Redwoods and Beyond….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We did the touristy thing in this blog. We drove through the Avenue of the Giants, beautiful Redwood country. They really are magnificent trees. And it was great to be able to see these forests up close and personal. Anyone thinking of visiting California really must come along the coast because it is just beautiful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were many touristy places to see, most of them costing money, even if it was just a donation. But we didn’t mind.This is the livelihood of the folks that live around here. One of the first attractions was the “Eternal Tree.

This one-time giant of nature has endured over 2,500 years before being reduced to a surviving stump. The still-living stump contained a huge cavern caused by fire centuries ago that had been used first by Indians and later trappers, hunters, travellers and their livestock for shelter. In the early 1900s, Harry McLeod, an expert wood splitter hewed out the interior with an ax and adze. The 20-foot room was refined in 1950 and a gift shop was established inside the stump.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Later we stopped off at the drive through tree, which in this day and age of conservation, wouldn’t have been allowed, but this particular tourist attraction has been going for over 30 years. Our RV wouldn’t fit through the tree, so we all walked around and through. The guy running this little enterprise also carves his own animals and furniture and talked to us how he went about that. The chainsaw is only the first part, then things get a lot more intricate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Shrine Drive – Thru tree was around 5000 years old, was 275 ft and can be found at Myers Flat in California.

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were other great carvings and tree houses, which we would really like in our backyard. The inside provided lots of entertainment for the kids to climb up. Even Akaisha (who hadn’t been well got into the action.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kaitlin was keen to see the Log house which had been hollowed out in 1946 from a single log. The famous One-Log House was created from a redwood tree over 2100 years old! This section alone weighed 42 tons. It took two men eight months of hard labor to hollow out a room 7 feet high and 32 feet long. Enough chips came out of it to build a five-bedroom house! This special log home includes living, dining, & bedroom areas just like any other trailer or motor home.

Another amazing thing about this “house” is that its actually on wheels. Art Schmock, the creator, intended to have it tour across the country but ran into problems because of its size so it rested in Clam Beach for a time, then the town of Leggett for 25 years, and then twenty-three years in Phillipsville. Ready to travel again, it moved in 1999 to its current home on US Highway 101 just south of Garberville near Richardson’s Grove State Park just on the edge of the Humboldt county/Mendocino county line.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We stopped for lunch on the coast where a little river ran into the ocean. It was very scenic and we stayed for quite a while.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trevor organised a boat race with the winner being the first to reach the ocean. Boats had to be made of natural material found on the beach.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We found a KOA campsite at Westport. It was right on the beach and had WiFi (fulfilling two of our major requirements when searching for a campground) The kids found a new friend (Colleen) and spent their time playing chasey on the beach and lighting campfires.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We drove on to Fort Bragg where we visited a Pharmacy for Akaisha. No joy there, so I rang a NIS (Neuro Integration Systems) Practitioner and found one fairly close by. It would mean though, that we’d have to leave the coast and travel inland.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So inland we went. Unbeknownst to us, our journey was to take us through the Napa Valley (wine region). Whilst this might excite some (and ordinarily Trev and I), travelling with 7 kids wasn’t the best recipe for visiting wineries. Oh, well. Another time!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We headed towards Anguin where a Practitioner called Lynn Sander worked. We cut through Albion and Cloverdale, but stopped at Calistoga for lunch. We arrived at Anguin and the Practitioner worked on Akaisha for over an hour. She had a viral and a bacterial infection (and had been very out of sorts). The next morning, Akaisha was a different baby. Yay! Now we could get back to enjoying the trip instead of worrying about her.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We camped at Petalyma KOA which was North San Francisco. We drove past the city (after having breakfast at Denny’s) and headed towards Santa Cruz, which will be the subject of my next blog! Until then….