The Redwood Forest

July 31st, 2013

Vacation time!

Our alarms went off at 4am. We showered, packed up, and were on our way to the Denver International Airport shortly after 5am. We had two flights to catch that day.

Flight 1: San Francisco

Flight 2: Crescent City 

We had a very brief layover in San Fran. We sat down for a quick bite before boarding a tiny plane to northern California.  

Almost there!

Sage is an incredible flyer! He loves people and he loves attention. All day long Sage would wave and smile at the folks around him, attracting attention everywhere he went. Sage just kept summoning people over. Matt and started to feel like celebrities. Everywhere we went, people wanted to meet Sage.

It was close to 4pm when we finally loaded ourselves into the rental car and began the 1 hour drive south to Trinidad.

Our first accommodation for the trip was the Trinidad Inn, an affordable motel that was easy on the wallet.

We really enjoyed it there! Came with a fully functioning kitchen, cable TV, down comforters, filtered tap water, and breakfast.

It was really cold the first night we arrived. Around 55 degrees. We hadn't acclimated to the temps yet. The coast always hovers between 55 and 65 degrees.

The Trinidad Inn also had a community fire pit, stocked with wood for guest use.

Day 1

We got up and out early the next day. We were ready to explore the Redwood Forest. We decided to begin with a 2.5 mile hike in Prairie Creek State Park, right off the Newton B Drury Scenic Parkway.

Within minutes of hitting the first trail, the whole family had their minds blow. Really! We were awestruck! Mouths gaping open. Eyes wide. We had no idea what we were about to stumble across. The Redwood Forest, to my surprise, is just like a rainforest. Complete with vibrant green moss, ferns, and majestic trees. The redwoods are the tallest living thing on the planet. Not only do they stretch as high as skyscrapers, they are wide enough to drive a car through. And until you stand right next to one...you have no idea what kind of size you are dealing with. The average age of the trees is around 600 years. But some are as old as 2000 years. And standing next to one kind of feels like time travel. 

Sage was an excellent hiker throughou the trip. I got a lot of use out of my Infantino carrier. We tried both the front and back carrying styles. We eventually determined the front was better.

Matt and I were squealing with delight as the trees seemed to get bigger and bigger as we hiked farther along the trail. 

 Sage and I are located down in the left corner of the tree. You can barely see us!

Ferns coated the forest floor. I felt like I was in a jungle.

This type of gathering is called a cathedral tree. Way back in the past, these clustered trees sprang from one larger tree stump. The ancestor tree has since vanished. It's offshoots taking its place. Can you imagine!?!?

We really bonded as a family on this trip. I'm looking forward to our next family vacation! Matt and I have decided we should take one trip to a new destination each year. We'll see how easily that plays out.

Sage was in good spirits all day!

Toward the middle of our hike, some fellow travelers showed us how to take panoramic pictures with our iphones. This changed everything we knew about photography! Up until this point, we simply accepted the fact that you could not simultaneously photograph the top and bottom of a redwood tree. But with this new knowledge, we could! The photo above is without the panoramic setting. The photo below is with it. Same tree. Now you get a sense of how tall these trees are! 

After completing our 2.5 mile hike, we had a picnic outside the visitor center, then headed farther north to Klamath. We did two things on this leg of our drive. 1) Drive through a tree. 2) Hike along the coast.

I read online that the Northern California coast was not designed for swimming. I see what they mean by that! Cold and rocky. But how gorgeous!



Our first day of vacation was incredible! We ended it on a high note, with an impressively delicious meal at The Lighthouse. The menu was designed equally for both omnivores and vegetarians. Perfect for our family. Matt had a grilled fish sandwich to die for. And I had a nut burger with goat cheese. Most items were made from scratch - in house - including their ice cream. We helped ourselves to a hot fudge sundae. Both the whipped cream and hot fudge also homemade! Impressive!

Plus the service was phenomenal. Sage, per usual, had an audience. Everywhere he goes, he makes friends.

We would return to this place before our trip's end. :) 

Day 2

Sage and I enjoyed our muffins and cable TV each morning.

We begin Day 2, with a hike on the Lady Bird Johnson Grove trail. It was a chilly morning, and the forest was covered in a blanket of fog. It gave it an enchanted feel. I half expected to stumble across a gnome or bigfoot. Neither made an appearance.

This particular trail was able to accommodate a stroller. Thank goodness. Sage is quite a load to carry.

After our hike, it was time for lunch. We saved a lot of money by packing PB&J's each day. We traveled to our next destination, Agate Beach, and dined in the car.

Sage thought it was cool to be in the front of the car.

After finishing our food, we strolled down to the beach. Sage saw the ocean for the first time in his life! (Ya know.... all 12 months!?!?) Lucky kid, he is. He doesn't realize how much he's done already!

Matt was really excited about the possibility of finding agates. They wash up on shore all over northern California.

He would have dug holes in the sand all day if I had let him.

I didn't....

Sage wanted to be like his daddy and dug around in the sand too.

After Sage started eating the sand, I told Matt he needed to wrap-up the rock hunt.

So we packed up and went back to homebase. The sun came out. We warmed up and enjoyed a few cocktails, prior to our next departure.

We headed to the Trinidad pier. We had no idea how beautiful this seaside fishing village was!

 

After meandering through the town (and meeting a dog named Sage!), we headed down to the beach to watch the sunset.

We watched the sun set over the pacific ocean. A lot of people came down to the beach to do this. I was the only one who started applauding after it was all over. (I think it's pretty cool to watch the Earth revolving on its axis!!) 

Day 3

We started the day with a treacherous drive to Fern Canyon, encountering steep inclines and narrow gravel roads. We even had to wade through a couple streams...in our rental car! Surprisingly, this is one of the most widely visited spots in the Redwood forest. Fern Canyon is exactly what it sounds like....tall canyon walls covered in ferns.

The hiking was a bit more challenging than we were expecting. Several downed trees blocked the path through the canyon. There were also several streams to cross. I did quite a bit of climbing and scaling of these trail obstacles. All with a baby strapped to my chest.

After Fern Canyon, it was time to check in to our second, and last, accommodation for the trip. We decided to pamper ourselves with a high-end bed and breakfast, The Lost Whale Inn. This place was AMAZING!



This is the breakfast area, where each morning at 9am, guests would fill the room and feast on a home-cooked multi-course breakfast. We enjoyed caprese quiche, zucchini pancakes with gorgonzola creme, strawberry shortcake, pear crisp, orange coffee cake, roasted potatoes, bacon, sausage, and much more. This was one of my favorite parts of the whole trip. (I love food!) We were also treated to appetizers and wine every afternoon around 4pm. Additionally, there was a well-stocked beverage fridge available for guest use. We helped ourselves to juice, sparkling water, tea, soda, and beer all day long.  

The Lost Whale Inn, was right along the coast, offering its guests amazing views (and sounds) of the ocean. Guests were welcome to hang out on the deck, meander through the garden, lounge in front of the wood-burning stove, or take a dip in the hot tub. It was luxurious, cozy, warm, and inviting.

(But all that atmosphere comes with a price tag!)

This is shot of the upstairs hallway. Our room was just off the stairs.

View from our room.

With our window open, we could hear barking sea lions lounging on the rocks out in the sea.

More views from the B&B grounds.

Matt and I easily could have lounged around the Lost Whale Inn all day, but decided to take one last excursion. We headed to Patrick's Point State Park, just one mile up the road.

  

It was just past low tide, and so we hiked down one of the park trails to the beach, where we planned to explore the low tide pools. When the tide is low, more beach rocks are exposed and pockets of water remain behind, housing lots of exotic sea life.

Sage was pleased with his first night at the Lost Whale Inn.

Day 4

Matt and I were beginning to get tired by this point on the trip. So we decided to do one last hike among the Redwoods, and then spend the rest of the afternoon hanging around the B&B.

We took a walk down Cal Barrel road and stumbled across this gathering of trees, appropriately called Remembrance Grove. How perfect! This hike and this picture marked the official end to our Redwood vacation. A trip we will REMEMBER for a life time!

I decided to preserve our trip in a page of the Lost Whale Inn guestbook. I hope my entry is helpful to many future Redwood visitors. 

One additional perk of the Lost Whale Inn was having access to a private path down to the beach. It was no leisurely walk... it was an adventurous decline down a steep rope ladder. This time Matt had Sage strapped to his chest.

We came across several more tide pools...and lots of interesting stones. Some of which turned out to be official agates!

On our way back up the trail, we had fun eating wild blackberries and examining all the gigantic slugs. Banana slugs are indigenous to the region, and could be spotted on most hikes we did. And they are huge (like most things in the Redwoods!)

Matt...examining his rock collection.

On Monday, August 5th, we began the long journey back home. An hour long car ride, two flights, one layover, a shuttle to the parking garage, and another hour car ride.... we were finally home! It was practically midnight when we pulled in.

My goal was to have a family adventure and to make some memories this summer.

Goal accomplished!