July 18-19, 2008 – Redwoods and home
California Road Trip and Family GTG

Days 12-13 The day was misty as we headed back up the tortuous curves of Hwy 1 to Hwy 101. This section between Fort Bragg and Leggett is not heavily traveled. It had been closed recently due to a forest fire and we passed several burned out shoulders along the way. The sun broke out and we joined up with Hwy 101 to head north.

I used the David Baselt’s outstanding Redwood Hikes website for our planning. We only had a short time to visit and I wanted to be able to see as much as possible. I decided on the Roosevelt Grove in Humboldt State Park and Stout grove in Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park. My friend E also highly recommended the drive through Stout Grove near Crescent City.

We decided our first stop would be the Roosevelt Loop in Humboldt Redwood State Park just off the Avenue of the Giants. We turned off at Mattole exit and drove along the river. We missed the turn off and had to turn around. There was no one else in the parking lot and we could still feel the morning chill. The trail was short but it gave us a good idea of the giants of these forests.

We headed on and got gas at the Costco in Eureka. It was pretty expensive even for a Costco at $4.60/gallon. We stopped at another brewery for lunch – Six River Brewery just north of Arcata.

Our next stop was at Stout Grove. We saw the sign just before Crescent City and turned off on to Howland Hill Road. This is very cool road that eventually becomes a dusty dirt road curving between the big trees. We took a short walk through the grove and then headed into Oregon for Grants Pass.

We spent our last night in Grants Pass. The next day we drove straight up I-5 and home to the kitty. A quick but enjoyable two weeks.

Here are some photos of the redwoods. I found them extremely difficult to shoot. The bright sun shinning and the dark shadows made it very difficult for exposing.

Roosevelt Grove – Look closely – You can see me in red at the base of the trees

Winding path in Roosevelt Grove

Lovely oxalis meadow in the shadow of the giants in Roosevelt Grove

The dirt road through the giants at Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park

Late Afternoon sunrays through the Stout Grove