Redwoods of California

Our next stop was a bit North on Hwy 101 in the Redwoods. I was looking forward to this part of California since we missed it last year. Our site was in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. A very primitive campground where the elk roamed freely and there were no electric or water hookups.
We were used to this by now!























Wesley and I picked wild blackberries in our camping loop and ate them within minutes.

We met some new friends there from Australia. Tahly and her parents had been on a 6 week bicycle trip from Canada down the west coast of the US. Wow, what an experience for a 4 year old! The kids had fun being silly and toasting marshmallows. 

 

 

 

Jason wanted to do some mountain biking and set out on a 20 mile round-trip bike ride to Fern Canyon. This is where some scenes from Jurassic Park were filmed. After a few hours, we went to look for him on the trail. It was very quiet except for our screams of

"DAD, WHERE ARE YOU? CAN YOU HEAR ME?" We didn't see another person during the 2 mile search so Jason Jr. and I turned back for camp. We were both a bit worried because of the wild animals in the park and his lack of provisions. Finally after 3 1/2 hours, Jason returned with some amazing pictures from his ride and even a video of Elk on the bike path.

 

 

 North of the campground, was a place called Trees of Mystery. They had a sky ride that we were anxious to experience. On top of the mountain, you could see for miles on a clear day. Instead of riding back down, we took the optional, strenuous hiking trail. We laughed at the sign because we had experienced so many different terrains in the last few weeks. It wasn't lying about the strenuous part! There were even guide ropes to hold onto on the steep, slippery path. Needless to say, the boys weren't too happy about walking, again!

 

                                                                                           

 

 Further South on Hwy 101, we stopped at Patrick's Point State Park for some rappelling. It took a while to find a spot and get set up but both Jasons had fun using the new equipment. This was a good place to make some dinner and catch our breath for a few hours.

Trinidad was a cool town that we stopped in for a quick walk on the beach. The sun was starting to set and the bay was full of boats. We noticed something by the water in the sand. It was a beached elephant seal that was shedding. The signs asked that people leave him alone and allow for the natural process to happen which could take several days.

On our way to Sacramento, we stopped at the Avenue of the Giants, which was another scenic loop of Redwood trees. The pictures cannot do justice to the size of these giants. When one falls, it causes a domino effect. There are thousands of feet of downed Redwoods all on the side of the roads.

The drive-thru tree was cool even though we couldn't fit with our RV.
The clearance was only 7' x 7' so we had to park and walk it.
SamBob found some carved statues that he liked as well as a tree house with stairs inside.

Eureka, I found another BMX track!

Another day of twisty, turny roads along Hwy 101 on the coast.

Finally, we made it to our next destination.... Eureka, California. We checked into the KOA nearby and went to the Fairgrounds for some Friday night local racing. We missed registration
by 15 minutes so we had to be spectators for the night.  Saturday morning was a Race for Life event at Redwood Empire BMX. The boys all did well placing 1st and 2nd in their mains. Sunday was a state race qualifier and they all finished with 2nd places in the main events. 

The KOA campground was really nice and had lots of fun activities for the kids. They had mini golf, a sock hop, hay ride, ice cream social, pancake breakfast, etc. It was nice to relax a bit after a long day of racing.

Just a bit of information for anyone interested in visiting Eureka. It is in Humboldt County in Northern California which is part of the Emerald Triangle. This is where cannabis has been grown for about five decades. Everyone that lives in these counties is affected directly or indirectly by the marijuana business. 

 

Hwy 101 scenic route on Oregon coast, AKA twisty, turny, up & down road

After leaving Astoria, we knew there was a lot of coastal driving to go down scenic 101. We had so many people tell us to make sure we drive this way because it is so beautiful. Yes, the Oregon coastline is beautiful but not so fun to drive in an RV towing a cargo trailer. We could have spent a week stopping at every scenic overlook to take pictures. After a while, the scenery starts to look the same and you just want to hurry up and get to the next destination to relax the grip on the steering wheel.


We had booked a night at Jessie Honeyman State Park which is about a little over half way down the state coastline. Arriving after dark, we were pleasantly surprised to have water and electric hookups which were few and far between. We squeezed into our spot once again and sat by the campfire for a bit before hitting our pillows for the night. I believe that we were only on our site for 12 hours before it was time to go again.

The cool thing about Jessie Honeyman State Park was that you had the Pacific Ocean and all of the glorious rock cliffs, drift wood, tide pools, etc. then  these huge sand dune areas emerge right next to it for ATVs, motorcycles and even sand boards (like a snowboard).
 We let the kids swim in the lake nearby which seemed to be a very popular spot for youth camps and day use. Just what they needed before a long ride in the RV

What a long day that was indeed! Another full day of driving to get to California...

Kalaloch- Olympic National Park, Washington & The Goonies- Astoria, Oregon

On the way to our campground, we stopped to race for Olympic Day at Port Angeles BMX track.

 The boys did great there all placing in the top 3 for mains. We purchased a few track t-shirts to add to  our collection. Jason and Nathan made friends with a new rider named Joe. He was on a stock bike and had some difficulty with his chain and had wrecked a few times. They sought Joe out and gave him encouragement. We were so proud! Before leaving the track, Jason Jr. gave him a Fortress jersey and Nathan gave him some Fortress shorts. Joe was so excited to receive them. Hopefully he would try again and race in the future.

 

After a long day of driving and racing, we ended up on the West coast of Washington in Kalaloch on the Pacific Ocean. It was late when we pulled in and a very tight squeeze into our spot.

In the morning, we went out to the beach and collected driftwood and rocks. It was low tide and there was plenty of flat, wet beach to run and play on. Too bad we didn't bring our skim boards. The view up the coast was amazing! It started to rain again so we all went back to the RV. Our plan was to go into Olympic National Park and hike that day but we didn't want to spend another day walking in the rain. We packed up early and headed towards Oregon.

The drive down the coast of Washington was very beautiful and slow but we were eager to get to Astoria. For all of you who were around in the 80's, this was where Goonies was filmed. One of my all-time favorite movies. There were many other great movies filmed here too. We drove to the jail which is now a museum and also to the beach where the rocks were shown by the old restaurant (no longer there) and even went to Mikey's house. It was really cool to see the actual movie props and scenery.