Dateline July 21, 2013, The Redwood Forest and Yosemite
The introduction pictures say it all. These parks are some of God's greatest accomplishments.
After our entry into the Redwoods, we stayed at BenBow, a quiet spot with a fantastic RV park and, more importantly, a wonderful restaurant. We had eaten at the BenBow Inn on our trip to Alaska a few years back.
While we were having a drink in the bar late in the afternoon, we struck up a conversation with a couple down from Southern California. He was a golf pro. She was a kindergarten teacher. We talked golf for a while, and he ended up writing out a list of courses we should play on the way south. She handed us a parallel list of restaurants not to miss. We ended up having a lovely dinner with them, each couple opening a bottle of wine we had brought along. We retired around 11:00 PM to get ready for the drive through the forest.
You learn a lot at the Redwood Forest. Do you know how many years it takes to grow a redwood that is ten feet in diameter? They have a beautiful piece of wood on display that puts the answer in front of you, ring by ring.
As we drove through the various forests (there are both national and state parks along the way), the majesty of these trees is impossible to overstate.
The forest seems to go on forever, with the great old redwoods scattered through and many smaller ones starting their long climb. One of the most amazing things about a redwood is its ability to stay alive even after a fire has partially hollowed out the main trunk.
We could not miss the drive-through redwood. Of course, the Roadtrek would not fit. So we parked, walked up to the tree, and watched a few normal-sized cars drive on through. John represented the Roadtrek and walked through the tree for a quick picture. The beauty of the Redwoods cannot really be caught in a photograph. You have to come here and walk through the forest. It is one of the great experiences we have had in our travels.
Leaving the Redwoods, we headed for our overnight stop at Cache Creek. The golf pro from BenBow had recommended the golf course. We arrived and waited about an hour and a half to get on. The course is fabulous, managed by Troon Golf. We played with another gentleman and had a great time. Well worth the stop.
Cache Creek also has a casino, operated by the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation. Janice went over that evening to play roulette and discovered something California-specific. Because of how the tribal gaming compact works, California casinos cannot run traditional roulette with the numbers on the wheel. Instead, the wheel here has only red and black slots. When it lands on one of the colors, the dealer then turns over a card from a deck, and the card supplies the actual number for the bet. Yikes. The good news: Janice got a casino card that came with a $25 credit toward anything on the complex, including gas, which we put to good use.
The next morning we left for Yosemite and drove in through the west gate.
What an entry, through the two rocks that lean against each other.
The beauty is incredible, and as the photos try to capture, it just gets more and more spectacular. Past the entrance we headed into the park itself. We could not get over the vistas, the mountains, the running streams.
We had no idea this was only the beginning. We parked at the lot where you catch the shuttle, and rode around the park.
We got off at the Lower Falls stop and took the short hike out. We briefly considered Upper Falls, until we realized we would have to climb to the top of them, and decided to take a pass. From the base of Lower Falls, the views of both lower and upper were spectacular.
After the hike we stopped at the visitor center and picked up some items for dinner at the store. Then we started the drive south to Oakhurst, with a "must stop" at the Wawona Tunnel View. It was magnificent. The 36-mile drive to camp took about 90 minutes. We pulled into High Sierra Camp, a private campground just south of the park, made a quick dinner, and started planning the next day.
In the morning, Saturday, we decided not to go back into the main section of Yosemite, but to head up to Glacier Point. A great call. The views, combined with the geology lesson on the way up, made for a glorious morning.
Looking at the rocks across the valley, the rangers told us the glaciers that carved this place had filled it to depths that are hard to imagine standing here today. What beauty was carved for us to witness.
This is the valley we had driven through the day before, seen from above. Holy cow.
There is a short video of the falls from up here on YouTube (here).
What else can be said. We headed back down the mountains, planning to see the giant sequoias, but the parking area was full and the only way in was a shuttle from twenty miles back inside the park. We took a pass. We left the south gate at 1:00 PM, and the line of vehicles waiting to come into Yosemite was three miles long. Saturday in summer at Yosemite. The lesson: go early in the morning, or pick a weekday.
On to the Monterey Peninsula.
