Leaving Nevada, we drove through the beautiful winding mountains of Oregon, where we saw real cowboys herding cows! There were many cattle ranches along the way
Entering California, we saw the remains of raging forest fires. There was alot of equipment trying to salvage some of the redwoods. It was a sad sight. Eventually, the forest turned green and beautiful again with tall, sturdy redwoods.
The campground was beautiful with lots of privacy as we were surrounded by beautiful redwoods.
On Saturday, we drove to Jedediah Smith State Park that inhabited even bigger redwoods than the campground! We found the bike trail that was shared with cars. It was a curvy, gravel road that meandered through the thick, plush forest of redwoods.
Fun facts about the Redwoods:
tallest living thing in the world- up to 380 ft!
Coastal redwoods live to 2,000; Sequoia Redwoods live to 3,200
bark can be 12 inches thick; Sequoia-31
Base can be 22 feet; Sequias-40'
We will see the Sequoia later in the trip. Right now we are 8 hours from the Sequoia Natl Forest.
We lost internet connection for our GPS as we rode deeper into the forest. We saw a big buck elk grazing at the edge of the forest. He would shake his antlers often as he became entangled in the underbrush. - such a beautiful sight. Time got away from us as we kept stopping to marvel at the huge trees.
We weren't sure if we were going in the right direction. We finally came out of the forest and got a GPS signal again- 8 miles back to the state park on a steep, curvy, highway or go back through the forest. Scared to risk being in the thick, dark forest at night, we decided to brave the winding highway with steep cliffs.
It was without a doubt the bike ride of a lifetime! We used our communication helmets to tell each other about oncoming traffic and pulled off onto the side against the embankment of a mountain or edge of a steep cliff when cars came by. It was so scary and exciting at the same time-- truly an excilerating experience. I could hear Doug's voice in my helmet saying "Don't look down; look straight ahead. Keep going! You are doing great!" I had that ebike stretched out in the wind. I wanted to be off that road as soon as possible. Lili was on Doug's bike strapped in securely and thought it was so much fun as the wind blew through her hair. I felt like a tiny ant among those huge trees, steep cliffs, and occasional big trucks whizzing past! Occasionally, we would pass a house with pit bulls barking. "Lord, please don't let them jump the fence", I would pray. Now, we are very grateful for these ebikes after the terrain, hills, and drop offs we encountered. Even though we didnt have to do any stunts, one wrong move could have been disastrous!
Finally, we made it back! Dang, that was fun! But, I NEVER want to do that again! Doug shared the same feeling.
Sea and Cruise Car Show- Crescent City, Ca.
We rode into Crescent City for the car show. We both love old cars, so it was so much fun!! After living off the grid for the past 3 weeks, it was fun to be among people: cowboys, hippies, old folks, and younguns all mixed together having a great time listening to bands, eating great food, and looking at some of the coolest cars I have ever seen- over 300!
On Sunday we hooked to our Airstream, "Gracie" and headed to The heart of the redwoods in Orick, Ca. With cooler temperatures set in and our legs still shaking from our last bike ride, we decided to drive through the forest. It was a gorgeous drive! We drove on to Eureka, a historic small city on the coast, where we saw beautiful vintage homes that had been restored.
I couldn't resist going into the vintage shops (called thrift stores in Ga). The vintage shops were very nice and I was tickled to find a pair of 'movie star' jeans 👖. At first we thought there was a costume event, but no costumes at all; that is just how people dress. Yep! We are in California now!
Lots of murals on the sides of buildings
On the drive back, we saw herds of elk grazing in pastures and even on the playground of an elementary school.
Back at the Airstream, we cooked a nice meal of Mediterranean chicken with black olives and tomatoes accompanied by roasted acorn squash with tons of herbs and parmesan cheese. We love airstream living!
It is Monday morning, October 9th, with light rain and cool temperatures. We are all packed up and heading out! We are driving through more stunning forests. It truly feels like something in a storybook. We are headed for Sonoma wine country. I'm sure we will do some bike riding! I have a feeling I will be wearing full motorcyle gear before this trip is over.
Wow! We are so pumped for the rest of California!!