September 23rd started with care of our six horse-powered wagon! We stopped in Medford for an oil change and while there visited a Harry and David store. This one was different from those in outlet malls we've visited; it had fresh fruits and vegetables. We bought some ... I got two Jonathan Apples (my all time favorite) and four pears for snack-time. Yum!!!
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| Make sure you look at the weather vane! |
From Medford we drove on to CA and the redwoods. We wove in and out of the state and national parks. The Sequoias that grow along the Pacific Ocean on the hillsides of the Coastal Range are called Coastal Redwoods. We stopped along the way to walk in the relatively quiet ocean waves. The beaches were almost empty of folks and walking even a short distance was relaxing. The sand is black and not finely ground ... you can actually see the small, small pebbles in your hand.
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| A quiet day on the Pacific. |
We took a couple of hikes in the redwood forests. The most impressive was through the lady Bird Johnson Grove. The park service provided a self-guided brochure which was really informative ... at first we looked at it and thought it was too much reading, but it was broken into 13 chunks of info, which accompanied the mile walk through the grove. It really helped us understand the cycle of the forest and the role the redwoods play in its regeneration. We learned how burls, fire, decay, rebirth, understory, canopy, wind, rain, insects, algae, fungi all help in the life of the forest. Pictures don't begin to do justice to these forests. What I can say is that the size of these trees is humbling (they are magnificent), the light dappling through the forest is truly beautiful, and the silence in these forests is ... I can't explain how quiet they are ... you listen and hear nothing, absolutely nothing ... maybe the chirp of a small bird, but even that is quiet! Jim and I tried to figure out why the forest is so quiet. It's true there was little wind, if any, yesterday, but the other factor we thought might contribute is water and dampness. We'll have to research this!
My pictures don't begin to show how majestic the space is.
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| Stretching to the sky. |
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| The undergrowth ... sword fern, mountain laurel, moss, fungi, algae. |
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| A redwood so tall and vast, it can't be photographed. |
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| Fallen redwood supporting new life. |
This last photo was taken from the car as we were approaching Eureka where we stayed last night. It may be the best photo of the lot.
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| Sunset over the Pacific! |
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