Today I drove 244 miles traveling from Fort Bragg, California to Crescent City, California.
I spend the entire day exploring the giant Coastal Redwoods. (Don't like long videos? Click  for some shorter videos from today.) |
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Hello Folks, This morning I left Fort Bragg, California and continued driving north along the coast. While I saw the ocean several times today, the main attraction today was the giant redwoods. My first stop of the day was in Leggett, California which was 46 miles away. The last 25 miles of that was through the thickest forest I have ever seen. There was a big bright sun overhead and it looked like midnight. The road was also the most winding road I have ever seen. It was so bad I could seldom go above 15-20 miles per hour. It was making me dizzy. When I finally got to the end of it I was in Leggett and my first stop at the Chandelier Tree.  The tree is a 276-foot tall coast redwood tree (the official height which doesn't match the signage) with a 6-foot wide by 6-foot-9-inch high hole cut through its base to allow a car to drive through. My next stop was 15.4 miles down the road. It was at the Famous One-Log House in Garberville. I used the word famous because it is on their sign.  I paid my two dollars and walked through the house. This unique home has a kitchen, living area, dining area and two beds. Hollowed out in 1946 from a single log, the Famous One-Log House was created from a redwood tree over 2100 years old! This section alone weighed 42 tons. It took two men eight months of hard labor to hollow out a room 7 feet high and 32 feet long.  The beds do not look very comfortable.  I do not see a bathroom in the house. I guess they had an outhouse.  Fifteen more miles up the road was the southern entrance to the Avenue of the Giants, a scenic highway running through Humboldt Redwoods State Park. The highway is notable for the Coast Redwoods that overshadow the road and surround the area. It is from these towering trees that the Avenue of the Giants takes its name.  The two-lane road has a number of parking areas, picnic sites, and attractions. One such attraction is the Shrine Drive-Thru Tree. Don't look at my dirty car with bugs splattered all over the grill.  Next along the Avenue of the Giants I took a short walk through Founder's Grove. This well-travelled trail is a good example of old-growth redwood forest and contains a few very big trees, including the Founder's Tree (pictured below) at 346.1 feet tall.  I'm thinking about trading my new Highlander for the snazzy vehicle below.  This is Stone Lagoon School, a one room school house that opened in 1893 surrounded by towering redwoods. In 1958, this humble house of learning closed its doors forever. The building remains and looking as sharp as ever.  Next there was an 80 mile drive on US 101 which led me to Redwood National Park. Lots more redwoods here. Below is Redwood Creek Overlook.  I drove down the Newton B Drury Scenic Parkway. Guess what, more redwoods. About ten miles north of there you come to the town of Klamath. It has a couple of attractions. The first was the Tour Thru Tree.  This one was a close one. I barely fit. The Tahoe ahead of me backed out and wouldn't try it. The next tourist trap was the Trees of Mystery. Here you ride gondolas through the redwoods to the top of the hill. The view at the top wasn't very spectacular. Below is a picture of the gondola.  In the parking lot of the Trees of Mystery are two giants statues of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox.  The giant redwoods were amazing, but the area loses some of its natural splendor due to over commercialization. After finishing at the Trees of Mystery it was just a fifteen mile drive to Crescent City where I am spending the night. I'm staying at the Best Western Plus Northwoods Inn. I got my dinner from Denny's again tonight. This is my fifth and final night in California. Oregon is only twenty miles up the road which is where I am going next. This is night #18 of my trip. I just passed the half way point. Tim |
Most of the original audio track is in tact on this video but occasionally content playing on the radio was removed and replaced with background music. |
Click on the arrow above for tomorrow's adventures.
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