Yesterday, I flew from San Diego to San Francisco and then took the Airporter Shuttle to San Rafael. Crossing the Golden Gate Bridge with the view back to San Francisco was special. What an incredible sight. My friend Jan picked me up and we spent the night at her house.
Today, we drove north from San Rafael to the Redwood country. The scenery just got prettier and prettier. 101 is a great road, with very little traffic. The weather was perfect. We were feeling very fortunate to live in this incredible state.
There is an entire group of Redwood State and National Parks that stretch for quite a distance along the northern California Coast. They go north from Eureka to Crescent City. First stop was Humboldt Redwood State Park and the Avenue of the Giants.
The Avenue runs parallel to route 101 and goes right through an impressive area of redwood trees.
We stopped for a picnic lunch next to the Shrine Drive-Thru Tree and walked through the grove there. Along the Avenue, there are many special groves to stop at. One was the Founders Grove with a tree that was 346 feet tall. It’s very special feeling to walk through the redwood forests. The lighting and air are ethereal.
I imagine that I’m going to be quite frustrated for the next few days at how difficult it is to really capture the feeling and views with my camera, but I will do my best.