Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Mueth Cali Trip: Day 4 in Humboldt Redwoods National Park

We woke up early in Sonoma County and were eager to head to Humboldt County to see the Redwood Forest. Tom was probably most excited about this portion of the trip so I got pretty excited as well. We stopped for our morning coffee and were off to the coastal before heading back inland for Humboldt Redwoods State Park. The road was as windy and amazing as before. We could have stopped every five minutes to take an extraordinary picture. The only downside was the fog, but that is to be expected on the coast. 






We came to one spot that I thought was particularly beautiful. I was taking tons of pictures when Tom said, "Do you want to go down to the beach?" I hadn't even seen the route down so I was excited when Tom pointed out the stairs. Unfortunately, halfway down the wet stairs I fell straight back and hit my head. It hurt so badly and I was pretty sure our trip was over cause there was no way I wasn't concussed. After a few deep breaths I was up and the beach views were worth the walk (and maybe the fall?!) 




There were rocks on the beach just covered with clam shells. I had never seen anything like that and thought it was so cool.

Often times on our drive we would pass by bikes like these. It was a constant point of discussion for us as these bikers were riding some fierce hills with crazy wind. We stopped at this Mexican restaurant for lunch in Eureka, California. I couldn't help but snap a picture of the famous bikes and I almost couldn't resist joining them for some lunch conversation!

As we got off the coast and headed toward the woods the sky became a beautiful blue. Just a simple turn inland would change the sky from pure clouds to bright blue. It was amazing. The temperature also rose and by the time we got to the redwood forest it was a perfect summer day! 

We decided our first stop in the redwoods would be the famous drive through tree. We both laughed when saw this little tourist trap, but we still had fun driving through.  At first Tom was nervous that our car wouldn't make it. After we watched someone drive a nice BMW through we figured we could give it a try! 





Tom driving our rental car through the Chandelier Tree

Next stop: Humboldt Redwoods State Park, Home of the Avenue of the Giants and our campsite for the next two nights! 


Upon check in we asked the park ranger about hiking trails. She told us that if nothing else we should hike the Founders Trail. It is a 1 mile flat trail with some of the biggest trees in the park. We set up our tent and off we went. It was a great first view of the forest as we saw some incredibly huge trees. 
Me sitting on a fallen tree
the roots of a fallen tree







If you ever want to feel small...



where's Tom?
After a quick sneak peek of the redwoods we went back to our campsite for a game of War and a bottle of wine. It was a great day. We loved driving along the avenue and taking in all the huge trees!



heart shaped tree stump



where's Tom...again


Our campsite in Humboldt Redwoods
There's no way to possibly show the size of these trees. It was truly an unbelievable experience.