Jacqueline’s Jaunts

Monday, March 21, 2022

03-17-22 Crescent City to Garberville/Benbow California (Travel Day)

03-17-22 Thursday

Benbow KOA, Garberville, California

Jeeps in Parking Lot: 3

Drive Time: 3+ hours

Miles: 122.2 miles

Arrived: 4:00 pm

03-17-22 HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!

We pulled out of the KOA at 11:05 am and headed south on 101. About seven or eight miles out of Crescent City we hit numerous construction sites and one lane traffic controls. The highway runs along the mountain side and has beautiful views. You can see by this map how close the road is to the coastline.

We took the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway off 101. The drive was a scenic route and much prettier than the highway. Dabbles of light coming through the trees made the ferns and ends of the redwoods look silver. An incredible effect throughout the drive.

We stopped at the Prairie Creek Visitor Center so I could get another stamp. There was a ranger that answered a lot of our questions. He seemed very knowledgeable. I spoke to him at length about the Marbled Murrelet. He informed me that they are on the edge of extinction. Not much was known about these birds until the 1970’s. In that area they nest at the top of redwood trees and feed at night, so they are not seen often. Although there are power lines outside this visitor center and the birds use to fly into these at night because they didn’t see them. In the morning the rangers would find a few on the ground. They had to do something so the birds could see the lines at night. Now you see these reflectors hanging from the power lines. Very ingenious. They have not found any dead birds since the reflectors were installed.

On the way back to our RV we observed Elk across the street, only about five. Unfortunately, these were not bulls. A bull (male) can weigh up to 1,100 pounds and the cow (female) up to 640 pounds. These are animals you don’t want to mess with. If you have the opportunity to stop at this visitor center do so. Great information about the area.

The drive took longer than expected due to all the construction delays and our detour to the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway, but we made it. Nice place with flat asphalt sites. We also had a cement pad with a table and chairs set, along with a firepit. This KOA is next to a golf course up against a hillside.

We met Fred and Helaine who just purchased their RV, and this was their first outing. They had an RV but it was over 30 years ago. They are a few years older than us. Fred had his own Architect company and Helaine was an RN. They are both retired now. Barry answered a bunch of questions they had, and they were so thankful. We ended up eating together and continued our conversation.

After dinner we did our dishes and walked the park. Both of us were tired and hit the bed early. Tomorrow is a free day and I think we are just going to relax in camp.

Construction Delay

Detour Information

More Detour Information

I liked this poster in the visitor center because ithas the
name of the clover we saw during our
hike the the 'Grove of Titans.'

This was fascinating. An bull elk died after lodging
his head in the crock of this tree. Over many years the tree grew
around the skull and antlers. You can see the skull around the back.
I couldn't get a shot of the back to show the skull.

This is the night reflector that helps save
the Marbled Murrelet

Sunday, March 20, 2022

03-16-22 Crescent City, California (Day Trip - Grove of the Titans)

03-16-22 Wednesday

Crescent City, California

Crescent City

Jeeps in Parking Lot: 2

Drive Time: 0

Miles: 0

Arrived: 0

Woke up to a beautiful morning. Simple breakfast of cereal and a banana. Cleaned up a bit and ready to explore the Redwoods. We stopped by the KOA office to let them know our cable signal was very snowy and the cable line had water in it. Also asked about the channels. The channels listed on the paper with the map of the park is wrong. The woman behind the counter says they change cable providers often so it’s never right....uuummmm. No comment from me. We bought a couple of nice lightweight jackets and off to the National Park Visitor Center in Crescent City.

Zoom in for details

At the visitor center I got my passport stamp and purchased a few stickers for my passport book. The Ranger behind the counter pulled out a map and showed us how to get to Howland Road and some ideas for hikes in the area. One he told us about was a hike to the ‘Grove of Titans.’ This hike has not been open long and park is still working on some of it. He also told us to be sure to take the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway off 101. It was worth the detour off 101. We headed out with a plan to drive Howland Road and take the hike to the 'Grove of Titans.'

It was an easy drive to Howland Road from the NP Visitor Center. Howland Road turns into gravel after you pass through a gate and is 13 miles long. The road is a single lane road with turnouts. Our jeep did a great job navigating the road. It’s hard to explain the wonder and awe you feel while driving through this area. Mother Nature has once again left us speechless. The rivers, moss hanging from the trees, the quiet you hear when turning off the jeep motor, light filtering through the trees. Such untouched beauty as Barry stated during our drive.

As we slowly made the drive, we looked for landmarks on the map the ranger gave us so we could stop and take pictures. We didn’t talk much but enjoyed the drive and the huge trees. We finally came to the trail marker for the ‘Grove of Titans.’ We parked, threw on our day packs, and started our hike.

The hike was about one and a half miles on a wet and windy trail with a gradual climb to the top along with a few switchbacks. Moss laden trees, fungi growing on trees, ferns and what looked like clover covered the grounds all mixed with stunning scenery and fresh crisp clean air. It was nothing short of amazing.

At a certain point we went from hiking on the ground to raised steel platforms. We made it to the grove and ran into a ranger. She explained to us the park decided to install these to protect the forest floor and the area around the ‘Grove of Titans.’ She was drilling in these small yellow plates on the platforms to help with depth perception. They had people complaining about it. She was standing next to one of the Titans and it was absolutely amazing how huge this tree is. An astonishing site. We hiked a little further up to see the other Titans. As I write this, I find it hard to explain how I felt at the moment standing next to these giants. I never imagined how large these trees truly are.

There are two small plaques on the top of the railings of a platform by the Titans. One plaque has a brass image of a banana slug, and the other was of a marmot. The plaques briefly explained how important these animals are to the forest. I was impressed by this, and the brass has not started turning green yet. What a beautiful idea. I have never seen anything like this in other National Parks.

There was a small side path that led to a platform overlooking the river. On the rail was a plaque with a small brass statue of a Coho Salmon. From this view you could see upriver. The water was so clear you could see the bottom. All we could hear was the water flowing.

This slug was about 4 inches long

We started back down the hill and saw a few banana slugs. What a great hike and one we will always remember. Hiking through this forest is humbling and again Mother Nature is quite the proprietor of our planet.

Another five miles on the road and we were back on pavement. We drove out of the park and a few miles to Hiouchi Visitor Center, and I was able to get another passport stamp. It was 4:30 and we were hungry so we searched for a place to eat. We found a brewery in Crescent City, Port ‘O’ Pints but what a dive bar so we left. Drove to SeaQuake over by the water. Great place and the food was excellent. Beer, cider. calamari and a pizza. Bought a 4 pack of cider and headed out. We drove to the pier and walked to the end. We could see SeaQuake from here.

Back at the RV Barry lit the firepit and made us smores. I was writing so he brought it to me. Have I said before how much I this guy? Night all.

ADDITIONAL PHOTOS OF THE DAY

SeaQuake is the blue and gray building

This was one of my favorite areas. This tree had fallen and the path had to be diverted around it. It broke in half and this portion was about 75 feet in length. It was between 12 to 15 feet high.

Burned from the inside

Same tree as above

This photo is a great example of how an old fallen tree is
the base for new growth. We saw this all throughout the woods.
Even ferns sprouted on the fallen trees.

Wednesday, March 16, 2022

03-15-22 Oregon Dunes, Oregon to Crescent City, California

03-15-22 Tuesday

Crescent City, California

Crescent City

Jeeps in Parking Lot: 0

Drive Time: 3 hours

Miles: 136.8

Arrived: 3:23 pm

Weather this morning was nice, no rain just cloudy. Seeing a bit of blue sky was a pleasant surprise from Mother Nature. I decided to make mushroom and cheese omelets for breakfast, yummy. Quick cleanup and get the RV ready to move out this morning. We needed to get air in one tire, but Barry’s tire inflator was not enough. This KOA has an area you can pull up to for air. This park caters to the OHV crowd, so it makes sense they have air available.

On the road again.... well for one and a half miles. I wanted to stop at the Myrtlewood Factory. All items are handmade, carved or milled. The cutting boards were a work of art. I ended up buying two ornaments, a bowl, a key rack for the RV and a cheese board. Back on the road for real.

The drive down the coast was absolutely beautiful. Some of Hwy 101 was a bit rugged and a few construction zones. This past storm over the weekend looks like it did some damage to this part of the highway. We drove through a town called Coos Bay and loved it. Pretty coastal town. We passed 3 RV Service Centers and at home we only have one in San Jose.

We stopped in Bookings for gas at a Fred Meyer station. This guy with a mask tapped on our window. He said to Barry, “Hey, I own a Motorhome and have points that I’m not able to use. If I don’t use them, I’ll lose them so do you want them. I’m happy to give the attendant my code and you can have whatever the amount is." Barry was stunned and told the guy, “That would be awesome.” Barry got out of the RV to unlock the gas cap for the attendant and the gentleman already gave the attendant his code and was gone. It was $0.40 less a gallon which was significant when it cost $150.00+ to fill this beast. By the way, in Oregon you don’t pump your gas. The station attendants do it for you. Like in the old days.

As we are getting ready to leave, we hear someone singing to us. It was the attendant, “My country star, that’s what you are.” The name of our motorhome model is Kountry Star and it reminded him of the song. He had a great laugh and kept singing as we drove away. What an awesome human being.

We passed over the border from Oregon to California at 3:23 pm. I felt bummed about this. It meant we are on the last leg of our trip. I love the coast of Oregon.

About a half-hour later we make it to the KOA and pull into our site and Barry hooks us up. Our home for the next two nights. The site is a large one and great distance between each site. We are right next to a huge redwood tree. The park is surrounded by redwood trees and some are quite large. We took a walk around the park and through the woods, just beautiful. There is a stream that runs through it with a little log bridge. The air was crisp and clean. Great walk.

I made Amanda’s White Bean Chili for dinner and Barry cooked biscuits. Dinner was hot and yummy. After dinner cleanup, Barry set up the firepit and we sat around the fire and made smores. Great way to end the evening.

Just in case you’re wondering, almost every town we drove through had a Dollar General or Dollar Tree. If any town had an Ace or True Value hardware, one of the Dollar stores, a Walgreens or CVS and a Safeway the joke was we could live there. I would then look up real estate to check out housing prices. Hey sometimes you just have to entertain yourselves while on the road.

Night all!