By Nicole
Humboldt County in Northern California is known for supporting certain types of, um, plant life. Arguably the most famous (and the most legal), though, is the majestic coast redwood – the tallest tree in the world.
We’d planned to travel north, back toward Crescent City, to tour the redwood forest, but a chat with a local at the Lost Coast Brewery bar had us pointing our rental car south down Highway 101 in search of two things: redwoods and sunshine.
We found both. Oh boy, did we ever.
Driving the scenic and aptly named “Avenue of the Giants,” a 31-mile spur of Highway 101 that winds through the largest remaining stand of virgin coast redwoods, was a remarkable experience. The sense of awe and tranquility we felt walking through the old-growth forest, smelling the warm, woodsy aromas and witnessing first hand the impressive size and stature of these ancient trees – some over 2,000 years old, 350’ tall and 22’ in diameter – was in a word, incredible.
The “Avenue of the Giants”
On one short trail, only 2/3 of a mile long, we saw 17 of the world’s 100 tallest trees.
Nicole: 5’2”; Coast redwood: ~350’
Looking up the skirt of a downed redwood.
Further on along the highway, through some small towns and down about 95 switchbacks, we came to the tiny seaside community of Shelter Cove. The guidebook says you can anchor here, and we wanted to see it for ourselves.
The anchorage at Shelter Cove, CA
We also found this stubby little lighthouse perched on the cliff.
Built in the late 1880s to weather storms, earthquakes and landslides. Cute.
So I mentioned that we found sunshine along with the redwoods. Who knew that we only had to drive a few miles southeast to go from a foggy, chilly 56° to a hot, sultry 97°? And why didn’t we do it sooner?! Ohmygosh, it was heavenly.
Finding a spot where it’s 80° in the shade used to be our driving goal. But after yesterday’s delicious taste of temperatures in the upper 90s, we may just have to set our sights a little higher. It was absolutely blissful to be enveloped by warmth, and I can’t wait until it’s the norm. Soon, soon…
As you can probably tell, we had a very good day.
Hey... a place I've been. My uncle lives in Shelter Cove! There is (or at least was - two years ago) a fantastic tea house near the lighthouse. Shelter Cove is gorgeous, and I'm glad you got sun while there.
ReplyDelete97 degrees!! we are so jealous! We had a day in the 80's a while back, but like you we want more...much more! We had looked at Shelter Bay on our way down as a place to duck into, but had a great sail going at that point, and that is about where we ran into the Blue Whale. Pretty windy here in the bay area. We had steady 25 knots most of the day, with gusts over 30.
ReplyDeleteKatrina: As we keep finding out, it's such a small world! And you're right -- Shelter Cove is just beautiful. We were sad the crepe truck wasn't open!
ReplyDeleteTom and Jeanne: I'm sure at some point the heat will get old, but we're looking forward to that day. :) Keep enjoying SF -- we'll be there soon!
-Nicole