3rd Day - Dateline: California

On the third day of our Due West adventure, we drove in our rented Prius (which was just too darn hard to figure out, if you ask me!), to the Redwood National Forest in Northern California. The drive was long and tiring (about 5 hours), but it was absolutely worth it.

Walking among the Redwoods feels like being in a magical forest, inhabited by sprites and wise old trees. The sheer majestuosidad of these trees, some of which are more than one thousand years old and stand tallest at 300 feet, is almost indescribable. There was a strong sense of sacredness that visited me as I walked among them, as if I was walking among the lost bones of Mastodons.

And while we did not see any magical beings, we did see a very brave chipmunk, who allowed my husband to take this inordinately close shot while he munched away at some yummy piece of something.

Driving very slowly through the forest adds to its enchantment, since sometimes it seems like the space the vehicle must go through is impossibly tight, while the Redwoods look down impassively, towering above the car on either side.

After being left breathless by the Redwoods, we drove up the coast to Crescent City, where we spent the night. After checking in to our very peculiarly decorated inn (there's a statue of one of the Blues Brothers in the foyer, and large statues of dolphins, and ships, and lighthouses, and doll houses all over the lobby), we drove some more and my husband caught this image.

That is the Klamath River, where the Yurok Tribe has preserved the way of fishing for salmon that their ancestors developed generations ago. The Yurok are currently struggling to restore the river, and to protect and rescue the salmon, which are negatively affected by irrigation interests and dams.

In learning a little more about the Yurok, I found out that they believe that the Redwoods are sacred living beings, who stand guard over their sacred places.

This was one of our last views of this beautiful coast. While I'm not much for traveling (I actually hate traveling, although I do like being in new places), I have to say that my memories of our trip to Oregon are as incandescent as the photographs themselves.

It is glorious country, and while it still feels too Far Away, I'm glad my husband proposed that we include the Redwoods and the Northern California coast in our Oregon trip. Tomorrow, our last day in Oregon with a visit to the breathtaking (and very wet) Multnomah Falls.