On Day 4 of our road trip, we explored the Redwoods a little more and took a leisurely drive along the coast.  This was our last day with the trees, so we wanted to just enjoy it as much as possible.  We stopped at the Elk Meadow for another chance to see some elk, and watched the sunset.  You can read about Days 1 and 2 in Bend and Crater Lake, and Day 3 of our trip at the Redwoods, previously on the blog.

Again, this was before we had the "good camera" to get better quality photos, but I also made sure to take some videos so those will be scattered throughout the post.


From our base in Crescent City, California, we slept in just a smidge and got ready for the day.  We headed to the Crescent Harbor to watch the sea lions.  I love watching the sea lions in coastal towns! It is one of my favorite things to do.  They all have such expressive faces and personalities.  I'll be posting a short trip we took to Newport, Oregon later on where we watched the sea lions up close (and had the good camera!).  The sea lions in Crescent City are a bit farther away, but still fun to watch. Some were swimming around with their cute little heads out of the water.  They always remind me of my dearly departed chihuahua Miss P, with their large nostrils and sass.


Like Day 3, we headed south along the coast, but decided to stop to hike in the woods at a spot with a small parking area on the side of the highway.  We brought our hiking shoes as well as our flip flops, so we were ready for anywhere our adventure took us.  The trail itself was a bit too long for the time we had in the day, but we walked for about half an hour, staring up at the trees and marveling at the way the light streams through the leaves.  It looked like Endor all the time, which is delightful to us Star Wars fans.  Next time, we'd love to make more time to hike more trails.  I'm sure the ocean view at the end of the trail was totally worth it.  We stopped at DeMartin Beach to take some ocean photos and made a date for sunset.



We continued south along the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway, all the way back down to the Elk Meadow.  With no luck on seeing a group of elk the day before, we wanted to at least try again.  This time, there was a huge bull and about seven cows.  We were totally in awe and so happy with our luck!  As it was mating season, there were multiple warnings to keep your distance.  We were all anxious when a photographer was trying to get to her car - right in front of the elk!  The bull was not thrilled by her presence and was seriously thinking of charging her.  She had to wait around for some time.  I don't even think she was in her car by the time we left.

We stayed until the elk were walking away, but on our way out we spotted a herd in a small housing area's front yard!  We parked on the side of the road and got out to go take a few pictures and watch them.  People were trying to get way too close and spooked the elk a bit.  I wish people just followed the rules and were respectful.  Too many idiots ruin things for everyone.  We didn't stay too long because it felt a little unsafe along the highway with a herd of anxious elk.


Heading back north, we again took the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway. (I told you in my previous post to take it every time you can!  We practice what we preach!)  This time, we decided to get out anywhere that felt like it was calling our name.  We stopped at a sign for the Corkscrew Tree because it sounded interesting.  Upon arrival, there was a gorgeous and peculiar fellow sitting on the sign.  He was a Stellar's Jay and very curious.  He really wanted our food, but we read a lot about not feeding any animals you may encounter so we didn't.  Still, we talked to him and took photos as long as we could, and then headed into the woods.

We walked the trail taking photos and videos.  It is just so peaceful and serene.  The quiet in the forest is filled with an energy that I can't possibly describe.  It is just straight up magical.  Not too far down the trail, we came upon Corkscrew Tree, a collection of three trees that grew twisted around each other.  It is pretty amazing to see.  These massive trees so determined to survive that they adapt to their surroundings is very inspiring.  After surveying the tree, taking photos, and taking the time to just bask in its glory, we headed farther down the trail.  We could hear running water and wanted to find the stream off in the distance.  That's when we noticed we were being followed.

Our friend Stellar's Jay had been following us through the trail.  We would catch him on different tree branches as we made our way through the woods.  This was equal parts cute and magical and creepy.  My fantastical imagination, fed with fantasy stories from books and Disney movies alike, thought that maybe this bird was an imp, elf, sprite, fairy, or witch.  Maybe this bird was the guardian of this area of the woods and would, upon seeing we are respectful of the wood and true of spirit, reveal himself to us and bestow us with a magical gift or ask us to help him in a quest.  I was game for it.  And I promise I was not high.  This is just how my brain works.  We talked to him along the way, where we eventually found the stream.  Look, I watched a LOT of fairy/fantasy/medieval tales growing up.  And I would pretend to be a princess, or Aurora lost in the woods.  This whole area just reminded me of some fantastic fairy tale of magic.  Everywhere you looked was more mysterious and magical-looking.  On the other side of the stream was a grouping of about nine trees that had grown in a circle.  They looked an awful lot like a fairy fort, if you ask me.  That, combined with the spookiness of being followed, and the inherent ethereal, magical feeling of the wood still gives me chills when I think about it.



We didn't have time to go too much farther, so we turned around and headed back to the car, escorted by our Stellar friend.  I was pretty disappointed that he didn't talk or shape-shift.  We said goodbye to him and headed along the scenic parkway, stopping a few more times to take photos.  Back at DeMartin Beach, we parked and took a walk on the sand.  We played in the water before sitting on a stone wall at the parking area to snack on our cheese and crackers and wait for the sun to set.  At this point, we'd been living off of our cheese and crackers because there were not many places to shop along this stretch of road.  Most places seemed to close really early too.  So I am glad we bought more cheese than we had anticipated.  As we peacefully enjoyed our snack, some really awful trashy people with zero manners parked next to us.  They had no respect for themselves or anyone around them.  They were yelling, throwing toys down to their kids, yelling at their kids, laughing loudly about dumb things, and just straight up being assholes.  I got pissed off and got back in the car, giving them dirty looks as we pulled away.  We drove a little farther down to a scenic overlook in the middle of the beach and stayed there to enjoy the sun set.  Later on, the same people drove by us, honking and yelling at us, to prove just what kind of pricks they are.



After the sun set, we made it back to our hotel to watch the last of the light fade into night from the hotel porch.  After scouring Yelp, we found Perlita's Mexican Restaurant and went to grab a bite.  It is a small place, but the food was very tasty.  Once we were back at the hotel, we took our beach blanket and went out to look at the stars until we were teeth-chattering cold.  It felt great to finally lay down after such a busy day and fall promptly to sleep.

We were sad it was the end of our time with the Redwoods, but we thoroughly enjoyed every moment we had with them.  We tell everyone how amazing it is there and hope to go back very soon!

• Days 1 & 2 in Bend, OR and Crater Lake
• Day 3 at the Redwoods and the Avenue of the Giants in California
• Days 5 & 6 at the Wildlife Safari in Oregon and Coastal Views
• Road Trip Outfits