Thursday, August 25

Life List #29: California Coastal Redwoods

Another item from my Life List got checked off this summer! "#29 Go to the Redwoods in Humboldt County (or wherever these are)."

Back in July, we spent three nights in Trinidad, CA to enjoy the redwoods and the beaches. We rented a house, which is a little more expensive than a hotel room but the space and full kitchen is so worth the money.

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Our niece, Kiele, came along; it was wonderful to have her with us. My van has five seats in the back two rows but the kids rode the whole way to and from Trinidad like this.

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We drove over on a Sunday and came home Wednesday. The drive is supposed to be about 5 1/2 hours but it turned into 8 with all our stops.

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Walt drove through a tree in Leggett while I took photos. Good thing he was driving!

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Moonstone Beach was a two-minute drive from our rental house.

On Monday, we spent the day in the forests.

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We started at Trees of Mystery where there is a giant Paul Bunyon and Babe, his blue ox.

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Boy humor.

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We had fun the Sky Trail gondola but the top of the mountain was foggy.

Next stop was Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park.

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See me up there?

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Josh in a "suntan bed."

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Fern Canyon, in Prairie Creek Redwoods, was absolutely stunning.

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I didn't want to leave that place.

Tuesday was our beach day.

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We started at Patrick's Point State Park and hiked down to Agate Beach.

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The ocean at Agate Beach is too dangerous for swimming so the kids played in the dirt instead.

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Wedding Rock at Patrick's Point

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Why does Walt always look angry at me in "funny face" photos? Maybe he's trying to tell me something.

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After lunch in Arcata, we played at Clam Beach where the kids made sandcastles.

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We ended up back at Moonstone Beach for sunset. The kids, of course, couldn't stay out of the water...

...which led to sandy kids.
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On Wednesday, we stopped at Humbolt Redwoods State Park to enjoy more redwoods before driving back to reality.

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Our vacation wasn't long or luxurious but we all had a wonderful time. Looking through these photos makes me want to go back right now!

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