Travelogue

Lolo stalking the fallen Dyerville GiantAfter about 3 and a half hours of driving towards Bandon, we decided to stop and stretch our legs amongst the giant California redwood trees of Northern California.

The fact that there are still so many groves of these incredible trees to enjoy, which happen to be the largest and tallest on earth, was not a given. After the gold rush, many miners that failed to strike it rich with gold turned to harvesting these giant redwoods. By the early 1900s, these priceless forests were badly threatened by years of unrestricted clear cut logging.

However, today, thanks to the foresight and work of the state of California and the Save the Redwoods League, hundreds of groves have been acquired and protected for our enjoyment. In 1968, Redwood National Park was created for the purpose of cooperative forest management with three other state parks: Jedediah Smith, Del Norte, and Prairie Creek. Today Redwood National and State Parks encompasses 133,000 acres and protects 45% of all remaining coast redwood old-growth forests.

Although you don’t even have to leave your car to enjoy these majestic groves along the scenic Redwood Highway, to truly experience them, you need to get out of the car and walk amongst them.

There are so many choices of groves to visit. We chose to drive the 30-mile-auto-tour route known as the Avenue of Giants, which pretty much parallels US 101, stopping to stroll the ½-mile loop through the Founders Grove.

There are two “special trees” along this loop. The Founders Tree, which is a memorial to the Save-the-Redwoods-League, and the Dyerville Giant, which was once the tallest tree in this region, clocking in at 370 feet. Unfortunately, the Giant fell back in 1991.

Refreshed, we continued on US 101 into Oregon. The only noteworthy thing that occurred along the drive is that we thought we saw an orange construction cone in the lane in front of us. The weird thing was the construction cone appeared to be moving - that’s because it was. This faux construction cone was actually a tiny capsule-like motorized vehicle, which definitely did not belong on a highway. At a traffic light, the top opened and a shirtless young man popped up to look around before enclosing himself back in his very strange vehicle and continuing on his merry way. I am glad I am not his mother.