September 20th, 2016: The biggest, oldest trees on the planet!

We drove for what seemed like an entire day from Lake Tahoe to the Redwood National Park in Northern California. We actually left Lake Tahoe around 9am, and didn’t arrive to our campsite until 8:30pm. It had been a long day of driving through California, Nevada, California again, Oregon, and then California, AGAIN! 

The drive through Oregon and Northern California was beautiful beyond belief. At any moment I felt a dinosaur was going to pop its head out from the massive trees and fog and take a drink from the winding river we were driving along. Winding being the key word here. I kept thinking, my mother would never be able to handle these roads for the 2 hours we had to wind around boulders and creeks. The word that comes to my mind though, is majestic. It truly is a majestic part of the United States, and the world. And if you are reading this from another country or state and haven’t visited this part of America, I urge you to do so. 

Blah, Blah, Blah… lets get on with it. 

We woke up the next day to a clear blue sky and beautiful weather. The first trail we decided upon was called Lady Bird Johnson trail. When we got there, it was foggy and chilly, the weather changed drastically from our campsite to the trail. It was an easy hour loop over a bridge and through the forest that made for a perfect first hike of the day.

Half way through the hike we met a volunteer named Bob who sped walk through the forest and stopped to make sure each hiker was enjoying their experience. He genuinely cared that we were having a good time and knew all the best trails. When he saw us taking pictures of each other hugging the trees, he insisted on taking out picture together.

He suggested we walked a trail called Trillium Falls and paid a visit to the coast as well. We agreed, and before we knew it, Bob was speed walking away. 

After we ate lunch out of the back of the van we drove a few miles up the road to the Trillium Falls trailhead. This trail was the perfect trail. It was a 2.5 mile loop trail and unlike Lady Bird Johnson, we had it to ourselves. Pictures don’t do it justice whatsoever. But this trail was insane. Some would call it strenuous (me). Bob called it an easy hike. 

Anyways, it was worth it. 

When the hike was coming to an end we heard an indistinguishable animal noise along with the excited chit chat of retired folks and their big DSLR camera lenses. 

We came across Elk Meadow and in it, herds of wild Elk. They were huge, and beautiful animals. I didn’t get the greatest pictures, and even if I did, you wouldn’t understand how cool it was to be in the presence of these wild animals. 

Finally, we headed to a beach on the coast. It was about 5pm by this time and we didn’t know if the bumpy gravel roads we had to drive on would be worth the view. Well, I think it was worth it, because I got some really gorgeous pictures from the beach. 

Alright, I’m done typing for now. 

I’m in Portland, and there is so much to explore here, so I’m off!

Love you all,

C