Mt.Shasta, The Redwoods and More

With a very enjoyable and successful workshop finished, we decided to leave Yosemite three days early in order to visit Mt Shasta on the way to Redwood National Forest. 

The daytime temperature in the campground at Yosemite varied between 90 and 100 degrees. Fortunately, it cooled down at night. When we arrived at Mt Shasta, it was slightly cooler, but not below 90. That's when we learned the next of many lessons about life on the road with an RV - beware of electrical overload. When we arrived at 8:00pm, we set up, switched on the air conditioning, turned on the TV, started the microwave and promptly lost all power. A simple circuit blown? After finally finding the circuit box, we determined the problem was not in our RV. It was after hours and no maintenance man was available, so we spent the night in total darkness with no air conditioning or fan. That was about as close to real camping as we cared to get.

The next morning, all was fixed (it was their circuit that overloaded). We looked around and realized we were staying right on a lake with a gorgeous view of Mt Shasta. We looked at each other and once again said: "This is so worth it!" Here's what we saw: 

Mt Shasta is a volcanic mountain that soars over 14,000 ft. with a snow top cap. It is surrounded by rolling mountains and lush pine forests. It's on the Pacific Crest Trail and we saw a number hikers passing through like in book "Wild".  The drive up Mt Shasta went to a little over 9,000 ft., but the remainder of the road was closed until July 1 due to snow packs. Doug did some wonderful painting while Sue and Coco hiked.  Our little traveling buddy has turned out to be a great hiker, although her fur went from creamy white to brown and grey.

 

Doug has been to Mt Shasta before and was happy to revisit the Black Bear Diner, which has great food and bear statues carved out of redwood. The waitress there told us the location of Stewart Mineral Springs, which was also mentioned in "Wild". This natural spring has highly concentrated mineral water that is pure, clear and has a sweet taste.  First, we soaked in a hot bath and then went into a wood fire sauna, followed by a plunge in the cold mineral creek. After three cycles of cold to hot, we felt completely refreshed.

As with all places we're been, we were reluctant to leave Mt. Shasta, but looked forward with excitement to our next destination, Redwood National Park.

Arriving at our next RV campground was like arriving in heaven.Temperatures were between 60 and 70 degrees and we were nestled right among the Redwoods. Throughout the campground, there were stumps from old growth trees cut down 80 years ago. From these stumps came new shoots that have become the large trees we enjoy today. We learned that only 4% of Redwoods alive today are old growth and are thankfully preserved in national and state forests. Sequoias and Redwoods are the same species. While Sequoias are the largest volume trees on earth, Redwoods are the tallest. We were thankful to be able to witness both during our trip.

       

Redwoods are only located on the west coast, near the ocean because of the consistent moisture content of the daily fog from the Pacific. The Pacific Ocean flows south from the Bearing Sea bringing cold water through deep trenches in the ocean floor. Meanwhile, the coastal interior heats up and as the air rises, cool ocean air is pulled inland. Doug refers to this as living next to a refrigerator with the door open. The cool moist air creates a rain forest-type climate. This environment creates a forest floor ripe with beautiful ferns and moss covered trees, making this a magical wonderland. It is also an artist's paradise of texture and color. Some of Doug's paintings are close up views of the textured trunks and blacked bark from forest fires. Other paintings reflect the spectacular height of these giants. 

When we planned this trip, Sue wondered why we were spending two weeks at Redwood. What she didn't realize was how magnificent the forests are and how wonderful it would be to hike among these beauties, taking in the powerful silence combined with their mighty strength. Not only that, but we were on the coast, so just a few miles away we could walk along the beach and enjoy the ocean and rocky coastline. You could hear seals out on the islands and there were huge nesting areas for sea birds. Sue decided this area is her new favorite place to visit. Doug did some ocean paintings for you to enjoy.

The Fourth of July was a major event. First, our campground sponsored a delicious 4th of July dinner of ribs and beans. Did you know that simmering ribs in beer and Kansas City Steak Seasoning before barbecuing makes then ultra-tender and juicy?

After our wonderful dinner, we went to the ocean town of Crescent City to see their fireworks display. We expected a synchronized and timed show lasting about a half hour, like in Pennsylvania. Oh no, not in the Wild West! The "show" turned out to be a "free-for-all" that started at dusk with people all around us shooting off small, large and even larger displays from just about anywhere - on the beach, in the parking lot and on the walkway right next to us. It was the most spectacular display of chaotic, exciting, yet scary firepower we have ever seen. It went on for hours. We could spin around 360 degrees and see major fireworks going off all around. Pennsylvania police would have had a hemorrhage trying to arrest everyone. There was smoke and debris everywhere like we were in a war zone. So much for Homeland Security. What fun!

It was hard to leave this wonderland of sea and forest. As we looked around, we made a pact to come back and stay longer to further explore the numerous parks and reserves in this area. Tomorrow we start our three day trip to Yellowstone, with a short stop at Crater Lake.

To see all of Doug's National Park Tour paintings to date, click this link: 

http://www.dougtweddale.com/#!blank/c1hp2