Day 7, Redwood NP

Today we set our alarm for the crack of dawn to make sure we’d be able to do everything we had planned for the day in Redwood National Park. With our leftover Mexican food and a quick stop to McDonalds as our breakfast, we were on the road by 7:00 am.

The majority of the day was spent driving from place to place. The first stop we made was at the Redwood NP Visitor Center. Here we continued the tradition of getting a map stamped and looking around the souvenir shop, where I bought a few postcards to send back home. Afterwards, we headed out of the Center’s back door, which lead us straight to a sandy beach along the Pacific Ocean. As we explored the shore, looking for interesting rocks and shells, we also took pictures of the seagulls and pelicans that flew overhead. Not noticing the sign warning tourists of the deadly sneaker waves that could pop up unexpectedly, my first attempt at running along the shoreline resulting in a pair of soaking wet tennis shoes.

After spending the better part of an hour on the beach, we returned to our car and made our way to restricted Tall Trees Trail. In order to get to the parking lot, we had to get a special pass from the Visitor Center and use an access code to unlock a locked gate blocking the road. The Tall Trees Trail was about a 3.6-mile hike, with the path leading down to a mile long loop, which took us to see the giant Redwood trees of California. While Sequoias are the largest trees in the world relative to their mass, these Redwoods are the tallest trees in the world. Since the brochure at the beginning of the trail warned us about attacks from mountain lions and bears, Jessie and I both carried sticks as a defense weapon against these savage predators. Jessie’s stick was more of a staff while mine would have been better suited to fend off a squirrel.

Along the path were numbered markers, each indicating a special feature of the woods, such as ancient creeks and areas that flooded in the late 40’s. We also came across a huge oak tree that was covered in moss, making its limbs looking like huge tarantula legs. Dad thought it would be neat to get a picture of the two of us standing on one of the lower limbs, and at first I agreed. However, once up on the high limb, trying to keep my balance as I made my way up to where Jessie was, I instinctively knew that I was not coordinated enough to navigate this branch. After debating for a good five minutes – Dad urging me on and me wanting to slide back down, I finally managed to stand up long enough to take a couple pictures. After the camera’s flash though, I immediately made my way back down to the ground and continued hiking.

Though we completed the hike in a few hours, the energy it drained from us was enough to skip the next stops we had originally planned, which included another trail, some caves, and another beach. We had also wanted to do zip lines, but apparently you had to make reservations in advance, and we didn’t have time to schedule another class.

Having driven far enough out of the way to change our minds and turn back, we decided to call it a day and take the 3-hour drive to our hotel in Grant’s Pass, Oregon. Here we enjoyed a delicious meal at Burger King, where Jessie won a free slice of apple pie but choose to toss the coupon. We also made a quick stop to Walmart to stock up on more food and buy a new pair of hiking shoes for Jessie and me, before crashing in our hotel room for the rest of the night.