Feb. 8 Avenue of the Giants

Feb 8-9 Mendocino to the Avenue of the Giants
   We left our beach camp around noon and headed north to Mendocino.  This one time run down little coastal village sits on a point of land surrounded by the Pacific Ocean. In has been transformed to a charming Victorian town, complete with white fences and manicured seaside flower gardens.  The homes have been restored to their original colors, mostly white, with typical ornate wood work of the Victorian era.  It has new age art studios and a theatre for local performances and of course an organic market and coffee shop where we enjoyed our morning brew.  The town has an upscale atmosphere while keeping the traditional style.  It looks like it could be a west coast setting for an episode of “Murder She Wrote”.
   Continuing on our way north, we entered the Avenue of the Giants.  This route took us through the Humboldt State Park a protected home to a primeval Redwood Forest. Redwoods are coastal-northern California coast primarily.  A tree that is often confused with the Redwood is the Sequoia which are inland on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada to the southern Sequoia National park.  Although similar, they are two different trees.  To say that the Redwoods are magnificent is an understatement.  They tower over the landscape to over 300 feet, creating a bed of soft black earth on the forest floor. Their pine needles are small but plentiful filling the air with a moist fragrance of wood and pine.  Moss and giant ferns are plentiful under these massive trees.  Some of these trees were seedlings about 2000 years ago and are now the tallest trees on earth. There is a constant moisture in the air which provides a micro-climate of cool, damp air. During the day, the forest is particularly dark due to the height of the trees. The sunlight that does come through appears like a laser beam of light pointed to branches but rarely reaching the forest floor. There is a beautiful quietness to the forest providing a gentle peacefulness. John Muir’s quote: “The clearest way into the universe is through a forest wilderness.”
   Humboldt State Park was open for camping but no services this time of the year .  We were able to dry camp once again.
   In the morning, we took a small hike through one of the designated trails.  There were massive logs from fallen trees left to rot in place nourishing the soil for future trees. Once again, we are reminded of the importance to protect these beautiful natural landscapes.  To spend time sleeping, eating and breathing the air in a Redwood forest is an honor and a privilege. We are grateful that the Redwoods National Park and Redwoods State Park services ensure protection and preservation of more than 105,000 acres of redwood forest.


Feb 9
   We spent one more night in the Humboldt Park but at a different location,  an Elk Reserve.   This site was a very moist and damp environment with a thick moss covering most of the tree limbs.  Although we were still in the Humboldt Park this was not an area of Redwoods but smaller pines and disiduous Trees.  In the early evening we took a walk to the open grass area and spotted a  small herd of grazing Roosevelt Elk.
   After a few days of dry camping we are ready to find a campsite with shower services.