February 5, 2016

We  left Lance and Christine’s around 8:30am on the 5^th – just a few quick stops to gas up and pick up propane.

Lance had checked the weather for us and thought it was the perfect time to make a break for the coast.  We had to go over 2 mountain passes and we had clear weather for both.   

The drive thru Coeur D’Alene Idaho was pretty.  We drove by a mine site that Bill worked at in Wallace Idaho –

We spent the night in Spokane Washington and that is when our phone finally started working.

February 6, 2016

The drive thru Oregon was lush and green with mossy trees and a thin layer of fog.  We saw a few water falls.  We had a rare and fabulous view of Mount Hood as the clouds parted and the sun peeked out.

I enjoyed hugging the Columbia River and seeing all the fishing boats. 
There was an endless stream of trains on both sides of the river below us– it was cool to be able to see the trains from beginning to end – not something you see that often at home.

We stopped to walk around Hood River – went into all the windsurfing shops.

We spent the night in Salem, Washington at a Safeway – there were no overnight parking signs n all the lots, but I went in and asked the night Manager if we could stay there and she said yes.

 February 7, 2016

We finally hit the California border – the sun is out, the grass is green.  It feels so good to be here.   I love the winding highway 101 – the river is crystal clear and a gorgeous hue of green. 

As we got closer to Crescent City the trees became larger and larger until they totally stood in a class of their own.   

Welcome to the Redwood National Forest!  We moved as quickly as we could to set up at the Jedediah Smith Campground.  We stopped at the information Center to pick up some hiking maps – checked out the surf and headed to a few short trails to get a better look at these huge trees.  We did both the Peterson Memorial Trail and Simpson Reed Grove Trail.  I stood beside a tree that had a 25 foot girth. 

Redwood National Park is home of the world’s tallest trees – reaching heights of almost 400 feet.  Coast Redwoods aren’t just the world’s tallest trees – they are the tallest living thing on the planet!

It is very Stars Wars – no sightings of Ewoks yet…