After a stressful drive (we thought we were leaking brake fluid, and it was the 4th of July so nothing was open), we made it to the Northern California coast in the late afternoon. We quickly set up the camper at one of our favorite sites from the trip in Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park. We had a beautiful, roomy corner site with no nearby neighbors, and wonderful places for the kids to explore. The Stellar's Jays were really theives at this park and food couldn't be let unguarded for even a second. Once we were set we drove the short distance into Crescent City and went to the beach. We love the mountains, but there is something about the coast that just fills all four of us with unspeakable joy. The North West beaches are different - colder, rougher and rockier,but still just as enjoyable.
The next morning we set out to explore the giant Redwoods. No picture really gives the true size of these behemoths. They were breathtaking and awe inspiring. It's amazing to think that if some long range thinking conservationists hadn't protected these areas there would be none for us to enjoy. The logging business would have taken them all.
The next day, after having our car checked out, we returned to the beach. The water was freezing, but three of us didn't seem to mind the frigid temps. The sun was short lived though, so we spent most of our morning tide pooling - an experience we aren't able to do at our Southern East Coast beach. We really enjoyed the sea stars and anemones. There were some great sea caves to explore, and wonderful smooth rocks to find.
The sun came out in the afternoon, so we took a creek walking hike up through Fern Canyon. If fairies live anywhere it's here. Magical. We then spent the afternoon on another beach, and had some of the best weather we had the whole time we were on the West Coast. In fact, we stayed so late that the gates to exit the parking lot were locked when we went to leave. We finally got in touch with a park ranger who came and opened the gates for us. Fortunately, she was very nice and understanding because it turned out that the gates weren't actually locked they were just closed. Somehow we had missed the note that was placed on our windsheild about how to get out. This resulted in one of the funnier stories of our trip.
If you're heading to the West Coast add Redwoods to your itinerary. It's a place not to be missed.
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