California Redwoods

On our trip to Oregon and California we went far enough into California to see the Redwoods.  Leaving the coast near the California and Oregon border, we headed inland, bypassing Crescent City and making our way to Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. Neither of us had seen the redwoods before and my wife had never been in California before, so these were two more firsts on what had already been a wonderful trip.  We would very much like to see more of them, however.

Driving down to the State Park we were already among the redwoods and having never seen them before could not find words to describe them.  Later at the State Park we spent the late afternoon and evening walking among the redwoods, awed by their  huge size, their straight towering trunks, their beautiful proportions and the lovely understory of ferns that grew in their shadow.  It is hard to describe them and we were unable to take pictures that did them justice, and can only say that one must see them to appreciate them and enjoy them as we did.

We learned that the Coast Redwood is taller but not as large in diameter or bulk as the Giant Sequoia.  It can grow to 380 feet, live for 2000 years, has fire- and insect-resistant bark that is twelve inches thick, and has a cone about the size of a large olive.  The park we visited is part of a complex of parks jointly administered by the state of California and the National Park Service that reaches for more than fifty miles down the California coast and provides a sanctuary for these amazing and wonderful trees.

After spending the night in a motel room near the park, an anniversary treat, we drove on up the Redwoods Highway the next morning, following the Smith River and enjoying the redwoods until finally we left them behind at the California-Oregon border.  There, too, we found another turn-off with the sign, "Botanical Walk," and taking the sign as invitation we found another bog full of Cobra Lilies, these too finished blooming but with their distinctive insect-catching "leaves" in perfect condition.  The mosquitoes there were bothersome but we spent some time taking more pictures before going on.

Oregon Coast

We were away from home July 9-12 on a trip we had intended to make for a long time and which was a trip we will never forget.  We left home early Monday morning and headed for the Oregon coast.  After traveling through western Washington on Interstate 5, we left the Interstate at Longview, crossed the Columbia River there and headed west for Astoria and the coast following Highway 101.  The weather was a bit cloudy the first day but that did not interfere with our enjoyment of the trip

 

We only made it as far down the coast as Pacific City on Monday, taking a lot of detours for pictures, stopping for a lunch of grilled razor clams at a small seafood place in Seaside where we also stopped at the local tourist information service.  We went there to find out about some have-to-see places we needed not to miss.  We took our time to see whatever sounded interesting, to take a lot of pictures, and to make sure the trip was enjoyable and not rushed.

That first day we stopped at Hog Point and Cape Falcon as well as many of the beautiful  beaches to photograph the scenery, especially the seastacks along the shore.  We ended the day exploring Cape Meares and the area south of the cape and watched the sunset at Cape Lookout before finding a place to park our van, put up the curtains, and prepare our self-inflating pads and sleeping bags for the night.

The second day we got an early start but spent the day as before, stopping often, taking pictures whenever we fancied, and enjoying the fantastic scenery.  We stopped at Depoe Bay, touted as the world's smallest seaport, at the Devil's Punchbowl and spent a great deal of time at Yaquina Head photographing its lighthouse, the seals on the rocks below the light, the thousands of waterbirds, and watching a whale feeding just off the coast.

Our last stop in Oregon was near the town of Florence.  Driving down Highway 101 and away from the coast we saw a sign that said, "Darlingtonia Wayside."  Recognizing the name, Darlingtonia, as that of the Cobra Lily, we left the main road and found a small picnic area with a short walk that lead to a bog filled with Cobra Lilies, our first sight of this unique plant.  The walk ended on a viewing platform that made photography somewhat difficult, but we took plenty of pictures anyway.

That second day brought us the rest of the way down the coast into northern California and Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, but that is the subject of another post.  We had good weather for our trip, especially the second day, but in any weather the Oregon coast is one of the most scenic areas we have ever visited and we fully intend to make the trip again and even take more time to visit some of the places we missed on this visit.