Thursday, July 21, 2011: A giant among us
Woke up and went for my power walk along the Avenue of the Giants. Not much of a shoulder to walk on so I had to be careful but there wasn't a lot of traffic so it wasn't an issue. Walking is a great way to see things up close and personal. There are beautiful flowers. White and yellow yarrow, deep purple flowers resembling heliotrope. Daisy like flowers in pink, blue and white. Cascading orange flowers that resemble million bells look like they are strategically placed by landscapers. And of course, the giant redwoods tower hundreds of feet above. The Eel River snakes through (or does it 'eel' through?) a river valley. Its banks are sandy in spots and pebbly in spots. There are geese lounging around.
Unfortunately, when walking, you can also see the ugly side of things. Beer cans, a trashy vacuum cleaner, a car battery and other garbage has been strewn in a river bed and along the side of the road.
Back to camp, we readied Hannah for her tour through the Humboldt Redwood forest. It is very difficult to find the words to describe the redwood forest. The forest is masterful and mysterious. We took a hike on the Founders Grove loop trail. Here there are trees that are hundreds, and some are thousands of years old. Carrying our booklet about the trail, we learned a lot about the trees. We learned their age. We learned that they have three different microclimates for each tree. One tree can expel 400 gallons of water a day! It can take 400 years for a single tree to decompose. Their biggest enemy is humans and fire. However, they are darned good at withstanding fires. I could go on and on but let's just say they are incredible specimens. Laden with lichen, ferns, mosses and ivies, mother nature as a landscape architect does a better job than any human can do!
After being totally overwhelmed by our hike, we got back in the truck and continued our drive through the forest. Then back on to hwy. 101 going south. It took a couple hours to navigate through the hills and down into the lowlands where the wine country meets the high country. It was finally warm! I could put on shorts and not freeze! That was until... we approached San Francisco. As we approached the Golden Gate bridge, the fog rushed in and it got windy and cold. Of course, it is rush hour, and the RV park requires that we navigate tiny streets in bumper to bumper traffic. Ugh.
We finally found the RV park, and the proprietor showed us our space. Tight squeeze, but Spouse was up to the challenge. He backed, he pulled forward. He backed, he pulled forward. He turned, he backed. Crew, make sure I don't hit the window. Ok. POP! Crew, not fast enough... as the window shatters into a gazillion tiny pieces. Oh well... It is freezing! Gotta get out of my shorts!
Tomorrow, the auto glass people will be here at 9am.
Woke up and went for my power walk along the Avenue of the Giants. Not much of a shoulder to walk on so I had to be careful but there wasn't a lot of traffic so it wasn't an issue. Walking is a great way to see things up close and personal. There are beautiful flowers. White and yellow yarrow, deep purple flowers resembling heliotrope. Daisy like flowers in pink, blue and white. Cascading orange flowers that resemble million bells look like they are strategically placed by landscapers. And of course, the giant redwoods tower hundreds of feet above. The Eel River snakes through (or does it 'eel' through?) a river valley. Its banks are sandy in spots and pebbly in spots. There are geese lounging around.
Unfortunately, when walking, you can also see the ugly side of things. Beer cans, a trashy vacuum cleaner, a car battery and other garbage has been strewn in a river bed and along the side of the road.
Back to camp, we readied Hannah for her tour through the Humboldt Redwood forest. It is very difficult to find the words to describe the redwood forest. The forest is masterful and mysterious. We took a hike on the Founders Grove loop trail. Here there are trees that are hundreds, and some are thousands of years old. Carrying our booklet about the trail, we learned a lot about the trees. We learned their age. We learned that they have three different microclimates for each tree. One tree can expel 400 gallons of water a day! It can take 400 years for a single tree to decompose. Their biggest enemy is humans and fire. However, they are darned good at withstanding fires. I could go on and on but let's just say they are incredible specimens. Laden with lichen, ferns, mosses and ivies, mother nature as a landscape architect does a better job than any human can do!
After being totally overwhelmed by our hike, we got back in the truck and continued our drive through the forest. Then back on to hwy. 101 going south. It took a couple hours to navigate through the hills and down into the lowlands where the wine country meets the high country. It was finally warm! I could put on shorts and not freeze! That was until... we approached San Francisco. As we approached the Golden Gate bridge, the fog rushed in and it got windy and cold. Of course, it is rush hour, and the RV park requires that we navigate tiny streets in bumper to bumper traffic. Ugh.
We finally found the RV park, and the proprietor showed us our space. Tight squeeze, but Spouse was up to the challenge. He backed, he pulled forward. He backed, he pulled forward. He turned, he backed. Crew, make sure I don't hit the window. Ok. POP! Crew, not fast enough... as the window shatters into a gazillion tiny pieces. Oh well... It is freezing! Gotta get out of my shorts!
Tomorrow, the auto glass people will be here at 9am.
I'm so jealous! I miss No Cal! I think we may do the drive up through Oregon next summer...
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