Best for Last

Our last day in the Redwoods got lost in an allergic reaction -- that's really the best explanation. I did write a rather humorous beginning to the blog which included my prediction that I was going to die by mosquito plague, but it seems a bit melodramatic now. The last night of our vacay had me riddled in mosquito (or something else...) bites, and a massive allergic reaction to something in Newport. You may think the two are related, but I had the same such reaction on the way down. If you could have bought stock in Benadryl a few days ago, I would have personally made you a millionaire.

Anywho...(Sidebar, my spell check thinks that should be two words. Anyone else feel passionately about it being one?)...We saved one thing for our drive out of Cali -- Stout Grove.  I'm glad we didn't see it on the way in, because everything would have paled in comparison. If you're driving south, and can stop for one thing, make it this. The drive to Stout is...another dirt road! This one had lots of pullouts and really only had a couple of harried situations. The drive is a nice windy "stroll" through massive trees.

 

This picture is slightly out of focus (see above about a dirt road!), but it gives the best feel of the drive. The space between some trees was just narrow enough for a vehicle. It felt magical.

The Stout Grove itself is astounding. One of the things that made it so jaw dropping is there is almost no covering on the forest floor. You can see this giants from floor, to as far as the eye can see.

We don't really have the pictures to show, but another WOW of this grove was the tree damage. A massive flood knocked out many of the trees. Inches of rain, shallow roots on the trees (a redwood trait), and lack of ground cover, made for a perfect storm. I've read a lot in the last week, and honestly I can't remember which flood this was. Either 1955 (which eliminated the town of Dyerville), or the 1964-65 winter, which came on the heels of the tsunami. I'm all researched out. Thinking about this forest floor full of water and then giant trees falling, and being knocked around is terrifying. 

This grove was full of amaziness. Enjoy a few more shots!!

I just can't describe the feeling of standing amongst these trees. I suppose being a PNW girl, trees are trees. This park wasn't really on my radar until I read At the Edge of the Orchard. Chevalier wrote about stumbling across these trees in a way that made me want to see it myself. Can't wait to get to the Sequoia Park now!!  

#findyourpark

Until next time -- T&L out!

Kurt Vonnegut, Chevy Chase & John Voight

You know what happened before iPhones and constant connectivity? This:

Who was in "Harry and the Hendersons"?
No -- it wasn't him. Who is Angelina Jolie's dad?
No -- the guy -- that funny guy.
Third Rock from the Sun? His nose is all wrong.
Why are you looking at his nose?
Kurt Vonnegut?
What? NO!

And on, and on. The face in question was....

No -- it wasn't actually Christopher Walken, but it's not a bad representation right? This is apparently one of Paul Bunyan's BFFs whom we saw at Trees of Mystery.

Trees of Mystery is a tourist trap, but they're doing a really nice job and preserving the trees on their property. And they have an awesome gondola on the property that takes you up in the tree tops. 

One of the groupings of trees they had were called Cathedral Trees. They had two such groupings on site. In reality, they are called Fairy Rings. I had read about them on an NPS page, and was tickled to see them in real life. Fairy Rings sprout from the burls of a parent tree, and grow closely together, often in a circular shape.

Trees of Mystery is worth a stop if you're in the area, despite what you may think from the side of the road! A few more shots:

She could not be happier in the trees!

Afterwards we went on the Coastal Drive, because what is a day without a dirt road adventure? :)  This is a nice short drive that gives some amazing views of the Pacific. We saw beautiful scenery, seals, pelicans, and a log that I pulled off the road to observe. Sigh.  Not every seal turns out to be a seal... 

Along this road is also an old WWII radar station that was disguised, at the time, to look like an everyday farm house. It was built with cinder block and a wooden facade. Much of the wooden facade is missing, but since the "bones" are of cinder block, everything is in amazing condition.  And bonus, we did not see any Japanese submarines (or Russian ones -- Dad -- that's for you!).  ;)

From there, we went to look at...big trees!! LOL.. Actually, this one was named "Big Tree". And yes, it was big... ;)

On our way to dinner we drove through Prairie Creek to take one last look at the elk. I know -- there are elk everywhere, but I love them. I was so delighted to find a herd on the North Coast after leaving the Snoqualmie Valley herd.  We were able to watch two youngsters tangling their horns up, right over the "Danger -- Wild Elk" sign.  Ironic. It was like a three-way battle with the sign being the third party! 

Our evening ended with a wonderful dinner at the Eatery in Trinidad. Tomorrow we begin the trek home. I think we will visit some more giant trees...and maybe eat a sheet cake. If you didn't watch Weekend Update tonight -- do it!!! 

See ya tomorrow!! 

Find Your Park

I think this has been a blog title before, and possibly a FB post, and definitely a hash tag, but seriously: do it. Find. Your. Park. Do all the other things that you're already doing - call your senators, speak out against injustice,  run for office, educate our youth, protect your neighbors... but then, go find your park. National Parks represent the very best in both nature AND humanity. Nature did it's work hundreds of years ago, but people, PEOPLE, are the ones who woke up and saved those spaces, decided they were amazing and worth protecting. Governments, yes, but ordinary people like you and me too. Yes we had nothing to do with the natural creation of the wonders in National Parks, but there is something special about the human side too. Today we stood in a space where over a hundred years ago, people spoke up, and worked together to save this old growth forest.  Our government has had some weeks like this one, and (sigh), probably will again, but they've had some amazing weeks too. Just nice to remember.

Today we spent the morning in Tall Trees. We got a permit!!!! We weren't the first people knocking down the door of the visitor center, but we were second.  :)  I read somewhere that they only issue 50 or so permits a day, and that small number made for a magical experience. We saw people hiking, but we were never with people, just passing (or being passed, LOL).  It made for a very peaceful discovery of these tall trees.

Tall Trees is a grove of...tall trees!! Ha! It is an old growth forest that has some of the tallest trees in the forest.  The locations of the tallest trees are no longer released to the public, but back in the day, this was the location of the known tallest redwood. Most of the trees stand at least 320ft, with a few towering well above that. These giants are located at the bottom of a steep trail, that is lined with amazing redwoods. It isn't until you reach the bottom and are on the Tall Trees Trail that you realize the absolute girth of these giants. There is no way to really describe the size of these giants, and few of our photos really show the size. On the way out we acknowledged that our photos were not going to show what we really saw today. That's why the actual experience is so dang good!

These evening, we headed south to the Avenue of the Giants. This is a 31 mile drive through the Humboldt State Forest, which houses several separate groves, making for an impressive drive. There are several stops along the way, with interpretive signs and trails, and of course, we did a lot of hopping out of the car and checking things out. At one such stop we encountered this curious sound.

Earlier in Tall Trees while we were taking a break from the uphill hike, we were startled by a "snuffling" sound nearby and made quite a racket getting off that section of the trail. That experience fresh in our minds, we were a little cautious in exploring. Well, obviously not that cautious since we figured it out. Truth be told, one fearless traveler plunged in to the forest, and the other felt compelled to follow. The age old question: who is Thelma and who is Louise? :) Anyway, the interesting sound ended up being a fallen smaller tree rubbing up against one of the redwood giants. We could feel the vibrations in the trunk when we put our hands on it. Very cool.

Avenue of the Giants took longer than expected, and we again dined late, and returned home even later. But what a day.  :)

Fern Canyon

There is a portion of 101 that takes your breath away with the ocean views: sand dunes, rock stacks, rolling waves etc. And then, there is a portion (that lasts several hours incidentally) where there is nothing to see, and absolutely no cell reception. As the passenger, I love researching with my phone --  anecdotes about the towns that we drive through, wacky history and interesting tidbits. This was total radio silence (except our awesome playlist!). In retrospect, what a blessing to have several hours TODAY away from any sort of media...

But we made it!!!

We left Newport bright and early, and arrived in...  no idea where. You know, California! Someplace with really tall trees and a prairie, a little after 4pm, and made a bee line for Fern Canyon.  I say bee line, but the road in was... Well, it was a typical National Park road that leads to something awesome. Much shorter than some of the others that we have traversed, but slightly more terrifying due to the narrowness of the road. By this time in the day I was pretty car sick from the back and forth on 101, so I hopped in the driver's seat to have a little more control over the ride.  Dirt road, unfamiliar car, one-lane passings... It was like the Road to Hana, in that as the driver I think I was shouting like a roller coaster most of the time. We went over hill and over dale (and through two streams!!).  Mom shot this video going back, and watching it, I am completely shocked at how SLOW we are going.  Perspective, apparently. The ghostly colored plants to either side of the road are a testament to the dustiness of the road.

What we LOVE about National Parks is that you are wandering around someplace normal one minute, and the next you are staring at something unexpectedly amazing. Such was Fern Canyon. It is exactly what it sounds like -- a floor to ceiling canyon filled with ferns on both sides.

The ferns have a feathery quality to them -- looked almost like bird plumage from some angles. My Master Gardener BFF says there were several types of ferns -- five fingers..... And some others that I can no longer remember....

In my proof-reading I can see that I am having some issues with staying in one tense. I'm telling you, I SEE IT, but I'm moving on. :) I'm so tired. We are getting up early tomorrow to hope to get a permit for the Tall Trees hike. This morning I handled the morning so well, that I changed outfits three times. Honestly. This does not bode well for the upcoming get-back-to-work-program.

Good Night! Tomorrow? Really big trees. :)

Help! Making a Playlist...

Last summer's mid-year Thelma & Louise adventure had us in Zion National Park. This year, we are headed south to the Redwoods! We both read Tracey Chevalier's At the Edge of the Orchard this year, and it renewed a desire to see these huge giants. So tomorrow night we are off! Road Trip!!!



When we devised this trip in the early summer, I had grand plans to serenade the driver with my new found ukulele skills. As you can see from the video below, I have not made epic progress. I think practicing regularly is key, something I failed to do. You know the saxophone came so easy. I know I practiced, but I also know that I got lucky with some woodwind talent. Anyway... I have made progress in other things though: Since this video was created, I have gotten a haircut, lost the lisp I somehow acquired for this recording,evened out the sunglasses tan, and stopped waggling my eyebrows so much. I mean, honestly....

So...since I will not be strumming our way to the Redwoods, I am in dire need of playlist recommendations. I love country, show-tunes, folk-rock, and anything with a big band sound. My travel partner has the irritating quality of liking anything. ;) Also, we love duets. I mainly am writing that to see if my travel buddy is reading this. She HATES duets because I play them over and over until we can get the parts right. So, I'm looking for anything having to do with Americana, exploring, road tripping, driving, friends, trees, and...duets. :)


See you in the blog-o-sphere!

The Lost Day

I know there are lingering questions about what happened to Thelma and Louise. Did they drive off the cliff? Ha -- no. ;) There was a lost day though! It can all be attributed to one factor: we had a night flight.

Before said flight, there was one more beautiful day. One more day of guava juice and coconut syrup in your coffee... One more day of bathing suits and flippers,  and all of this:

We spent most of the day at the beach. As there were no more shady spots around the pool, we got a mini-cabana (chairs with a pull down umbrella) on the beach.  And what a view.  Happy sigh. The water conditions were actually pretty crazy. There were periods of calm and then insane waves. The height of the waves was astounding.

We did get in the water for one last snorkel, and it was pretty rough swimming. The current was strong, and because of that, we couldn't really see anything as the sand was churning on the bottom. I did see one last turtle, and that's all that counts! We had quite a workout getting back to shore, but our massages later in the day did take care of that. ;)

Our last dinner was at Hula Grill, where previously we had eaten in the Barefoot Bar. We ordered the chef's tasting menu and had delicious local greens, lobster potstickers, macademia nut encrusted mahi and.... I can't remember what else! In my normal life I don't eat a lot of fish, and I don't drink hardly any alcohol, but when in Rome... everything tastes better in paradise.

It was so, so hard to leave. 

There is something magical and easy about Hawaii. I had a few misgivings about spending our spring break relaxing instead of adventuring, but I stand corrected. Paradise is truly that. Usually, at the end of our trips, we do a list of favorites, but it is impossible to do since every moment was a favorite. 💖

By taking the night flight, we kind of ripped the bandaid off of leaving. We left Hawaii around 10pm, arrived in Seattle at 6:30am, and finally in Portland at 8:30am.  I thought I might take a small nap on Saturday, and woke up 7 hours later! 

As always, thanks for traveling with us! Aloha!

Save the Coral (and other adventures)

This morning we had a behind the scenes tour of the Maui Ocean Center. We've been to this aquarium before -- it's a sweet little spot that features only local Hawaiian animals. The behind the scenes tour was amazing. First we started out in their lab, where, among other things, they work at re-growing coral.

Coral are facing a lot of challenges in the waters off Maui. Run-off from agriculture, warming ocean temperatures, and chemicals from sunscreen are just a few. Our guide, Mackenzie, was encouraging us to wear leggings and shirts in the water instead of sunscreen.  We did a little silent fist bump -- so cool to have a ridiculous-feeling outfit vindicated! There is a bill right now in Hawaiian legislature to ban all sunscreens that have oxybenzone.  If you're coming to Hawaii, ABC Stores carry safe sunscreens, and we also found that the Honest brand that we got at the Costco back home was safe.

The Maui Ocean Center is working with the state to preserve, and help re-grow some of the coral that died off a few years ago when ocean temperatures rose. Sometimes Hawaii feels...too laid back, but we were so impressed with how aggressively these biologists were working to save and protect the animals in their waters. Things are uncertain with climate and science, but only out of DC. There are good people, out there on the front lines, that are still protecting all of what we love.

From coral we went to my favorite...turtles! Honestly, I could not love these little guys more.  Maui Ocean Center has a unique situation where they release animals back in to the ocean. Keeping them at the Ocean Center while they are hatchlings gives them a greater chance of survival when they are so small, and learning how to survive. When they are a few years old, they are released back in to the waters around Maui.  We were able to watch these little hatchlings for a while, and feed them!

After feeding the hatchlings and the yearlings, we went over to feed the ray, the shark and a variety of fish. The turtle food was little shrimps and lettuce. This was chunky, bloody, fish. You all know how much I HATE to have my hands dirty, so I took a pass on this one. 

After the Ocean Center, we headed in to Lahaina for lunch. We found a cute little spot called Frida's Mexican Beach House that had a nice ocean view, complete with sailboats and turtles. :)

Then, we headed to Maui Escape Rooms, to participate in the Bank Heist. Have you heard of these? You have an hour to solve the puzzle and find your way out of the room. Dad, don't freak. You aren't actually locked in.  Of course you can't take your phone in (although that would NOT have helped!), but I found these pics on their website which shows the entry to the room (and their strange gorilla logo...).  

This was an hour of puzzles -- numbers, letters, logic... it was so fun! The hour goes by SO FAST! You can ask for as many as three hints, but you barely need them because there are some tips that appear on the screen when you are either way off track, or closing in on something. We did use one hint when we had like 2 minutes left and were basically freaking out! We finished the puzzle with 18 seconds to go.  I think these are all over the US right now -- we definitely recommend the experience!

Afterwards, we had every intention of going back to the hotel to snorkel, but the weather kicked up, and ocean swimming didn't seem like a great idea. We really were craving some more shave ice, so we headed back to Lahaina to Ululant's, and picked up some pizza at Lahaina Pizza Company. Double yum.

I love the picture below because it is so quintessentially Hawaiian -- lush greens, an art stand, and a stray cat. This is the Hawaii that we know. :)

And then we were treated to a beautiful sunset. Happy sigh.

Aloha!