Walking with Redwoods

 I apologize for the lax posting of the previous days' blogs, but Mario and I have been spending some quality time with family, and time at the end of the day in which to pen my stories was in short supply, and in competition with the need to sleep. I promise I have extensive notes, and WILL get them posted, but in an attempt to keep the entries as close to their actual date of occurrence as possible, I'll be jumping a couple of days, and coming back to them as soon as I have a few spare moments to type. Thank you for following along until now - on with the adventuring!

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An excellent breakfast this morning of coffee and cold pizza. I mean, what else are you going to eat when there is still some(lots) left over from the night before? We say our goodbyes to James as he heads off to work, and Kennedy on her way to school, who accepts only distant waves at arms' length this morning, and finally Lesley, as she starts her work-from-home day. We repack the van with all the freshly-cleaned clothes and things we brought in the house, batten up the hatches and say our own goodbyes to the last few wonderful days of quality time with the family before we continue the trek north.

We head back into all that California Interstate traffic(boo.), but it means that we also get to drive over the Golden Gate Bridge to get to Marin County, and that is totally worth the waiting. It looks like the bridge could use a paint job, though, as the rust is slowly becoming the more prominent colour on the pillars, rather than that beautiful burnt orange.

Capturing the beauty of the Golden Gate Bridge

Driving over the bridge

So, it turns out that Muir Woods National Monument is actually on our way to Calistoga, which is a nice surprise, so we decide to go for a walk in the Redwoods. First, there is the navigating of all the SUPER-twisty roads down into the valley, where the cooler temperatures and added moisture help to nourish the 1000-year-old trees.

Almost 10 years ago, Mario hiked to nearby Stinson Beach from here, while I joined Lesley and James on a stroll along the boardwalk through the majestic Redwoods, so it was nice for us to be able to walk this trail together.

Tiny Redwood pinecone

The Cathedral

As per our usual "hike further than 90% of the other visitors" mentality, we follow the Redwood Creek Trail, a beautiful boardwalk among the majestic tall trees, right to its end, where we cross the creek and climb up the Hillside Trail. We find ourselves halfway up the valley walls: We can see down to the people still walking the Creek Trail below, but now we can look up and see the TOPS of the trees.

The narrow ledge of a trail hugs the valley walls, curling in and out of each crevasse, each flowing stream outlet, and sometimes even around the trunks of the Redwoods themselves! Eventually, we descend back to the creek, rejoining the trail in the Bohemian Grove, where once a giant plaster Buddha stood. 

Now, we stare instead at a giant fallen tree, trunk still on the path, branches still covered in green needles, piles of sawdust still fresh on the ground. At the visitor's center on the way out, we are told the massive tree fell not 10 days earlier, during the Park's opening hours! Can you imagine being in the park when one of these giants falls??

Taking advantage of a comfortable parking spot, we make some lunch - California tortilla wraps - and snack before starting the drive up to wine country. Unfortunately, we hit a lot of rush hour traffic. Fortunately, the views are nice, and keep us entertained until we clear the slow-down. We are a bit too late to stop for a wine tasting today, but I'm sure that we will find something tomorrow. Perhaps breakfast mimosas? For now, we are headed to the our campsite for the night, paid this time, in the Bothe-Napa State Park. The air is cool, a river runs just behind out site, but we are cozy and warm in our little turtle shell of a camper for the night.

Vineyards as far as the eye can see

Vineyards covering all of Marin County