The Drive Home

Even though it's always sad to leave, having stops planned for the Avenue of Giants on the way home helps take a little of the sting out of it.

We stopped by our favorite area at the north end of the Avenue and ran through the clover because this is one of those favorites we don't want to miss.

Found the albino tree again.

It's so weird seeing redwoods with no pigment.

And then we tried a new one--the Rockerfeller Loop. 

It was beautiful and ha access to the river.

We hung out down there for a little bit before turning around.

The trees are so crazy big, when they fall across the water, it makes a pretty safe bridge.

And that hike wrapped up our week of redwood adventures. We've come for a couple more days every year and haven't hit our fill yet. One of these years, we're just going to have to move up here!

New Hikes

Another new area for us! We met up with Daddy-o's high school friend who lives in Trinidad to do another hike, Strawberry Rock, and were rewarded with this gorgeous view from the top.

There was a labyrinth along the way.

And getting to this rock was pretty fun, with a rope to help pull up and a narrow crevice for a bit. 

It's fun to see the ocean just past the forest.

Our hike leader.

And his kids.

It was fun to do something different.

Found a heart--perfect for how we feel about all the hiking.

We also checked out the Moorman Trail which had SO much trillium, and walked a little bit on the Little Creek trail, too.

We haven't found a hike we DON'T like yet.

Lots of short hikes today which work well for Daddy-o who appreciates the rest time in-between so his heart rate can come back down and his finger doesn't have to deal with the pulsing. He's been so good about this week, even though it hasn't all been fun, and certainly not comfortable. But a bad day in the redwoods is still a day in the redwoods. Can't believe it's time to say goodbye.

Finding New Favorites

This is the longest we've spent up this way, so we had time to add in a couple new places and the Boy Scout Tree Trail is now another favorite. This hike is farther north than we usually adventure, and full of huge, old trees.

The creek crossing at the beginning is a pretty little spot.

And so many different fungi!

The log to cross was a big hit with everyone.

Peanut was a trooper for the whole 5.5 miles.

The hike ended up being a too much for Daddy-o. The first mile is the best, and he made it through that part, but then decided that his finger wasn't going to make it doable to keep going, so I walked back to the car with him (to make sure he made it--he was in a lot of pain by then and I worried about him potentially fainting if things got really bad.) And then I left him in the car napping and hurried back up the hill to the kids so we could keep walking.

Mushrooms and moss make me happy.

Those mushrooms growing along this tree were big--like dinner plate size. And you can see they went really far up the tree!

Just past the spot I'd left them, the forest is laid out with evenly spaced trees, and thin enough to really see all the trees, but still has a very forested feel. It's impossible to capture how beautiful these places are, and being in them feels like so much more than just seeing something pretty.

More incredible fungi,

all along the way.

And then, the waterfall at the end of the trail. We ate a quick lunch here before heading back.

One more mushroom pic. I can't get enough!

And then, it was time for another afternoon of tidepooling. 

We met up with our friends from home who happened to staying up in Crescent City at the same time and went to the beach up there.

It wasn't as good as the other day, but we still found quite a few sea stars.

The masks came in handy when it was chilly!

Love the coast!

There were also lots of these pink anemones.

And this, which I'm honestly not sure exactly what it is--part of a sea cucumber? 

Snail

And these super tiny orange cup coral--so cute!

Someone was feeling pretty tired by the end of the day.

So beautiful. And to end the afternoon, we took advantage of the fact that we were in a bigger town and grabbed takeout for dinner before we drove back to our home-away-from-home.  

Fern Canyon 2021

We woke up to elk in the backyard. Every time we've been up here, the elk have shown up at least once. This year, it was a really big group and we watched them for quite a while.

Then, it was off to Fern Canyon, another favorite spot. Last year, we were here in June and there were a lot more ferns--I guess it's a little early for the walls to be so thick.

But it was still beautiful and perfect for exploring.

And we found some fun wildlife: more banana slugs

and a red-legged frog.

Also, mushrooms. Because what hike is complete without mushrooms?

Even though this was a lighter day, we still managed to hike about 4 miles, and then had lunch at the campground down by the beach before we drove home. 

One of the things that I love about our trips up here is the place we stay in Orick. It's not fancy, and not huge, but it is cozy and comfortable for the 5 of us and gives us a lot more room to spread out than a hotel room would. We always bring a lot of games to play and movies to watch. I also kind of love that there are no restaurants in Orick, so we're just eating at the house--it's more work, but also more relaxing. While dinner is cooking, we can play a few rounds of something, or people can take a nap or whatever. Some vacations, I feel like we never use the places we stay because were on the go for all but a few hours. But these redwoods trips are pretty much a perfect balance of exploring and downtime.

Some favorite games from this year:

Deer in the Headlights

Not Parent Approved

Blurble

Bird Bingo (it's just bingo, but we always have to play this one up here, it's so pretty)

And movies:

Clash of the Titans

X-men

Ewoks (so much more terrible than I remember! It was a little sad to watch.)

The Lego Movie (always a favorite)