Saturday, June 7, 2014

Going South on US 101 into California

We missed the Elk Watching Center near Dean Creek…never saw the sign and, without a street address, the GPS can’t find most stuff.  We noticed most of the sand dunes along the ocean were almost as tall as the Sitka spruce trees the area is noted for according to guide book.  The weather was still breezy and chilly which didn’t stop a lot of people from enjoying the viewpoints.  I did go down a path that led to a crossover and down to the beach staircase which I used to get on the beach.  Distances are deceiving:  the beach was a lot longer than the path I had been on along the cliff. Then I came back to where we were parked and had to make stops at each platform going back up to the parking lot to catch my breath.  That’s what living in Florida for over forty years does to a person.
The road changed elevations quite a bit and was very curvy with no guardrails on the shore side.  As I get vertigo in those situations, I mostly looked at the roadway or at the cliff on the opposite side of the road.
Our final destination in northern California was the Prairie Creek Redwood State Park where we were assured we  would see elk in the meadow…they even had benches to sit on…..for hours and they were a no show!


We stopped at Trees of Mystery going back north on US 101 where Paul Bunyan and Babe stand guard at the entrance.  We took the shuttle to the ski gondola which then took us up and back from the viewing platform.  We still were not anywhere near the top of the redwoods!  The trail back down was downhill (I was assured by the attendant) with some level sections, so, Frank took the shuttle and I took the trail so I could get photos of the chainsaw sculptures along the way.   About an hour later, I arrived back at the entrance.






I don't know how I disappeared from this photo!!!  Frank took two of me in front of this gigantic redwood....I don't know how to photo-shop someone out.....

No comments:

Post a Comment