In a state loaded with scenic drives, there
was one more along the coast of northern California that has been on our list
of “must-sees.” Aptly named the Avenue
of the Giants, this drive is a spectacular, thirty-two mile byway that winds
its way through ancient redwood groves. The
drive travels through Humboldt Redwoods State Park, which preserves the largest
contiguous old-growth redwood forest in the world.
It was dark in the forest, and the
treetop canopy formed a vertical tunnel through which we drove. It was so peaceful here, made even more so by
the fact that we were one of the few vehicles on the road today. We passed by numerous groves that were
dedicated to groups or individuals who made donations to protect these trees. Since 1918, the Save-the-Redwoods League has
labored to protect this forest through the purchase of redwood groves from willing
sellers. The League then deeds the land
to state or federal agencies for park use.
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Avenue of the Giants |
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Marker Honoring Contributors |
We got out at several of the numerous
pullouts so we could walk among the trees and admire their majesty. How insignificant we felt among these
giants. The air was cool and the ground
was damp, and the dense mat of needles covering the ground muffled our
footsteps. Our eyes were constantly drawn
upward, and Tim compared the view through the canopy to a kaleidoscope.
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Tim Is Dwarfed by the Redwoods |
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Even the RV Is Tiny Against these Giants |
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A Marvelous Kaleidoscope |
The coast redwoods are related to the
sequoias that we visited in Yosemite National Park two weeks ago. The sequoias grow in small pockets of the Sierra
Nevada range and are much larger in circumference, but shorter, than the
redwoods. The redwoods are the tallest trees
on earth and thrive in the moist, warmer climate along the Pacific coast.
After leaving the redwood forest, we
continued on our northward journey, but made a small detour to the beautiful
Victorian town of Ferndale. Ferndale is
a little ways off the highway, and still a bit of a secret, but it is well
worth visiting. We couldn’t help
comparing Ferndale to Mendocino, both of which contain fanciful collections of
well-preserved Victorian architecture. Mendocino is located directly on the
Pacific, while Ferndale is somewhat inland. Both have exuberant displays of flowers.
What Tim and I especially liked about
Ferndale was the selection of paint colors on many of the buildings. Many houses sported a dozen or so colors, but
none of the combinations were gaudy. The
colors carefully brought out the architectural details of the buildings. Ferndale was quaint and charming, and it was
evident that the residents are proud of their town.
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Beautiful Colors |
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Quaint Victorian Cottages |
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Charming Houses |
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Exhuberant Commercial Buildings |
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Carpenter Gothic Gingerbread Trim |
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Queen Anne Turret |
Boy, if a tree falls in that forest I bet someone somewhere hears it! :-) LV
ReplyDeleteLV, You do have a point! Can you just imagine the sound that would make? Sarah
DeleteThe trees are giant. What a great sight.
ReplyDeleteIt was very special to be able to see such spectacular trees. Sarah
Delete