roadtrip dreaming..
4»»»» even though january isn’t the best time to get away,
it sure is when we think about it a lot…don’t you? ««««

»»»» even though january isn’t the best time to get away,
it sure is when we think about it a lot…don’t you? ««««
→ there are three drive-thru trees along the avenue of the giants, myers flat, leggett & chandelier (the one we visited)… and so.much.fun. i only wish it were big enough to drive the airstream through (:
it’s roomier than our airstream in here (; two men hollowed this single (2000 year old) tree out over eight months, it’s on wheels and was intended for travel, little bulky though so this is only it’s 4th home. hard to believe but the chips removed (during hollowing) could have built a five bedroom house. (wanna go..it’s just past ave. of the giants close to richardson grove on hwy 101)
the eternal tree house (between pepperwood & redcrest) wasn’t exactly what we were expecting when we saw signs advertising it, but it’s still totally cool to see, especially the floor where it looks like multiple trees had grown into the one giant it became. the gift shop (on the same property as the tree house) has some fun kitschy souvenirs and great post cards from early logging within the redwoods.
state route 254, also called avenue of the giants, parallels hwy 101 winding through humboldt redwoods state park and was originally built as a stagecoach and wagon road in the 1880′s. there are 8 official auto tour stops/points of interest along the avenue, but tons more places to pull over and hike or take pictures. rounders grove was one of our favorite stops along the route, it’s a 1/2 mile trail and home to the dyerville giant, even though it’s only a half mile we spent a long time walking the trail, it’s the perfect spot for photos.
along this route you also go through various tiny towns (between pepperwood & phillipsville) including redcrest, weott, myers flat & miranda. there are multiple campgrounds, inns, cottages, several post offices, a few cafes and gifts shops. we learned later that 20 miles north of the avenue is the little town of ferndale, a true victorian village with amazing architecture, old fashioned stores and is supposedly a photographers dream. we were on the complete opposite end by the time we read about it but if you’re planning a trip along the route you might want to start there (or finish if you’re coming from south to north).
another stop 25 miles to the west of garberville is the town of shelter cove. we didn’t venture over because we had stops we wanted to make that were a bit further down 101 (after the avenue of the giants ended). however, if you happen to travel this route during during late april and all of may you can see migrating whales just off shore. i was so bummed that we were too late for this, neither of us have ever seen whales and to be able to do so from shore would be amazing. shelter cove also has black sand volcanic beaches.. which if you’ve never seen are amazingly beautiful. (i saw them while living in hawaii)
we will never forget this day, these trees are ENORMOUS. mind bogglingly so.
(see his nervous face ↓ he was worried about what might be inside the tree)
»»»» see how small I am? without me or him it looks like your average, everyday trees along a walkway. sean’s standing in front of the dyerville giant (it stood for an estimated 1600 years, measures 370 feet tall after falling, is taller than Niagra Falls, is 17 feet in diameter, 52 feet in circumference, and weighs in at (estimated) over 1,000,000 pounds) INSANE.
redwoods are so tall that they live in 3 climate zones at once..