I finally have a moment to sit down and write more about our Mt. Shasta trip! So Monday was our first full day there, and Bryant spent the day golfing with his dad, and I spent the day lounging in the shade on the patio with my mother-in-law Robyn while Savannah played in the kiddie pool. It was the perfect way to relax!
On Tuesday, we decided to take a day trip out to the Redwoods, which are about 4 hours away from Mt. Shasta. They would be a lot faster to get to if there wasn't a giant mountain in the way. In fact, we had to drive up to Oregon, across, then back down into California! Ed and Robyn took the Harley and we strapped our kids into their car (thanks guys! So much more roomy and comfortable!) The drive was nice and really pretty, and the whole way there, I was singing "This land is your land, this land is my land, from California, to the New York Islands, from the Redwood forest, to the gulf stream waaa-aa-ters, this land was made for you and meeeee!"(I couldn't help it.) As we got closer to the park, I rolled down the window. I took a deep breath and noticed that it was really humid, and smelled like a forest and... salt? I thought that was weird.
15 minutes later, I looked at the GPS and saw a big blue area. I asked Bryant if that was a lake.
"Uh, no, that's the ocean.."
Yeah, I had no idea we were even close the ocean! I should have figured it out from the humidity and the smell of salt water. I got really excited and started looking for the ocean, but for the longest time, the trees were blocking the view. Occasionally, there would be an open area, but there was a really thick fog blanketing the area. Then... there it was.
Seeing the ocean makes my little Utah girl heart happy!
A few minutes later, we arrived at the "Trees of Mystery" park. You know the giant Paul Bunyan and Babe? Yeah they are there.
Just a head-up if you ever go here, Paul Bunyan talks, and his eyes, head and hand move. It kind of freaked me out when I realized his head was looking a different way when we left than when we arrived.
We ate some lunch and walked around the shop for a bit, and checked out the Native American museum they had there.
^Savannah kept walking up to other kids, shaking their hands and saying "Nice to meet you! I Sanna!^
We then decided to do the hike up to the sky trail. Savannah is a super hiker. I think she ran most of the way up, pausing only to pick up rocks.
^The "elephant" tree^
^ The "upside down" tree ^
^ If hobbits were around, they would live in something like this... ^
^ The "cathedral tree". People get married here. ^
^ I just LOVE how much green there is! ^
At the end of the hike, was a sky trail. A gondola, tram-type thing that takes you up 1570 feet up to the top of a mountain to an observation deck.
^ Deagan slept the ENTIRE time we were in the Redwoods. I had to wait 25 years to see them, he got to see them at only 4 weeks old and he chose to sleep through them...^
^ Savannah was fearless, despite the fact that we were rediculously high up. I may have been slightly panicking... slightly. ^
^ About halfway up. Sorry for the reflection of my ginormous hand. ^
^ We could see the ocean from here, but the fog came in quickly and covered it before I could snap a photo. ^
^ All of us at the top on the observation deck. I'm a little embarrassed about how pudgy my legs are (what you don't realize is that as I'm typing this, I have a TUB of cookie dough sitting in front of me half-eaten. Don't tell Bryant, because we are supposed to be on a diet together... I guess this photo is good motivation.) Also, I need some sun on those legs! Sheesh, what am I trying to do? Blind everybody?!? ^
The way back down, we took another trail that had wood carvings the whole way down, mostly of other American tall-tale characters.
^ In case you can't tell, this is a dog. I had a hard time figuring out what it was at first, but I was looking at it straight-on. ^
^ ok, so this one says it's a "pooped logger". Meaning a worn-out logger. He is actually holding a cup and drinking from it, but it looks like he's plugging his nose. So along with the title "pooped logger", I just imagined him sitting on a toilet. I know, I know, that's really childish of me, but I thought It was hilarious until I saw that he was, in fact, just tired and drinking from a cup. ^
^ Savy J made some forest friends! ^
^ It's hard to see, but this is a stump from a redwood, with plaques showing how old each part is. The center is dated at the time of the crusades! ^
Ok, so here is my report on what I learned from my trip to the Redwoods:
-Redwoods used to cover the entire planet until the ice age.
-They have found some in China
-Some date back to the time of Christ
-They are resistant to fire, disease, water rot, and bugs, which make their wood ideal for building with.
-They grow towards light, which means some of them grow in strange directions, like the "upside down tree" that I posted a photo of earlier in this post.
-The coastal fog is vital to their ability to thrive. They pull in moisture to their needles from it.
I loved the Redwoods. I'd like to go back and do some camping there sometime. Probably on the beach, and do some serious hiking and exploring around there. The Redwoods have been on my Bucket list for a long time, and I was grateful that Bryant's parents were willing to drive the 8-hour round trip drive to go with us.
Alrighty, the kids are in bed, so it's movie and popcorn time for me and the hubs. Look for part 3 soon!
To read part 1, click HERE
I've been to the giant paul bunyon thing, too! I feel like there's a weird hobbit village museum thing around there too, but I may be wrong. My parents hauled us all down the Washington, Oregon, and California coasts for 2 1/2 weeks when I was 16...it was a long camping vacation and it was pretty disorienting :)
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