Today was the day for worshipping the trees. We were heading to redwood country, the land of the giants.
We took the Pacific coastal route for most of our 250 mile journey, taking advantage of some of the many viewing areas along the way. America is very good at providing these ‘pull outs’, some with information boards and occasionally ‘restroom’ facilities.
Views over Crescent City harbour
Crescent City Harbour has been important for the lumber industry for 150 years, shipping redwood, spruce and Douglas fir to ports along the coast, but it has not been without its casualties with boats hitting dangerous sandbanks. The construction of two lighthouses helped alleviate these problems.
One of our stops coincided with the arrival of a young couple from Bristol, journeying even further than we are. They had just married north of Seattle, with a ceremony floating on a river and had chosen to go it alone – just the two of them at the wedding. We had a brief, but pleasant, encounter with them as we all enjoyed the bay views.
The seastacks are formed as a result of their immensely hard rock content being resistant to sea erosion compared with other softer rock surrounding it.
We were then on to the tall trees. We thought the Douglas firs earlier this week were tall, but the redwoods were immense. We took a trial around the Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park admiring the towering trees, unbeknown that this area also has black bears, elk and mountain lions. All best avoided.
This species of redwoods grows close to the Pacific coast along a band about 20 miles wide. The trees need lots of moisture and are found in rainy, foggy areas. Although, thankfully, we did not see the rain, we did see the coastal mist. Redwoods can grow from seedlings, but they can also sprout from the tree’s lateral roots, stumps or even logs. Initially they grow 2-6 feet a year. By 20 years they can be 50 feet tall but with a diameter of just 8 inches. Ultimately they can reach 300 feet tall and in excess of 20 feet around. They can live for 2,000 years.
But we have people, unknown to us, to thank for this scenery. In 1918 a group of people formed the Save the Redwoods League. Using private donations they helped purchase much redwood forest, which was later donated to the California State Parks.
Then, eureka, we reached the town of Eureka where we were to overnight. The hotel seems to have it all. A glass of sparkling wine on arrival, the room has another hot tub, and to top it all it had a bear in the room. So Ted is made up.
Just one night here before we head to Mendocino, but not before we take a look around Eureka which seems to have some interesting architecture.
Copyright: words and photos Sue Barnard 2019