We had a chilly night last night but woke up on time at 8. The laundry opened at 8 and we had no option but to do some. This KOA is really nice, the bathroom are clean and new. The laundry was great too, cheap and I got a lot of work done while Devin picked up camp. We were a little nervous because everything packed away so easily and quickly...we hoped it wasn't an omen. We didn't get away until noon. It was hot standing in the sun but perfect once we were on the bike. We got sodas at the campground and headed on. How do you keep your soda cold when your coozie is packed away? Bandana of course...
We continued to travel into California. Is was about the same time that it got instantly cold. We made it to Crescent City and boom there was ocean. It was really nice. We then headed into the Redwood National Park. The trees in there were huge! The road was winding and curvy. After a short ride through the trees, it opened back up and turned into freeway for a little while. We started to get hungry, so we started to look for a place to stop and picnic. We couldn't find one. Before long we saw a sign for a 'tour-thru tree.' We were planning on going to the 'drive-thru tree' which was much farther away but we stopped at this one to see what it was all about. We were a little unsure about it so we got back on the freeway and within a few miles (and a little quick internet research) decided to go back to the tour-thru tree. (the difference between drive-thru and tour-thru? Legailty in names and, from what I understand, tourist-y-ness). It was a very, very short ride up to the tree and when we got up there someone was nice enough to offer to take our picture.
Devin wanted an action shot as we went through the tree so we went back around and through again. But my camera went off too fast and it didn't do a good photo, so we went through a third time (really getting our $3 worth there) and got it.
The tree is a redwood, is apx 700 years old, and was cut in the mid-70s for drive through purposes.
We continued on until we found a picnic area. It was way far back in the woods on some gravel road but it was nice to be secluded for a change. I really wanted to eat with the giant redwoods and we did (just check out that tree behind Devin!) We ate our packed lunch and didn't feed the animals like we were told.
Just as we were leaving a truck comes down the road behind where Devin was sitting. This was a blocked off road for park works only. They were there to inspect the small bridge near us. It was funny that even in the middle of nowhere in an effort to be secluded we found people.
We kept going and going and going. Eventually we came to a spot of "Avenue of the Giants," a scenic bypass to the road we were on. We figured 'what the heck?' and took it. Good move. As soon as we exited there was a small information pull-off and across from that some GINORMOUS trees:
We took the road the whole 33 miles, stopping when found a tree we thought was one of the biggest (until we saw a bigger one across the road).
Even mini-B got in on the action:
And so did the bike:
Our campground was right off Hwy 1 (part of the Pacific Coast Highway). Up to this point we'd been on the 101 and had some pretty good riding. 101 runs into the 1, and when we got off the 101 it was instant craziness, the road going back and forth and winding every which way. I'm not sure we made it above 30 mph. It was this way for nearly 25 miles. The only problem was it was getting darker and colder. We eventually made it to the campsite, just as the sun set. Our KOA was on the beach but we had a tent site off in the grassy area (I couldn't imagine trying to deal with a tent covered in sand!) We set up camp and Devin started a fire to boil water. With that we made potato soup and had a deliciously warm dinner. It was very cold out. We took showers that were also pretty chilly and tried to bundle up as much as we could for the night.
Today we traveled 325.1 miles for a total of 6565.9 miles across America.
We continued to travel into California. Is was about the same time that it got instantly cold. We made it to Crescent City and boom there was ocean. It was really nice. We then headed into the Redwood National Park. The trees in there were huge! The road was winding and curvy. After a short ride through the trees, it opened back up and turned into freeway for a little while. We started to get hungry, so we started to look for a place to stop and picnic. We couldn't find one. Before long we saw a sign for a 'tour-thru tree.' We were planning on going to the 'drive-thru tree' which was much farther away but we stopped at this one to see what it was all about. We were a little unsure about it so we got back on the freeway and within a few miles (and a little quick internet research) decided to go back to the tour-thru tree. (the difference between drive-thru and tour-thru? Legailty in names and, from what I understand, tourist-y-ness). It was a very, very short ride up to the tree and when we got up there someone was nice enough to offer to take our picture.
Devin wanted an action shot as we went through the tree so we went back around and through again. But my camera went off too fast and it didn't do a good photo, so we went through a third time (really getting our $3 worth there) and got it.
The tree is a redwood, is apx 700 years old, and was cut in the mid-70s for drive through purposes.
We continued on until we found a picnic area. It was way far back in the woods on some gravel road but it was nice to be secluded for a change. I really wanted to eat with the giant redwoods and we did (just check out that tree behind Devin!) We ate our packed lunch and didn't feed the animals like we were told.
Just as we were leaving a truck comes down the road behind where Devin was sitting. This was a blocked off road for park works only. They were there to inspect the small bridge near us. It was funny that even in the middle of nowhere in an effort to be secluded we found people.
We kept going and going and going. Eventually we came to a spot of "Avenue of the Giants," a scenic bypass to the road we were on. We figured 'what the heck?' and took it. Good move. As soon as we exited there was a small information pull-off and across from that some GINORMOUS trees:
We took the road the whole 33 miles, stopping when found a tree we thought was one of the biggest (until we saw a bigger one across the road).
Even mini-B got in on the action:
And so did the bike:
Our campground was right off Hwy 1 (part of the Pacific Coast Highway). Up to this point we'd been on the 101 and had some pretty good riding. 101 runs into the 1, and when we got off the 101 it was instant craziness, the road going back and forth and winding every which way. I'm not sure we made it above 30 mph. It was this way for nearly 25 miles. The only problem was it was getting darker and colder. We eventually made it to the campsite, just as the sun set. Our KOA was on the beach but we had a tent site off in the grassy area (I couldn't imagine trying to deal with a tent covered in sand!) We set up camp and Devin started a fire to boil water. With that we made potato soup and had a deliciously warm dinner. It was very cold out. We took showers that were also pretty chilly and tried to bundle up as much as we could for the night.
Today we traveled 325.1 miles for a total of 6565.9 miles across America.
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