The Avenue of the Giants

We certainly enjoyed and embraced our time in the Sonoma Valley.  But, northern California was waiting....and it was tiime to go!  The drive to Humboldt State Park was beautiful although the weather returned to cooler temperatures as we climbed near the coastline once again.  We had hoped to drive straight through to Crecent City home of Redwood National Park, but neither of us realized it was a seven hour drive.  So, we compromised half-way to Garberville, a small town at the entrance of The Avenue of the Giants.  We found a great little RV site right on the golf course and with full hook-up including cable which was perfect as we both wanted to watch the opening ceremony of the summer olympics.  The next morning, we played a round of golf.

We then had a wonderful lunch at the Benbow Inn, where preparations for an outdoor wedding were underway in this beautiful countryside.  Good luck to the couple!  We then moved along to our destination of Humboldt State Park and The Avenue of the Giants.  A 31 mile drive that winds you through the heart of these massive redwoods.  We were certainly dwarfed among the giants.  There were many "pull-offs" along the road and we took advantage of nearly every one.  It gave us a chance to stretch our legs and explore more closely.

Pictured above, I climb in the base of a fallen tree.  One can get somewhat of an idea how massive these trees are.  However, pictures don't nearly describe the feeling of being there.  We continued along the road stopping at the many highlights along the way.

Yes, that's right....even a car can drive through the base of these trees!

These trees are thousands of years old!  Imagine what they have seen.........

Pictured above is "Giant Tree"  It measures 363 feet tall with a circumference of 53.2 feet.

                                                                                     

We found it quite interesting that the floor of these groves are covered with clovers!  Of course we searched for ones with 4 leaves, but none were to be found.

But, we did find Big Foot!!

We enjoyed our stroll amongst the redwoods.  It is a magical, romantic place.  We even observed a wedding taking place in one of the "day area" parks.  Wow, two weddings in one day!  Is God trying to tell us something?  It was truly a romantic day and made us start thinking of where we would like to tie the knot.