Crescent City, CA

We said goodbye to the Oregon coast and have now worked our way down to the northern California coastline.  We stayed in Crescent City, CA.  for a few days to visit one of the redwood forests in the area.

A little history about Crescent City, CA:  On March 27, 1964 the Good Friday Earthquake (measuring 9.2 on the Richter scale) set in motion a tsunami down the west coast of the U.S.  Crescent City was struck with four waves destroying hundreds of buildings (including most of the downtown area) and killing 12 people.  And, on March 11, 2011 a tsunami generated by the 9.0 earthquake near Japan severely damaged the harbor and claimed one victim.  There are signs along the beaches warning people of "deadly waves at any time....."  I guess every place has its hazards.

The first day we were there it was foggy along the coast and you couldn't see the shoreline.  However, the next day turned out to be sunny and mild.  On day one you didn't even know there were rocks in the water! 

A lot of the bigger rocks have trees growing on them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We could hear sea lions while we were sitting in the car looking at the beach and rocks, but we couldn't see them.  We got out the binoculars and we were surprised to see that there were hundreds of them on the rocks. 

 

Kite flying along the coast is big in some areas.

 

The sea lions below were on floating docks outside a restaurant where we ate dinner one evening.  It's a good thing we ate inside and not out on the deck.  They are very noisy.  Check out the boat that is shrouded in fog. 

Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park:

This is a state park preserving old-growth redwoods along the Smith River located just outside Crescent City.  It is named after explorer Jedediah Smith ,who was the first American to travel, by land, from the Mississippi River to California in 1826, passing over the area of the future park
One of the driving tours through the park was called "Walker Road".  It is a one lane (move over when you meet someone coming towards you) dirt road.  There are also areas you can stop and walk on a trail through the forest. 

The trees lay where they fall forever unless they are blocking a path and then they are cut to open up the path.

 

These are some really big trees!

This was a tree that we parked in front of .  You can get an idea how big it is compared to the car.

I went around to the back and climbed up on the stump.  It was not an easy task....but someone has to do it!  Right?

 

 

These are only the beginning of the redwoods we will encounter.  Next week we will be touring the "Avenue of the Giants".

 

 

 

 

 

Trees of Mystery:

 

 

We stopped at the "Trees of Mystery" to see what this was about.  We saw some interesting trees, but it was not worth the admission fee or the 20 minute walk up to the gondola rides.  I think I liked the wood carvings on the walk back down the best.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This picture of the Cathedral Tree was taken from the path above.

 

 

 

 

There was a long line for the gondola ride but it went pretty fast.

 

 

Almost our turn to load.

 

 

We are next! 

 

 

 

 

Enjoyed the view from the gondola.  We went over the tops of some of these really big trees.

 

 

 

The next few pictures are of wood carvings on the walk back down to the gift shop.

 

 

 

 

 

The Pooped Logger

 

 

 

 

Squirrel!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Okay.....we just had to do it!

 

 

 

 

 

We can check this off our bucket list!  :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are two gold bear statues at each end of the Klamath River Bridge.

 

 

 

 

 

When we passed the small town of Klamath, we noticed signs for a "Salmon Festival" so we decided to stop and check it out.  There were lots of vendors (both food and crafts) however, we only saw one person selling anything to do with salmon.