Redwoods, continued

My night at the rest stop area off of Highway 101 went really well. I'm heading into the national park this morning and did a 1 and 1/2 mile hike through Lady Bird Johnson Gorge Trail. It was a rather steep drive to get there, and I could certainly feel my ears popping. There were several large redwoods and it looked like a relatively new forest compared to what I would see later on in the day. I enjoyed a stellar blue jay hopping in the trees. The hiking trail was very easy, and very quiet since it was still early. 

I captured a gorgeous shot of the sun glistening through the redwoods on top of the Sylver Gypsy. I heavenly shot. I was lucky to get a parking space since it was a small spot. I took my chances and drove to the Gold Bluffs Beach campsite. If only it was safe to pull over and take a photo of this particular dirt road, that had such a rounded camber and massive ditches on either side, seriously only good for one car at a time with some pull outs, to move over. Like riding on top of an arch. If you were lucky, you could navagate between oncoming traffic.

The California State Park reservation system, is the most frustrating and ridiculous system I have encountered, when trying to get a campsite. Unless you plan days ahead of time, you cannot speak to anyone over the phone until you physically show up at these campsites, and you may or may not get an open spot. It's so not conducive to my gypsy, nomadic style of traveling. These guys need to get together with Amazon or Google to figure out a better way, and I know it can be done. There was no opening at this coast, however they told me to come back at 2 pm. But there is no way, in this lifetime, that I will take that road again......ever.....as it was silly steep, blind spots with hairpin switchbacks, like a maze in the forest, and in my opinion, quite dangerous. So glad I lived to see and tell, but once was enough. So plan B is Prairie Creek just up the road and I'm 1st in line for the first available spot. 

The photographs of the Redwoods don't do it justice, as there's no way to really show the scale of these large trees. The weather is much warmer here today and in the sun it's quite comfortable. The smells of spring are in the air.

Its Jo Jo's 11th birthday! He will get chicken for dinner. Lucky, we I did get a spot at Prairie Creek, and hiked the redwood access trail to the visitor center, which was lovely with some stellar large redwoods. Spending time in the state and National Forest is challenging with a dog, as they are not allowed on the trails. I am fortunate that the weather is still very cool, and there's plenty of shaded parking for Jo Jo to take his snoozes, while I do my hiking. One feels quite small among these majestic trees.


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