Friday morning, we headed south on Highway 101. We drove through the Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor. "This corridor is a 12 mile, forested, linear park with a rugged, steep
coastline interrupted by small sand beaches. This park was named in
honor of Samuel H. Boardman, the first Oregon Parks superintendent. He
and others of his generation felt this shining coastline should be saved
for the public. What gems they gave us: admire the 300-year old sitka
spruce trees, gaze at the amazing Arch Rock and Natural Bridges, and
walk the 27 miles of Oregon Coast Trail that weave through the giant
forests."
We did not stop at all of the locations, but did stop at several. Our first stop was Arches Rock.
Our next stop was Natural Bridges.
We also stopped at House Rock.
The Park Rangers recommended two hikes to us and both were great. The first ran parallel to the Smith River and into Stout Grove - a mile in and a mile back out. Words cannot express the size and number of giant redwood trees. Our necks hurt from looking up at these 300+ foot tall trees - I am so glad that we are protecting these areas and allowing people to visit them.
We both learned about banana slugs as well as seeing one on our way back to where we started.
We met a banana slug on the way out and he was still crossing the bridge on our way back.
We did not stop at all of the locations, but did stop at several. Our first stop was Arches Rock.
Our next stop was Natural Bridges.
Next we stopped at Indian Sands, a large area of sand dunes and sandstone sculpted by wind and water.
We also stopped at House Rock.
We then drove on into California and headed for the Redwood National and State Parks Visitor Center in Hiouchi, CA. This is in the Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park. The State of California works jointly with the National Park Service to administer four visitor centers and several protected park areas.
The Park Rangers recommended two hikes to us and both were great. The first ran parallel to the Smith River and into Stout Grove - a mile in and a mile back out. Words cannot express the size and number of giant redwood trees. Our necks hurt from looking up at these 300+ foot tall trees - I am so glad that we are protecting these areas and allowing people to visit them.
We both learned about banana slugs as well as seeing one on our way back to where we started.
We then drove on a dirt road, Howlands Hill Road. It is six miles of amazing road - it makes driving in mud season back in Vermont look easy. Because of the bumps, ruts and mud puddles, you cannot drive more than five mph. The road weaves around and past massive redwood trees. It was an amazing adventure and the drive was worth the effort. There were places where the trees were so close, I could reach out the driver's side window to the tree at the same time Patty could reach out from the other side to touch that tree. And I mean redwood trees, eight to ten feet in diameter and hundreds of feet tall.
Our second hike was on the Mill Creek Trail - although it is several miles long, we were told to hike the section back to Houichi - so we went out two miles and back two miles.
We met a banana slug on the way out and he was still crossing the bridge on our way back.
We ended our day with the drive to our hotel in Klamath, CA. The Yurok tribe runs the hotel, casino and an excellent restaurant where we had dinner and shared a bottle of local white wine.
No comments:
Post a Comment