The Redwood Highway
November 22, 2014
Soundtrack:
- Sonic Youth -- Sonic Nurse
Another year, another trip up to Oregon for the traditional Thanksgiving get-together. It was a small gathering this year of around forty Hildebrand/Roths.
It rained pretty much every day of the trip. That might sound dreary, but after three years of drought in California it was actually kind of refreshing. Plus, there are certain areas that I visited that I think actually are better to experience in wet weather. More on in later posts (I've got a week's worth of posts, after all, I've got to give myself something to write about later).
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| Eel River, Avenue of the Giants, CA |
Like last year, I drove all the way up 101 to the Olympic Peninsula in Washington then down to I-5 in Olympia and on into Salem, OR. This was plan B. Plan A was to drive up 395 into Central Oregon and and bum around that area for a few days, but only if the weather was good. I didn't want to get caught in snow or extremely cold weather, especially since I'd be camping most of the time. I also like the 101 drive in bad weather. The Oregon and Washington portions of the trek can be dramatic when it's wet and stormy. So, with the rain coming down and snow forecast for the first spot I intended to camp on the Eastern route, I opted for plan B. I would have liked to have visited some new spots, but this still turned out to be a nice way to spend the week of Thanksgiving.
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| Avenue of the Giants, CA |
I saw my first bald eagle of the trip (21 overall) flying through the redwoods along the Eel River. That was a sight to see. I saw another at the mouth of the Klamath River, Those were the first bald eagles I've ever seen in California. It's nice to see the birds rebounding from the DDT problems that nearly killed off the species.
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| Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge, CA |
I stopped at a few wildlife refuges along the drive, the first being Humboldt Bay. There was a bit more activity here than on my previous visits, but it's still nothing like the massive gathering of birds at the Sacramento refuge. I was able to get very close to a northern harrier though, probably closer than I've managed to get anywhere else.
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| Northern Harrier -- Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge, CA |
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| Northern Harrier -- Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge, CA |
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| White-tailed Kite -- Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge, CA |
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| American Robin -- Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge, CA |
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| Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge, CA |
I saw three herds of elk on the drive. I saw the first in Mendocino County. They were the smaller tule elk found only in California. I encountered the other two herds near Orick, CA. These herds always seem to be in the same general vicinity when I make this drive. There's one other heard I often see around Prairie Creek in Redwood National Park, but I didn't see those elk on this trip.
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| Roosevelt Elk -- Orick, Redwood National Park, CA |
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| Roosevelt Elk -- Orick, Redwood National Park, CA |
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| Roosevelt Elk -- Orick, Redwood National Park, CA |
I camped for the night at Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. This is one of the nicest campgrounds I've stayed at. It's a drive-in campground. The sites are nestled into a large grove of redwoods along the Smith River. I spent a couple of days there with my brother and his family in August. The river was a different beast then, running low and calm. The swimming hole we spent the afternoon in was completely gone, now a mean bend in the rushing November waters.
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| Klamath River, Redwood National Park, CA |
