Walking among the Giants

Yay! It’s Friday and HALLOWEEEN!!!!

Something magical happened yesterday, I found my mojo. Well for blogging at least. Working, not so much. I will really regret that next week when nothing of substance got done this one… oops.

Anyways, that means I have a VACATION POST for you! And because I can’t turn down a good link up, I’m going to share 5 things about this part of vacation so that I can shout to the rooftops “Oh Hey, Friday!”

Here’s a break down of our little road trip, so you have an overview.  Today I am only focusing on one area so here’s the list of the other stuff I may or may not cover:

Day 1: Lake Tahoe
Day 2 – Day 5: Wedding weekend in Occidental
Day 6 -7: Redwoods (today!)
Day 8: Crater Lake/Bend, OR
Day 9: Bend, OR (A.k.a brewery heaven).

Ok, on to the good stuff.

The REDWOOD FORESTS OF CALIFORNIA.

1. Awe Inspiring. That is the best way I can describe the Redwoods. There is no place I can think of that leaves me in such awe at mother nature and the Universe. These trees are over a thousand years old. They we’re here before our country was founded, or even found. They have survived earthquakes, fires, tsunamis and stood the test of time. They are the giants we can walk among.
   
2. Gigantic. Ok, that is a given right? I assumed they would be huge, but seeing them in person is a whole other story. I cannot even put into words how impressive they are. You can’t see the top. It’s a football field and more up to their top branches. Almost 400 feet!!! Plus their trunks are phenomenal. You could easily carve one out and live in it comfortably and even park your car in there with you. Crazy.

   

   James is 6'4" and almost 300 lbs, or basically the size of an offensive lineman. So that's a big ass tree!!!
3. Mystical. The day we did our hike it had rained that night and morning. It left an eerie mist above us in the tree line. Everything was wet and clean and smelled so fresh. You guys the smell alone is a reason to go. Pure. Genuine. Forest. It makes me crave it just talking about it.  Walking below the mist and even up in it, you felt like you were in a different world or a different time. It was magical and peaceful.
   
4. Somber. Unlike many of the forests and mountain areas I have been to, the Redwoods are dark and quiet. Eerily quiet. There are no birds chirping, no squirrels running amok, no wind blowing through the branches. Just silence and mist and darkness. You can rarely see the sky through the canopy. It sounds bad, but really it was beautiful. You were so separate and alone. It was just you and the trees.
   
5. A week worthy. We only really spent one full day in the Redwoods. I could have easily spent a week. I did not plan well on our trip and we missed several of the more famous stops and trees along the way. If you go (which you should) be sure to drive the Avenue ofGiants (we missed this) and visit the Trees of Mystery (James wouldn’t stop because he said it was too “touristy”). We did the Prairie Creek/West Ridge hike in Prairie Creek State Park which I highly recommend. The Redwoods span from just north of San Francisco all the way up into southern Oregon. There are tons of State Parks and a National park to explore. Give yourself more time than we did!
   

Are you sold on the Redwoods now? You should be. It was the most one of the most remarkable places I have ever been.  

Happy Friday and Happy Halloween everyone! Linking up with the new mama Karli for Oh Hey Friday!!

TTFN,