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Borrego Springs, CA

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Settling in, and a trip back to California

What a surprise on Saturday night when I got a call from the DISH network installer guy saying he could come out to my rig on Sunday afternoon to install a new DISH.  And that’s just what he did.  It wasn’t easy considering all the huge trees I’m surrounded by, but at least now I’ve got TV for my three months here.  It took him two hours to get the job done since we had to scrounge up a wooden pallet to screw the tripod to so it would be tall enough and stable enough to get a signal in between all the branches.  My cost for this?  $40 total, and that was for the tripod.  The rest including the satellite dish, 50 mile travel time, and labor was covered by my service agreement. 

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When the sun finally made an appearance this afternoon in Brookings, I decided a little road trip was in order, so I headed south back into California.  After about 25 miles, I found myself at the headquarters for Redwood National Park.

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I had read online about the Stout Grove of Redwood Trees that are located in Jedediah Smith State Park, and thought that would be a nice afternoon trip.  What I read said it wasn’t the most popular place to go, so I didn’t expect much traffic on the lumpy, skinny, windy, up and down gravel road.  I don’t know when that information was printed, but it was busy!  I seldom even made it into second gear because of the condition of the road, and had to back down a hill on a steep grade so a pickup truck could get past.  Much of the road is single lane.  Yes, it’s surrounded by Redwoods too.

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After 6.8 miles, that seemed like 20, I found the trail head parking area, and it was full.  Sad smile  Being in my little Focus, I squeezed in along the side of the road.  After the harrowing drive to get here, I wasn’t about to leave.

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Of course once I got to California, the overcast skies rolled in and hampered good pictures in the forest.  After a relatively short downhill entrance to the grove, the loop trail is very flat and even. 

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When I wasn’t looking up, I enjoyed the designs in the trees’ bark.  Some I think are burls, and others appear to be from the tree sustaining an injury.  I was happy to see that most of the carving of initials that people seem compelled to do was located on dead, downed trees. 

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This was my favorite tree in the Stout Grove.  The 44 acres of the Grove were donated by Mrs. Stout in honor of her husband.  He was a lumber tycoon in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.  Thank you Mrs. Stout for saving this beautiful place.

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It’s hard to depict the size of these giants in a photo, so I grabbed another visitor and asked him to take a shot of me to give some perspective. 

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This is certainly a place where you could easily end up with a stiff neck.  I just couldn’t stop looking up.  Magnificent!

Today’s little adventure just touches the tip of the iceberg of Redwood National Park, but I’ve got the summer to make more day trips.  Giant Redwoods and the Oregon Coast.  What a way to spend the summer!

I leave you tonight with one last shot for Sherry and David:  Hugs to you!

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Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

25 comments:

  1. What beautiful huge trees! It snowed here yesterday so anyplace is bound to be better than Minnesota:)

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  2. Looks like you'll have a lot of great day trips this summer.

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  3. Beautiful to see large trees. You are so tiny in between these large trees. Signal is very poor when it comes through the trees. I have experienced it...

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  4. Awesome is all I can say about those trees. You can totally understand the need to save these magnificent giants.

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  5. Always knew you were a tree hugger!

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  6. Good news about DISH, and the price was right.
    Oh how we love the Redwoods. Absolutely stunning.

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  7. Reminds me of the giant kauri stand we visited in NZ ... our first really big trees. Someday we'll see the redwoods as well.

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  8. It is going to be a great summer!!

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  9. What a great place to stay for the summer! Those redwoods are simply amazing. We too saw the Stout Grove, and a whole lot of the other redwood groves. One of my most favorite places on this planet.....

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  10. Wow, what a beautiful and impressive place. Thanks for the pictures, I sure did enjoy them. I can almost smell the forest. . .

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  11. I was so amazed by the size of the trees. We didn't make it to state park but visited other redwoods. Just incredible.

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  12. don't you just love the grandeur of those trees...

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  13. Using a mirror lets you look down to see up; see the tree tops without breaking your neck. The atmosphere when doing that is not the same, though.

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  14. Great photos! I haven't seen the redwoods in years and years and years. Thanks! And look at all the beautiful ferns. You are going to have such a great summer! :)

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  15. Oh Judy I LOVE you as a tree hugger. Those trees are magnificient! The perspective with you in it shows just how amazing they are. What a fabulous summer you have ahead of you. Sounds like a perfect spot for us.....BIG trees nearby and the ocean. Sure wish we were there. Love these pictures.

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  16. Cute pic of you hugging the tree. Even with you in it for scale it's hard to imagine how big they must really be when you see them in person. Someday. I think you're going to like it out there!

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  17. Gee, Judy, That tree didn't look all that big but you sure looked small. :) I love those trees and now I want to visit this place too.

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  18. Nice pictures. Especially the burl close ups. Check out the Redwood Grove just below Brookings. The Oregon Redwood Trail is south of the Chetco. It is a bit of a drive, but the beautiful trail through the grove is well worth the effort and not so crowded as the Stout Grove.

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  19. Nice pictures. Especially the burl close ups. Check out the Redwood Grove just below Brookings. The Oregon Redwood Trail is south of the Chetco. It is a bit of a drive, but the beautiful trail through the grove is well worth the effort and not so crowded as the Stout Grove.

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  20. You must go to Trees of Mystery in Klamath, California! https://www.treesofmystery.net/ We were amazed at the trees...those redwoods are awesome!

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  21. Ain't it wonderful? Trees and ocean and EVERYTHING ELSE!

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  22. Great that Dish got you TV for the three months.

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  23. Somehow I missed this post...love the Redwoods.. I felt so at home when I was walking among them, hard to leave them. Thanks for taking me back for a visit.

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  24. was happy to see your perspective pic. . .just lovely. . .we will be in Redwood National Park next week (I think.)

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