The Savage Traveler: Out West Adventure: Part 2--Redwoods National and State Parks

Mon. June 3: It got down to about 49 overnight so the furnace felt good to get the morning started. We had salmon-berry pancakes and sausage for breakfast. Then Marv did all the dishes while I showered and washed my hair. We drove up to the now open Visitors Center and got two Passport stamps there and Marv bought a tee-shirt. We headed back down to the National Park Visitor Center to watch their video on the history of the Redwoods and the two-pronged efforts to save them this century which have resulted in the "Redwood National and State Park" system. We found out that the shuttle buses that our 1981 National Geographic book talked about haven't been in operation for many years. Instead we drove up to Lady Bird Johnson Redwood Grove and took the guided 1.3 mile trail through the old growth grove. The sky was clear and the temperature in the mid-sixties, where it stayed for most of the day. Partway around the trail we walked down the new Berry Glen trail for about 10 minutes, where we enjoyed the many ferns hanging down the sides of the steep path. We came across a large yellow banana slug so we took pictures and watched it for a while before climbing back up to finish the Lady Bird Johnson Trail. We bought some wonderful cherries from one of the many stands along the road and then drove the very rugged, unpaved Davison Road to Gold Bluffs Beach. There we took chairs and sat on the beach to eat cheese sticks, cherries, and dried vegetable chips while watching the waves crash. We did some beach combing and watched for migrating gray whales but didn't see any. When we had enough we drove on down the beach, fording streams a few times, until we got to the end of the road and the parking area for the Fern Canyon Trail. The half mile trail led to a wet shady canyon lined with five kinds of ferns and steep dripping walls. We walked up the canyon, crossing the small rocky stream several times on logs, until snags filled the narrow floor so we turned back. It took quite a while to retrace our path back to 101 and return to the campsite. We relaxed and had some Wheat Thins for a bit and then got our bikes out and rode on the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway, which winds between old growth Redwoods in successive Memorial Groves, with many trail heads leading into the groves. We rode gradually uphill for about half an hour and then enjoyed the easy downhill return for a ride of 6.11 miles. It was lovely! On our way into the campground we checked with a Ranger and found out that the "whistling bird" we had been hearing in the woods all day was some sort of Thrush. For dinner I used up the grilled chicken in Rice-A-Roni and we'll have enough for another meal. We started some picking up so we can leave early in the morning and have time for some stops in the north part of the Redwoods before driving to Diamond Lake in Oregon.