Avenue of the Giants

Rolling out of Russian River and up 101N we pass through Ukiah and lots of small vineyards. On our right is the Coastal Mountain Range and one peak is covered with snow. It's sunny and in the 50's this morning and the air is really clear. We see a lot of Red Tail Hawks soaring over the fields just catching the air currents. The road led us right through Hopland which is the home of California's 1st Brewpub and is also the birthplace of Red Tail Beer. Rte 101 becomes the Redwood Highway and changes from vineyards to pastures filled with cattle and sheep. I had to look twice, but we saw a little deer just sauntering through the pasture filled with cattle. Not a care in the world!

We are now in a more wooded area now and as we passed through the little town of Laytonville we saw a sign saying "Elk next 8 miles"..going around the next curve there they were! A huge herd of Roosevelt Elk in a field just at the tree line.They are very large animals. Next is the town of Piercy where the road follows the South Fork of the Eel River, which is a gorgeous emerald green in the sunlight (wonder if they colored it for today... St Patricks Day...).

Soon we come to the exit for Avenue of the Giants. The avenue runs parrallel to Rte 101 and provides a memorable alternative as you enter Humbolt County. This is the best place to view redwoods from your car. It winds for 32 miles through a series of impressive old growth groves. We are just amazed at the size of the trees as we follow gentle curves through little hamlets such as Myers Flat and past plenty of redwood and Eel River trails. Many of these hamlets were once the center of logging operations. Myers Flat hung on to its mill well into the 1970's. It was once the location of the Morrison and Jackson Lumber Co sawmill. The mill employed 85 people at it's peak, but finally shut down in 1978 after being sold to Georgia-Pacific Company. On the other hand the little town of Weott met a different fate. Today Weott is not located at its original site. The town used to straddle the Avenue of the Giants until 1964, when a devastating flood washed it and several other local towns away.

Finally we reached the Burlington Campground in Humbolt Redwoods State Park and found our site. Our coach is nestled in huge redwoods and there are no other campers near us. The area has a fire pit and lots of room between sites. It is really dark, as very little sun gets through the tops of the redwoods. I can't wait for tonight it will be really 'pitch black'.

We decided to drive back to Garberville about 20 miles back up Rte 101 to get some groceries. While in Garberville we found a chinese restaurant called the Cadillac Wok and had dinner. We had a dish called Black Pepper beef and it was yummy!

Back at camp we got firewood and met the camphosts Otis & Stephanie Anderson. They are a sweet couple and they are here for 6 months (Dec - Jun). Gosh winter in the damp and dark, but they love it. We had a fire and really enjoyed it. We haven't had a campfire since last summer before going to Yellowstone. We are excited about being in the redwoods so we put together our plan of attack and can't wait to start exploring tommorrow.

Pictures: Start down Avenue of the Giants, Avenue of Giants, Ken at Camp, Campsite