Crescent City, CA -23 to June 27

We arrived in the rain on Saturday, June 23, 2012.   The campground is very handy, since it's right on Hwy 101.   Checked out churches, Mass times, and settled in for the evening.   Sunday was beautiful, but chilly.   We had breakfast and went to Mass, and then took a 14 mile trip thru the Jedediah Smith State Park and took the Redwood Forest Loop Drive.   What a road!   Hard packed dirt road (one lane in most places) and weaved between the giant redwoods.   There were many opportunities to hike, and we took two.   The first was the Nickerson trail, which took us deep into the redwoods, with all varieties of ferns growning along the trail.   The second was the Stout Grove, which was wider trails and more popular than the previous one. We were awed by the Smith River - beautiful as it cuts between two mountains.  

Monday we woke up to cloudy skies, and by the time we left the trailer it was starting to rain.   Had to find SOMETHING to do that was inside!   Stopped at the Visitors Center and learned about the Battery Point lighthouse, which can only be reached by foot at low tide.   We hustled out to the parking area and made our way across the rocks (in the rain) to the lighthouse for a tour.   The light keeper is a volunteer from Kansas City, MO.  The volunteers come from all over the US and stay a month at the lighthouse.   Their duties include running a gift shop, giving tours at low tide, and of course keeping the light lit!   The living quarters were very comfortable, and there is a modern kitchen with a view to die for!   From the lighthouse we went back into town to the museum and learned about the TWO tsunamis that have hit Crescent City -- the 1965 Alaska tsunami and the 2011 one.   The Alaska one wiped out 29 blocks of the town, and came in during the night.   The 2011 one came during the day, and since the city had taken safety precautions after the first one, it only caused problems at the marina--piling all the boats into one big heap.   Later in the afternoon we went back out in the rain to watch the rescuers feed the "patients" at the Northcoast Marine Mammal Center.  The Center rescues, rehabilitates and releases seals, sea lions and walruses which are washed up along the coast, or are rescued in the sea near land.    They had two adults (one will be released on Sunday),  and 6 baby seals ranging in age from 2 weeks to 8 weeks of age.   They were fun to watch.  Their average stay is 1-2 months.

Tuesday was beautiful, so we drove back down 101 to the Trees of Mystery which had a hiking trail through the redwoods with information on the various strange ones (one truck with 12 other trees growing out of it), the Cathedral tree (5 redwoods together - often the site of weddings), and the huge brotherhood of man tree.   There was a gondola which took us to the elevation of 700 feet with beautiful view of the mountains in the distance and in the other direction, the Pacific.   On the way back down we were treated to fables of Paul Bunyon carved with a chainsaw.   There was a huge statue of Paul and Babe in the Parking lot, which reminded me of the ones in Bemidji, MN.   This Paul talked to you, waved, and winked.   He evidently could hear what people were saying, and so called the kids by name, answered questions, etc.   What fun!
We drove a few miles farther south and found the "Drive Thru Tree", so I took the pictures, while Jack maneuvered the truck thru the trunk of the large redwood.   He said that even with the mirrors pulled in, the mirrors touched the tree as he drove through.  

Today (Wednesday) we drove hwy 199 - the Redwoods Highway- to our new campsite between Medford and Gold Hill, Oregon.    It was a beautiful drive!