Tall Trees

Currently In:  Crescent City, CA
Next Up:  Crater Lake National Park, Portland, Seattle/Tacoma,  Glacier, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons and Rocky Mountain National Parks


I think that I shall never see
A poem as lovely as a tree
                             -Joyce Kilmer

Once we had seen the largest trees in North America, we decided to go see the tallest, the Redwoods.

They are in the same family as the sequoia tree, just a different branch - pun intended.
Lady Bird Johnson Grove was our first stop.  Mrs. Johnson was instrumental in getting the Redwoods included in the National Park system, so they named this area for her.  The quiet, the fog and the tall trees made the experience surreal.

We learned that the Redwood trees use moisture from the fog, and that they not only reproduce from seeds but also by stump sprouting.  2 or more trees may grow from the same stump. The photo above shows 7 trees growing from the same stump - 2 are on the backside.
That same day we hiked the Trillium Falls trail.  We were told that we may see some Roosevelt Elk on the trail.  No elk, but some beautiful scenery with the added bonus of a mud path!

We left the area and on our drive back we were rewarded for walking through all the mud.  Truly majestic.

 On our way to the Coastal Drive the next morning we saw this about a mile from our campground.  Just when you're not looking, surprise!  There were about 50 elk, mostly female or very young.

Before we did the Coastal Drive, we decided to walk through the Trees of Mystery, a veritable tourist trap.  But we couldn't drive by without stopping to see our old buddies.  We are friendly with Paul and Blue from our summer vacations in Minocqua, WI.

There were lots of interesting trees here: oddly shaped, fallen logs, visible root systems.  Many of these "mystery" trees exist in the National Forest too.
The Cathedral Trees below are called such because when they all grow together it is reminiscent of a cathedral.  This is a popular place for weddings.

The tree below is called the Inferno Tree.  It was struck by lightening in the mid 1960's.  Redwoods are inherently resistant to fire, so it did not burn to the ground but the blaze could be seen for miles.

We also took the Sky Trail up to the top of the mountain to get a different perspective of the Redwood Forest.

My favorite part of the Trees of Mystery was the Tall Tales Trail.   They told the story of Paul Bunyon using carvings from Redwood trees.  Here are a couple that stood out.  First, Paul holding Blue as a baby.  The bottom one is Sourdough Sam.

We finally made it to the Coastal Drive and a couple of interesting scenic points.  First, we saw a bridge that got destroyed by flooding in 1964.  They left part of the bridge that was central to the town of Klamath, but the town moved to higher ground since there was so much damage. It's hard to see, but there is a statue of a bear standing on the cement to the left.

Klamath replicated the bears on the Highway 101 bridge.

We went to the Klamath Overlook off of the Coastal Drive hoping to see some whales or seals.  None of those, but we were directed to a radar station that was disguised as a farm house during WWII.  Empty now.

Not to be denied, we continued on the Coastal Drive until we heard the seals barking.  Finally, some wildlife! Other than sea gulls and pelicans which are around a lot.  We really had to use the binoculars here.  They were loud though!  Not sure you can see the black dots in the second picture, but those are the seals. A better camera than my cellphone would have worked here.   And of course the sea lions taking naps on the beach.

Another hike we took was called the Tall Trees trail.  It was a little more challenging due to the steepness and numerous switchbacks, but worth every step to be able to see this huge grove of Redwoods.  We were told that the "tallest tree" in North America was here, the Libby tree, but it was not marked so we are not sure which one it is.  Plus, the top 15 feet fell off in 2006, so it is no longer the tallest tree.  The NPS will not tell anyone where the tallest tree is so the root system doesn't get destroyed by people trampling it.

Some of the holes in the bottoms of these Redwoods are huge and quite deep.

The trail goes right through some cut logs.  Also, lots of ferns at this National Park due to the moist and shady habitat.

A beautiful carpet of green!

Cool root system on this tree.

I think this is a little longer than my usual posts since it combined activities from a few days.  If it takes a while to read it, imagine how long it took me to write it! Ha!