway will always bring traffic to a complete stop.

This guy was the leader of the herd.

This road, like the one we had driven on this morning, was gravel and dirt and mostly one-laned.  At one point, we had to cross a shallow stream to continue down the road.,

I don't know what the name of this plant is, but we saw several clumps of them all along this road and the highway.  I think they are beautiful.

This is the beach at Gold Bluffs Beach.

We were the only ones on the beach so we were able to walk along the edge of the surf.

When we got back to the meadow where the elk had been, the elk was laying down for their afternoon nap.

This is our campsite.  It is a great KOA.  There are only a few sites for RVs.  The majority of sites are tent sites.  This evening as we took Sandy for her evening walk, we enjoyed walking around the campground under the tall pines.   Tomorrow, I want to see some lighthouses and more of the Pacific Ocean.  This is a great place to spend a day or two or even more.