Day 12 - Off to Redwood

Date 7/1

Weather: Sunny

Expense
$20 camping
$597 for the trip

Mileage: 221 today, 2,748 for the trip

Beer: 0 today, 12 for the trip

Pictures: homepage.mac.com/cenya/PhotoAlbum50.html

I got up around 5:30. Went for a quick run. I was hoping for an hour, but when a steep hill presented itself, I gave up. It ended being about forty minutes. I was happy with my effort.

My next destination was Ashland, Oregon. I was hoping to tour Rogue Brewery. If I was going to stick around Ashland, I might have chose to go see Shakespeare Festival. The drive to Ashland was quite short. I was there in no time and drop in on the Visitor Center. I was disappointed to find out Rogue is not located in Ashland. WHAT? I was certain Rogue was located there! I would not stay there just for Shakespeare Festival. I left for Crescent City, California, where I would explore Redwood.

Crescent City was not very far either. First, I drove to Stout Grove. I drove on unpaved Howland Hill Road to get there. It was awesome to look at trees in excess of three hundred feet. I found out Redwood trees are taller, but Sequoia trees are thicker is also in excess of three hundred feet. I felt the FORCE as I walked at looked at Redwood trees.

I drove to Crescent Beach, which was a nice and long sandy beach. It had that thick brine smell that told me I was at a beach. It was so nice to walk on a freshly packed beach. It was a little breezy, but I guessed ocean side is like that.

I drove to Crescent Beach Overlook after a walk on the beach. The overlook was quite picturesque. I took photos of the shore with big rocks. I found this trail called Coastal Trail. I thought this was a short local trail. I hiked it for about an hour all uphill. I was thinking there must be a payoff with a great view. I was dismayed when the trail started to go down again. I started to wonder if the trail is not going to stop and runs all along the coast. Even so, I have not seen any coastline. I could just hear it. I turned around. What a bummer! I learned later that the Coastal Trail runs all along the Redwood. Good thing I turned around when I did.

I got me one of the last campsites at Mill Creek Campsite. It had all the amenities I needed. I took another shower, which cost me lousy three quarters. It was awesome. I drove back to Crescent City to phone my sister and fuel up. I remembered to fuel up, but I forgot to ring my sister. I drove back to find a public phone. Thanks to cell phones, I have been having a terrible time finding a payphone. I did finally find one, but my sister was not home. I left a message telling her I would be in SF tomorrow.

I drove back to the campground stopping to appreciate surfers in their wetsuits. It was pretty cool to watch surfers. I came back to this great barbeque aroma. It was evident someone is having a great dinner. I ate my salami and swiss sandwich. Mm! I looked forward to finishing Redwood tomorrow and head into SF