Eureka - May 15, 2016

Even though it was overcast and spitting showers, we took a drive north of Eureka to the Redwood National Park and State Parks.  These redwoods are not old growth, or at least, the part we had access to was not old growth forest.  So that means the forests included other tree species like birches and Douglas firs, and there were more open spaces.  Still gorgeous, but not as spiritually moving for me.  There is something about the ancient redwoods that affects me strongly - I feel the awe of creation in those old trees.

We saw a herd of Roosevelt elk in a meadow near Prairie Point and we took a side driving tour, the Newton B. Drury Scenic Pkwy.  Shorter than the Avenue of the Giants, it was just as beautiful, winding its way around large redwood trees.  There were lots of pullouts for walks through the forest.

We stopped at a tourista spot called the Trees of Mystery.  I was expecting the typical cheesy tourist trap, but the attraction was actually quite nice.  The core attraction was a gondola tram ride up to the top of a mountain with views of the forest as you ascended the mountain and some beautiful vistas at the top, including views of the ocean. To get up and down from the tram, you took a trail walk.  We opted for the shuttle ride up and walked down (well, Russ walked, I scooted).  Very pleasant walk through the trees.  The views from the top were very nice, even though it was overcast and we didn't get to see ultra far.  We spotted an osprey nest and a large bird with a white chest and very black wings which we think is an osprey sitting on a tree a few hundred feet away.

We finished our visit with lunch at the Forest Café, noted for its underwater room - they painted the ceiling to look like the underneath of a lake, complete with glued on plastic duck bottoms and feet.  Pretty clever!



The Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway was narrow and winding, but beautifiul.



Lots of blooming flowers at the Trees of Mystery.

This was an interesting burl - looked like a smashed gargoyle face.

The Roosevelt elk were enjoying the green grass.  The antlers were just starting to sprout.

Paul Bunyon and Babe are 4th generation creations.  They are supposed to be animated, but were not doing anything other than standing there.  Looks like Paul's hand will rotate in a semblance of a royalty wave.

The view as the gondola was ascending to the mountain tower.. Pretty steep climb!

The osprey nest is on top of the dead tree in the middle of the picture.

This fallen tree is serving as the base for several new sprouts to eventually become their own trees.

Some rocks off shore of Trinidad Beach.

Saw this when we stopped at the local Safeway.  There is a human powered animated creation race from Ferndale to Arcata coming up next weekend.  We think this one was out for a test drive.  The gears were so low that the people were cranking about twenty to one. We both thought that they were going to be pretty pooped long before the race would be over.