Another last minute find - Motel Trees in Klamath was comfortable, clean, and very reasonably priced
After checking out of our motel, we crossed U.S. 101 to the Trees of Mystery trail (museum and gift shop included, of course). We stopped for a photo op with some local wildlife and settled Mom in the cafe before Paul and I set off on the half-mile walk to a sky tram up the mountain.
Along the trail, I took at least 2,375,842 photos, but I've managed to pare it down to these stand-out examples of the king of all trees, the mighty Sequoia Sempervirons, or California Coastal Redwood...
This fallen giant was 3000 years old when it tumbled, and measured 320 feet
A magnificent example of Sequoia Sempervirons
A mini-grove of "young" Redwoods -- the youngest about 300 years, the eldest closing in on 1,000 years
Looking up the 297' tall "Trinity Tree"
Paul's presence lends perspective to this giant, also 297' tall, but a staggering 19' in diameter!
The "Candelabra Tree" is a fallen giant whose branches continued to grow into new trees
At the top of the half-mile trail, we boarded a sky tram for a 1,500' ascent into the canopy and a view of the valley and what would have been a view of the Pacific but for the ever-present fog. (The redwoods depend upon the fog to get water into their upper reaches, an impossible climb from their root systems.)
The view from the top -- a thick blanket of fog settles into the canopy all the way to the sea
Once down from the sky-tram, we took the return path for an additional half-mile along a clever "Tall Tale Trail" that featured massive redwood carvings telling the story of Paul Bunyan and his lumberjack friends, along with a few woodland neighbors...
Bigger than life, Paul and his friends still thrill young readers
Some of the characters featured in the Paul Bunyan stories
These single-trunk carvings illustrate the talents of local chainsaw carvers
Once clear of the trails and after cleaning out the gift shop, we hit the road, still bearing south on U.S. 101, crossing the Klamath River and once again cruising the coastline, although still being oft surprised around a bend to find ourselves surrounded by the giant trees of the Redwood National Forest -- and keeping a weather eye out for legendary inhabitants of the region...
The Klamath river - tamer near its mouth than further upstream
Suddenly surprised by gorgeous groves of young Redwoods, Douglas Fir and Sitka Spruce
This time the rocky coast belongs to California
And this, students, is why California can't actually fall into the ocean!
Still haven't found him in spite of this lovely invitation to cross here
We called it quits early this evening in Ukiah at a chain hotel. Paul took a swim in the hotel pool while I tended to the laundry before heading upstairs to find Mom in her nightie, feet up playing Freecell and sipping Pinot Grigio. All is right with the world! Tomorrow we make a speed run for the Golden Gate.
No comments:
Post a Comment