Author: Easin' Along

After a restful stop at Fort Bragg, CA, Helen and I drove 200 miles due north to Klamath, CA. Our home for the next four days is the Klamath River Campground.  Our mission was to walk among the massive Coastal Redwoods that have thrived in this area for thousands of years. Again, we were not disappointed by either our home or the trees.

I reserved a campsite at this campground many months ago, primarily for the favorable reviews on RV Trip Wizard. No one lied. The owner, an amiable fellow, assigned us to a grass-covered corner spot overlooking the scenic Klamath River.  During our stay, I had many opportunities to photograph scenes of the area and around the campground that should give readers an idea of the peaceful setting we enjoyed.  The owner also said I could use campground water to give Ruby and Dora the bath they both desperately needed.

Helen and I had two outings in Klamath.  The first was a drive to Klamath Beach Overlook to view the sea lions gathered there to rest and feed. These large mammals assembled on the sand in what appeared to us as a small convention.  Although we stood a hundred feet or more above their meeting place, we could hear them roar, grunt, and groan constantly.  The roar of the Pacific did not overwhelm the chorus. The drive to the overlook took us by a beach where several photographers stood on the beach to take pictures of waves crashing on the sea stacks.

Our second outing accomplished what we came to Klamath to do–stand under the enormous coastal redwoods. We chose Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park for our hike. The two-mile trail took us along a beautiful stream and through a fern-laden forest dotted with wildflowers. With the first step, however, the redwoods became the focus of our attention. Information posters along the trail told us that many of these giants are over two thousand years old. The trunks of many of them are over twenty feet in diameter and reach a height of 200 feet or more. It is almost impossible to photograph an entire tree from ground to crown. I tried.

At one point on the hike, we approached The Big Tree, a redwood used as somewhat of a display model. This impressive piece of flora measured 286 feet in height, 23 feet in diameter, and estimated to be over 1500 years old. Standing beside this redwood, I found myself wishing that this tree could talk so that it could tell me the things it had witnessed over those 1500 years.

Alas, the tree won’t talk to us, so we’ll be Easin’ Along…mission accomplished. Join us next week at Crater Lake. 

After a fun-filled few days in Lake Tahoe, it was time to return to the California coast. Our destination was Pomo Campground in Fort Bragg, California, a small beach town north of Mendocino. The drive was a long one—over six hours, and we were ready to relax during the two full days of this leg of our trip.

Helen and I camped at Pomo last summer and had a great experience. For a small town, Fort Bragg offered much to the summer tourist population. Nevertheless, we were ready for some downtime. We planned to do little except visit the Botanical Garden, catch up on laundry, and stroll casually on the bluffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean while waiting for the laundry to dry. I don’t know how we could make things more exciting.

When we visited the Botanical Garden last summer, the Dahlias and summer annuals were in full bloom. Unfortunately, this year, we arrived too early to get a repeat performance of that dazzling display, but the incredible roses put on a show almost as spectacular. The garden covers several acres above the ocean and offers visitors many trails lined with colorful blooms on each side. The highlight of the visit was the number and varieties of Rhododendrons that thrived in the cool spray coming off the Pacific.

We used the rest of Day One to pour through our email, organize the ever-growing volume of photographs I had on my MacBook, and deep-clean Dora—details that we placed on hold until now. We needed this break. Day Two was laundry day, and Pomo Campground has an excellent laundry facility. The weather was too pretty to wait for the dryer to finish. Instead, we used the time to walk on the trail above the ocean.

Waves crashing on the rocks fascinate me, and I love trying to capture the image with my camera. I pushed the shutter speed to 1/1000th sec to freeze the action and managed to record several big splashes. In addition to the waves, the ice plant growing wild on the bluff added plenty of color to the scene.

I don’t have much more to add to this post—this is an R&R stop, after all. Thanks for Easin’ Along with us and helping with our laundry. Please come back next week as we visit Klamath, California, and Redwood National Park. The massive Redwoods are something to see.