Wet Trees

Now that we have left Vallejo, I finally figured out the attraction of Southern California. It's dry. As any northern west coast resident will know, the farther up the west coast you go in springtime, the wetter it gets. And it can get mighty wet. When we were driving up US 101 through Redwood National Park, it had been raining for so long that moss was growing in the middle of the road.

The little RV park in Northern California that we chose to stop at was rated as "eco-friendly". Which we discovered meant that, instead of a nice paved or gravel site, we were directed to park on the grass. Very soggy grass. While we were setting up in the pouring rain we put boards under the stabilizer feet and the water bubbled up from the ground around the boards from the weight of the stablizers. Evenings like these are meant for wine and a good book.

The next day we had high winds. Which didn't stop the rain, but turned the water drops into high speed water bullets pelting the windshield as we drove up the coast. We did get an awesome view of the Pacific waves crashing up on beaches and across the rocks.

Day three was a steady downpour but the winds had lessened, so we ventured out of our metallic protection and - umbrella in hand - wandered through a trail in a forest of Redwoods. There were so many huge trees, and some were so big they had moss, ferns, and even smaller trees growing right on their branches. We even got on a gondola (!!!) to take a steamy ride through the treetops.

Our last full day there we were blessed with sun. Quick to take advantage of it, we did a four hour hike of the coastal trail. There were trilliums growing along the trail, great views of the ocean, and very few people. We spent some time on a beach at the end of the trail, beachcombing and resting up for the return. We got home pleasantly tired, but aware that the next day we had to pull our trailer out of the mud.

Of course, the next day it was raining again, but a good yank in four wheel drive got the trailer moving. The roads going north were in good repair for the most part, with a few spots that were a current construction project. Most of these were on steep hill or mountain sides where the constant rain has caused what we shall call "slippage" in the ground under the road.

Happy to be back to sea level, we stayed in an Oregon State Park near a beach. We had a clear sky and good trails to try out our new bicycles - folding ones that can fit in the truck for safekeeping. They have full size tires and are surprisingly sturdy. Hopefully we'll be able to see the sun enough to use them.


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