Thurs - Fri Sept 18-19 Redwoods and Napa Valley
Got up early to leave Chester since we knew it was going to be a long curvy road to get to 101 and the ocean. The road did not disappoint, but fortunately there was little traffic during the twisty bits. It even rained during part of the drive. Unusual for the dry time of year. The firefighters certainly enjoyed it. The drive wasn't quite as serene as this, but it was OK.
At Redwoods NP we walked the Lady Bird Johnson Grove Trail. Lots of big coastal sequoia and a much wetter climate than inland. Very impressive in size. There's a whole cottage industry that takes redwood pieces and turns them into bowls and bears and other things. Burls like this are the raw ingredients.
Roosevelt elk abound in the park, and of course it's September. Similar to our stay in Yellowstone last year, here is the leader of the pack and a couple of the girls. This bull had at least 20 females in his group, but was fairly passive in maintaining control during the five minutes we watched.
After a pleasant drive through groves of redwoods, we came to coast. Very different than the Florida coast we're familiar with.
After checking into our hotel in Crescent City, we went out looking for scenery. Sunset was a bust, but while at the marina we found this sea lion swimming around searching for his dinner.
The next morning, sunrise gave us a better view of the lighthouse. The first part of the drive was retracing our steps along the coast.
Crossing the Klamath River, the California Bear was guarding the approaches to the bridge.
Arrived in Calistoga after driving through miles of vineyards. If each acre of vineyard produces about 300 cases/3600 bottles of wine, we passed a whole lot of drinking.
The city of Calistoga is devoted to the drinking of wine, and the hot springs and mud baths available. We partook only of the wine, and that in very limited quantities. This qualifies as yet another city the we probably couldn't live in, at least in the winter.
Got up early to leave Chester since we knew it was going to be a long curvy road to get to 101 and the ocean. The road did not disappoint, but fortunately there was little traffic during the twisty bits. It even rained during part of the drive. Unusual for the dry time of year. The firefighters certainly enjoyed it. The drive wasn't quite as serene as this, but it was OK.
Roosevelt elk abound in the park, and of course it's September. Similar to our stay in Yellowstone last year, here is the leader of the pack and a couple of the girls. This bull had at least 20 females in his group, but was fairly passive in maintaining control during the five minutes we watched.
After a pleasant drive through groves of redwoods, we came to coast. Very different than the Florida coast we're familiar with.
After checking into our hotel in Crescent City, we went out looking for scenery. Sunset was a bust, but while at the marina we found this sea lion swimming around searching for his dinner.
The next morning, sunrise gave us a better view of the lighthouse. The first part of the drive was retracing our steps along the coast.
Crossing the Klamath River, the California Bear was guarding the approaches to the bridge.
Arrived in Calistoga after driving through miles of vineyards. If each acre of vineyard produces about 300 cases/3600 bottles of wine, we passed a whole lot of drinking.
The city of Calistoga is devoted to the drinking of wine, and the hot springs and mud baths available. We partook only of the wine, and that in very limited quantities. This qualifies as yet another city the we probably couldn't live in, at least in the winter.
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