8/23 - Redwoods, Day 2

This morning was spent doing laundry at the nearby laundromat. It was accomplished without any problems for which we were thankful.

Looking out our back window at another day in the fog.

After lunch we headed over to the Jedediah Smith State Park which is one of many parks associated with the redwoods.  The fog had never lifted and the temperature was still in the 50 to 54 range so we really didn't know what to expect.  We were just leaving Crescent City (maybe three miles from the campground) when the fog suddenly disappeared and it was a beautiful sunny day in the 60's. The change back to total fog was just as abrupt on our return. Apparently Crescent City is a fog and tsunami magnet.

We had been told at the parks' information center on Sunday what we should see otherwise we might not have known where to go. We finally found the right road and immediately ran up on a road construction sign warning of 45 minute wait times. Since Howland Hill Road can be entered from either direction, we turned around to head for the other end.  Fortunately, we decided to stop at the information center to be sure this was a good thing to do because it wasn't. The ranger said wait times were more like ten minutes and the 45 minute waits were when they were doing something really dangerous on the bridge. (The construction is to build a new bridge over the Smith River.)  So we turned around again and went back to the line. The wait was only 15 minutes which is way less than it would have taken us to go the other way. After experiencing the other end of the road we were doubly glad we hadn't done it.

The temporary bridge lane on the left was challenging enough for a dually. Nothing bigger could have made it. There are signs prohibiting trailers and motor homes but nothing saying a big Class C shouldn't try it. 

We continued down Howland Hill Road in all its picturesque glory.  We had been told it was an exceptionally beautiful drive and not to miss it. 

The trees were indeed glorious, but this is the dry season and there hasn't been any rain in several months. Everything within sight of the road was completely covered in dust (including us). It's a wonder any of the plants can stay alive until the dirt is washed off when the rainy season returns.

Stout Grove was our destination. It has a great trail through the trees. We had to squeeze through the road around parked cars that hadn't been able to find a space in the lot. We were afraid we wouldn't find a parking space and knew the truck would stick out too far to park on the road. We were very lucky to find that the one handicapped space was open and the truck fit in it so we were good to go.

The grove is a 44-acre tract that was given to the Save the Redwoods League by Clara Stout in honor of her husband, lumber baron Frank Stout, to keep it from being logged. The League is still acquiring land today to save redwoods.  It's ironic that a lumber baron's money went to save these trees.

This is one of the giant trees on the ground. Jim is in the distance on the right for perspective. 

This wasn't even the biggest one we saw.  Redwoods, with all their height, have a surprisingly shallow root system.  Their roots go down only 10 or 12 feet but they extend for over 100 feet around each tree.  Groves of trees help support each other with their roots all intertwined.

Another whopper on the ground.

The Smith River with its usual low summer water level. There are foot bridges across it to the Jedediah Smith State Park campground but they can be used only in summer. We wondered how often they got washed away in the rainy season.

After we'd had a wonderful hike through the redwood grove we continued on our drive down Howland Hill Road.  This is a good picture but it doesn't truly capture the essence of the road which is SKINNY.  All the other pictures I took were blurred (because the road is really bumpy) so this and the next one are all we have.

This one gives a good idea of how dust-covered the plants were.  It also gives a bit more of an idea of the width of the road.  It's a one-lane two-way road with wide spots every now and then.  Passing wasn't so much of a problem because most (not all) people were pretty good about sharing the space.  The problems arose when the road snaked itself between redwoods in an S-shape and there was barely enough room to squeeze the truck through. One spot had maybe four inches of clearance on either side. Jim is a master at getting the truck through tight spaces but, between the tight road and the blinding sunlight hitting clouds of dust from other vehicles, it made for a tough drive in which he couldn't enjoy the scenery at all. If we'd known what to expect we would have gone out the way we went in.

On our way back to the campground we went to see the Battery Point Lighthouse which we can see across the bay from the RV.  It's unlikely it's ever open to the public.  Its road goes through the water so it's only accessible at low tide. It's a very picturesque place.

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A view of the campground across the bay from the lighthouse.  The bay has a very narrow opening to the ocean because of the breakwater and jetties around it, so there's no surf and the water is very quiet. This is our last view of the Pacific Ocean for this trip. 

Tomorrow we're heading to Klamath Falls, Oregon, to see Crater Lake. The drive will be challenging with the first 80 miles going up the very twisty and hilly Hwy 199, probably worse than any pig path we've encountered to date.