Up the Pacific Coast through Redwood National Park

We drive up the Pacific Coast through Redwood National Park from Arcata In California to Bandon in the State of Oregon - Distance 185 Miles. Total Distance  this trip to date 625 Miles

Apart from the fantastically large Sequoia Redwood Trees, we encounter many Elk along the road and a Giant Sasquatch otherwise known as Bigfoot! 

But first have a look at the iphone video of the views from the bike along the way through the Redwood forest. about 4' - best viewed in full screen mode

Bob takes up the story

"We get a bit of a late start the next morning since the rain if once again coming down but the forecast says it due to stop by mid morning and we decide the wait to see if it is accurate.  Pretty much.  Just light drizzles in at the start of the ride.  We quickly encounter a sign the tells us that the Redwoods National Park is only 30 miles away which is much closer than I had thought.  I mistakenly had it located just north of Crescent City where I had originally planned to spend the night.  As it turns out we are very fortunate to have stopped when we did since we are able to tour the best of the Redwoods mostly in the bright sunshine instead of the gathering dusk and lowing rain of the previous evening."

We go to the visitor centre to find out about Redwoods

Nearly half of the remaining old growth redwoods are in this park system, including giants five stories taller than the Statue of Liberty. They can live to be 2000 years old and grow to over 360 feet tall. 

This old canoe was carved out of a songle tree. The tree was burned slowly and the charred wood was hollowed out by chizel type implements.

Bob brings me to the The Big Tree

In 2006, naturalists discovered a new world's tallest tree near the original Tall Tree, whose discovery led to the creation of Redwood National Park in the 1960s. Located in a remote groveand stands 304 feet tall, taller than the Statue of Liberty! A circumference of 70 feet.

Eugene’s wife Avril has made him promise to make sure to see the world’s largest tree so we stop at the first Visitor Center and ask the Ranger to point us in the right direction.  He tells us that we will be sure to see it if we take the Newton B Drury Scenic Parkway north instead of staying on US Highway 101. 

 Bob introduces me to the tree - Video 30"

The parkway not only leads us to the grove of giant trees but also is a treat to ride, simply wonderful views along its entire length.  Eugene messes up the video on our first ride up the parkway and we gladly turn around to ride it once more in the opposite direction.  Just before we turn around, he tells me he is on his reserve gas tank but I tell him, “No problem, you should have plenty to ride back and still make it up 101 to the next gas”.  It is not long before I am regretting those words and becoming very worried that the distance we will need to go before next gas is going to be much longer that I thought and possibly farther than Eugene’s reserve will take him.  There is nothing in it however and we just soldier on with me in the rear anxiously watching for him to have to pull to the side having reached empty.  But once again our luck holds out and we coast into the next Indian Reservation gas station with only fumes in his tank.  









Beside the gas station we come across a living tree that you can drive a car through!










 


Watch the video. Duration 20"

THE BIGFOOT EPISODE - WE PASS MANY ROADSIDE STALLS WITH WOOD CARVINGS AND "BIGFOOT" IS A COMMON THEME

I accuse a guy of capturing Bigfoot ( also known as Sasquatch) he is greatly amused

Bigfoot, , is the name given to an ape-like creature that some people say inhabits forests, mainly in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. Bigfoot sightings usually entail a large, hairy, bipedal humanoid. The term "sasquatch" is an anglicized derivative of the Halkomelem word sásq'ets.

Most people discount the existence of Bigfoot and say it's combination of folklore, misidentification, and/or hoax rather than an actual living animal. Bigfoot "sightings," while obviously unconfirmed, are actually fairly common in Eastern Oregon. People living near the Umatilla Indian Reservation have reported that they have been woken up by strange sounds coming from the nearby forest.They've described the noise as like roaring and screeching, which they say sounds nothing like anything they've ever heard before. According to rumors among locals - it was a young Bigfoot separated from its mother. Residents describe the noises as frightening, and even the grown men in the area are reportedly very apprehensive to go out when the sounds are heard. For every believer, there are 10 skeptics, of course. Many in the area believe the Bigfoot rumors are ridiculous and that the noises are from foxes or coyotes.

WE COME ACROSS A HERD OF ElK

THEY ARE VERY PASSIVE AND ALLOW ME TO GET QUITE CLOSE WITH THE  IPHONE (NO ZOOM) CAMERA


Their antlers fall off every year and grow again - Bob explains  Antlers

 The rest of the ride is pretty uneventful and while we are tempted to once again stop short of our next planned town of Bandon, Oregon, we push on and do make it to a very nice seaside Inn beside the Pacific Ocean in Bandon.