Red Crest & Ferndale, California

We have spent three days at Red Crest, CA which is located at the north end of the Avenue of the Giants.  It is situated on higher ground, therefore it was protected from the 1964 devastating flood that wiped out many lower-lying towns.  The trees are so large it’s amazing!  After dinner we walked to the entrance of the campground and looked at the Immortal Tree which is 950-1,000 years old.  It is one of the most durable trees in history!  It has been victim of lightning strikes, fires, floods and the logger’s ax.  It still stands and continues to grow heartily.  Before it was struck by lightning it was 298 feet high, currently it is 248 feet high.  The diameter of the trunk is 14½ feet. 

Peek-A-Boo

After breakfast we drove along the Avenue of the Giants.  It offers more than the majesty of towering redwoods.  The 31-mile route along the South Fork of the Eel River meanders through several small towns that give a glimpse into the history of Humboldt County.  Most of the towns along the Avenue, once closely tied to the timber industry, now rely more on the tourists who come to experience the old-growth redwood habitat and visit Humboldt Redwoods State Park, which is where our campground is located.

We then drove the road suggested by campground owners through the redwoods almost to the end.  The area we drove through was the Rockefeller Grove, widely regarded as the most impressive stand of redwoods found anywhere in the world.  The two-way road was narrow and when a vehicle came towards us we pulled as far to the right as possible to allow them to pass.  Almost at Albee Creek Campground we parked and then walked to the head of the hiking trail.  There were two ‘seasonal’ bridges crossing the creek, one was of stones that were slippery and unstable, the other had an unstable piece of wood that rocked and shook while walking on it.  Judy said she would read her book in the truck and Mike could go across because she didn’t want to ruin it for him.  After taking two steps on the wooden ‘bridge’ he decided he wouldn’t go.  Shortly thereafter he changed his mind and, with a thin tree twig/branch as a walking stick, he wobbled across, taking a water bottle and camera with him.  Once across there was a short, but steep dirt trail up a hill he had to climb.  He made it!  Judy read for about 15 minutes in the truck and then Mike returned.  Descending that hill was the most difficult part of this adventure to see the Big Trees.    

Our next stop was the Loleta Cheese Company in Loleta, CA farther north on the highway.  He remembered from another trip that they had delicious cheeses.   He was right, their cheeses were very good, so we made some  purchases.

 We then went to Ferndale (home of Guy Fieri of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives Fame) where they have many Victorian homes.   It was a crossroads village and provided lodging, horses, blacksmithing and other services both to individual travelers and the Overland Stage and Express line which ran from Eureka to Cloverdale with connections to San Francisco.  Over 80 hours of traveling for a cost of $20.  At one time there were 81 dairies here.  This is where the use of paper wrapping on butter to reduce air oxidizing the product was pioneered by Chester Gray who studied the problem of unrefrigerated fine butter turning white within hours of production.  In 1915 Gray patented a new spray-drying process.  

Main Street has been designated a National Register Historic District due to its finely preserved commercial and residential buildings.  They have old-fashioned mercantiles, antique stores, art galleries, and specialty shops.  Walking on Main Street and then in the residential areas we saw very ornate buildings, many beautiful churches dating back to the 1800s, and this is where we saw more fall colors on the trees than anywhere else so far on this trip.  We also were by the historic Ferndale cemetery, which was directly behind an un-named church, on a hill.  While walking through the residential area we took pictures of a very ornate B & B on a corner.  A lady was on her hands and knees working in the yard and we starting talking with her after complimenting her on the house and yard.  She and has lived in town 40 years.  We talked with her a long time as she was very informative.  She even told us to walk through the garden, which was small and full of flowers and well-manicured trees and plants.  Then she took us inside to see the front two rooms.  Not our taste, but beautiful.  After visiting with her some more we took off to check out the rest of the city.

Neatsign we saw on Main Street

Unnamed former church, now a private redidence

Cemetery

Gingerbread House Bed & Breakfast

Redding, California

Redding is the county seat of Shasta County, CA.  Situated along the Siskiyou Trail, Redding was a trade and travel route connecting California's Central Valley and the Pacific Northwest.  Later, when the Southern Pacific Railroad built its rail line through the Sacramento Valley, it decided that the cost of making a small westerly detour to reach the preexisting mining town of Shasta was not in its interest. Instead the railroad routed the tracks through an area with the inauspicious name of Poverty Flats, and what was to become the town of Redding was born.

It was incorporated in 1887 with 600 people. By 1910, Redding had a population of 3,572 supported by a significant mineral extraction industry, principally  copper and iron.  However, with the decline of these industries, which also produced significant amounts of pollution damaging to local agriculture, the population dropped to 2,962 in 1920. By 1930 the population had recovered to 4,188 and then boomed during the 1930s with the construction of nearby Shasta Dam.

For the majority of our trip we have been blessed with sunny weather or rain during the night.   Well, our luck finally ran out as we encountered rain for two days and nights. 

Driving to Redding we were in a one lane construction area behind a truck hauling garlic in two open containers.  Wow, did we enjoy smelling that fragrance.

Tonight Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) begins.  Hope all of our friends who celebrate it have a blessed, peaceful, healthy, fun year ahead!  As there are no Temples or Synagogues in the area we’ll just do the best we can in our thoughts and prayers ourselves!

Looks like rain to me!

We saw a rare sight on the return trip to the campground, a beautiful huge double rainbow. 

Double Rainbow

The next morning we found another good recommendation from Trip Advisor for breakfast!  Savory Spoon was voted #1 and their profits go to a charity. From there we headed to the Sundial Bridge which we saw when we were in the area four years ago.  It is a one-of-a-kind glass decked pedestrian bridge and serves as an incredible entrance to Redding’s Sacramento River NationalRecreation Trail.  Santiago Calatrava, a Spanish architect, designed this bridge.  It is the first bridge of its kind in the U.S. and is the tallest working sundial in the world!  The massive 217’ pylon leans due north and functions as the gnomon of a sundial, casting its giant shadow on a garden-bordered dial plate at the bridge’s north end.  The bridge was built here over the Sacramento River because there were the best gravel deposits within a 100-mile radius of the proposed dam.  It took 12 years from conception to completion (1992-2004)

The bridge lit up in the evening

The bridge lit up in the evening

We purchased tickets so we could tour the Turtle Bay Museum, walk through the Parrot Playhouse, see Paul Bunyan’s Forest Camp, walk through the Wildlife Woods, stroll Turtle Bay’s McConnell Arboretum & Botanical Gardens and Nursery, and go through the gift shop.

Quite a few of the areas were closed (reptiles and butterflies) but we saw a hawk, an eagle, a skunk, a raccoon, other birds, etc., but the highlight was a parrot playhouse where we entered an enclosed area and the lorikeets (small parrots native to Australia) flew all around, even landing on us.  They were very colorful and it was lots of fun having this unusual experience.

There was an area with an old train engine and a turtle pond.  Everything there is a learning experience for both adults and children.  They have an area for children to play, a maze teaching about the trunk of a tree (Paul Bunyan’s Forest Camp), another where you try and build a structure in running water to divert the water.  We then walked across the bridge again to go through the Botanical Gardens.  It was rather disappointing because there wasn’t much in bloom and most items weren’t labeled.  

They really enjoyed Mike feeding them leaves

Really beautiful birds

Dunsmuir, California

Dunsmuir is currently a hub for tourism in Northern California where visitors enjoy fishing, skiing, rock climbing, or sight-seeing. During the days of the steam engine it was notable for being the site of an important Central Pacific (and later Southern Pacific) railroad yard, where extra steam locomotives were added to assist trains on the grade to the north.  It is located on the Upper Sacramento River, a blue ribbon trout stream that attracts fishermen from all over the world. 

It was a short drive to Railroad Park Resort/RV Park in Dunsmuir, CA.  This is the prettiest, best-smelling campground we have been in this trip.  It also has a "Landury" Room.  Our rig is surrounded by many large evergreens and before arriving at the campground you pass the Railroad Park Resort that has many train cars scattered around.  They rent them out and are like individual motel/hotel rooms . 

We took off to view Mt. Shasta as close as possible.  It reaches the height of 14,179’ and is by far the youngest geologic feature in the area.  It is volcanic, forming in episodes beginning 530,000 years ago and last erupting in 1786.  It is now considered dormant.  It is figured that it will become active again in the future.  It was very devoid of snow. 

We then checked out the City of Mt. Shasta.  We lucked out as it was their afternoon to have a Farmer’s Market.  We made purchases there, walked around downtown and then headed back to the campground.

Sleeping until almost nine o’clock we showered and dressed and went to the #1 restaurant in Dunsmuir only to find that they are closed on Tuesdays.  Arriving at Yak’s, the #2 restaurant we ordered our breakfasts.  We split French toast with Bailey’s Irish Cream and Bourbon as the sauce.  They are known for that!!!!  Neither one of us really would ever order that again.  We split a tomato, bacon, spinach omelet, which was good.  Going through the small town we decided we could never live in such a small town with not much to do.

Our next destination was the Castle Crags.  We drove up a single-lane curvy road with an edge that dropped straight down the mountain we climbed with the truck.  From the parking area we hiked about a quarter mile with a 4% incline, to the view point.  The crags are made of granite that cooled slowly deep with the earth.  Over time this granite was uplifted and the rock above it worn away.  Once the granite was exposed to the elements, water and ice have taken over as the main sculpting forces, breaking fractures in the rock, creating the castle-like features.

Klamath Falls, Oregon Invaded By City Slickers

We have spent the last six days visiting Sheri, a dear friend of ours. We always socialized with her and her late husband Pat.  She now lives on several acres in Klamath Falls with her two brothers.  Her mother and sister live nearby, also in Klamath Falls.  They raise chickens and are planning for steers and hogs.  One of her brothers has a green thumb and grows most of the produce they consume. Both brothers are very handy and can build anything.

Knowing both of us are fron the Concrete Canyons of Chicago and New York, Sheri planned things to do that City Slickers aren't usually exposed to.  We got a tour of the home, grounds and then took off to meet Jolene, her sister at the Weekly Livestock Feeder Sale.  That was a first for us!  They auctioned off goats, cattle and a few horses; sometimes one at a time and sometimes a group of 20-30 at a time.  The auctioneer was difficult for us to understand since he spoke so fast, but everyone else there didn’t have a problem. 

Lunchtime  for Thai Country Food

We spent the rest of the afternoon/evening checking out the rest of their property and just visiting with each other.

Five Pound Egg

 The next day we went to Karen and Don Holmstrom’s ostrich ranch named Oregon Ostrich, where we learned a lot about ostriches.  They have about 60 chicks and 8 adults.  We got a wonderful tour from Karen. The couple’s unique bird-breeding venture offers an exotic food source and an educational opportunity.

They began farming ostrich in 1993 when they lived in Arizona.  In 2006 they landed in Klamath Falls.  They hope that one day the operation might be an agri-tourist destination for families and investors who want to learn about birds or farming in the area.

In a warming case next to the incubator, a 5# egg awaited its turn to be placed with the others.  We could hold the egg is we desired, which most of us did.  Before hatching their eggs spend about 42 days in the incubator being warmed consistently and turned at regular intervals.

Its hard work getting out of this egg

We spent a lot of time watching them in their pens, from the smallest to the largest.  The birds are separated by size and housed in pens spanning about an acre. 

Someday I'll be big and strong if I eat my spinach

Only a few adults are kept onsite for breeding.  They are too aggressive to be sold as pets, especially the males.  They have the potential to kill someone.  Nearly all the farm’s ostrich are sold for food.  Ostrich is often promoted as a beef alternative, and is very lean.  The eggs are edible and similar to chicken eggs, but it would be a challenge for one person to eat an entire egg.  

After dinner one evening we all went to a nearby town to attend a performance by the Oregon Old Time Fiddlers Association.

A lot of time was spent yakking and yakking till bedtime, catching up on the latest dirt.  What a fantastic time we had renewing an old friendship.

Crater Lake, Oregon

A massive volcanic eruption 7,700 years ago left a deep basin in the place where a mountain peak once stood.  It was Mount Mazama, one in a line of volcanoes ranging from northern California into British Columbia.  Along this zone two of the earth’s crustal plates collided.  Centuries of rain and snow filled the basin, forming a deep blue lake whose waters are of unmatched color and clarity.  Crater Lake is the deepest lake (1, 943 feet) in the United States.  

We drove the 33-mile Rim Drive that encircles Crater Lake.  There are many scenic pullouts along the route, but sadly most have no exhibits explaining what you are looking at.  Some don’t even have a warning that a pullout is ahead.  Because of the smoke a lot of what we saw today wasn’t very clear. 

One of our stops was Watchman Overlook where we saw Wizard Island, a cinder cone that erupted out of Crater Lake approximately 7,300 years ago.  

Wizard Island

Other stops we made were Cloudcap Overlook which was quite windy.  Pumice Castle Overlook where we saw orange pumice rock that had been eroded into the shape of medieval castles.  At Phantom Ship Overlook we saw another island which is called Phantom Ship because some people think it resembles a small sailboat.  It is made of erosion-resistant lava, 400,000 years old and is the oldest exposed rock within the caldera.

At the Pinnacles Overlook, which is a 6-mile detour from the Rim Drive, we saw 100 feet spires which are being eroded from the canyon wall.  They are ‘fossil fumaroles’ where volcanic gases rose up through a layer of volcanic ash, cementing the ash into sold rock.  

Crater Lake only occupies 7% of the park that bears its name.  The park is comprised of old-growth forest.  It was established as a National Park in 1902 mainly to protect our nation’s forests.

Pumice Castle Overlook

Phamton Ship Overlook

Pinnacles Overlook

Pinnacles Overlook

During the night it got down into the 40s again, but we slept in comfort.  Today we drove on the part of the road we have never been on, heading away from Crater Lake.  We were heading to see some waterfalls.  Our first was Clearwater Falls.  The Clearwater River cascades 30 feet over moss-covered rocks and logs which look absolutely beautiful.  The walk to the viewing area was short and easy.  Yay!

Clearwater Falls

Clearwater Falls

The second stop was the Whitehorse Falls.  The walk to see these 15 foot falls on the Clearwater River was also an easy walk.

Whitehorse Falls

Next stop was Watson Falls which was listed as a moderate hike .4 miles in length.  It was more difficult than moderate and was much longer than .4 miles, but it was the highest waterfall we saw today.  It is the highest in southwest Oregon and third in the state, plunging 293 feet over the edge of a basalt lava flow.  We crossed a wooden bridge over the Watson Creek to see the falls and then had to hike even more, climbing quite high.  It was a beautiful sight and must be even more so in the spring.  

Watson Falls

Watson Falls

Note: Pix from Owen Rose Garden and Delta Ponds have been added to the Eugene, Oregon Post.  The web service was to weak to handle pictures.