On The Road Again

Monday
So, after doing some calculations we figured out that we're making really poor time! We've spent the last 2 1/2 days looking at the giant sequoias, which are really a sight to see, but it is time to move on! Given this sense of urgency we did not leave Eureka until noon as we hung out in Borders in the moring drinking coffee and steamers while we looked at books. During our drive we stopped by "Avenue of the Giants" which is a detour from Highway 101 with the tallest Redwoods in the country. Not only did some of the trees exceed 300 feet but the bases were huge as well. We stopped and did a nature walk through "Founders Trail." It really was amazing to look at the girth of some of these trees, many of which had fallen which allowed us a chance to climb on. Then we drove. And we drove some more, and then some more. We finally stopped for dinner in a small little town at the McDonalds. I know what you are thinking - you can't believe that we could call ourselves parents when we do such an act but the kids had been couped up in the motorhome for 4+ hours... so we did it for the playstructure? We enjoyed the french fries and then set out for some more driving. We passed through San Francisco and are now situated just South of San Jose. Amber-Rose found our camera so we will be posting pictures soon.

Sunday
Sunday we had a chance to drive and see more Sequoias and Redwoods during the day. Again the camera was lost so we will post the pictures later.

After driving Sunday afternoon and evening we stopped in Eureka, CA. We were in crisis mode as we had too many items to do and too little time to do them. We had to get gas, do laundry, update our blog, find bloodworms for Elijah's fish and frog (they haven't eaten in five days), eat dinner, make a run to the store and get the kids in bed, all the while we had no water in the motorhome as there was no water hook-up at the State Park we stayed in the night before.

With this said the Lord provided a gas station with a Best Western across the street. We indulged and for $100.00 got a 2 bedroom suite with high speed internet, laundry facilities, with a Marie Callendars onsite and a Rays supermarket and PetSmart across the street. This was a huge blessing and allowed us to get caught up all the while enjoy a night of sleep with two bedrooms - one for the kids and one for us.

Saturday
We left the Treehouse and passed by an herb farm, the Siskiyou Mountain Herb Farm, where we picked up some tinctures and fennel. We then headed to the "Trees of Mystery" which is known for their unusual trees from their cathedral tree (12 trees growing together in a U shape) to a redwood 19 feet in diameter (largest tree I have ever seen). We also took a tram to the top of the hill which was a memorable experience as Amber-Rose, much to my surprise, was very uncomfortable. My wife has never been afraid of heights, in fact heights has always been my fear, but to see her squirm was rather satisfying. Add on top of this that the tram was rocking and certain individuals were passing gas in this enclosed tram made it a memorable experience. Saturday night we stayed at the Jedediah Smith State Park on the Smith River. It was a serene setting as we camped with a view of a crystal clear river and were able to walk and play on the rocks, sand all the while getting wet in the river. We made a fire, cooked up some hot dogs and pizza and enjoyed the rest of the night with exception to our VW, tree-hugging neighbor who informed me that the generators were disturbing his peace and privacy, even though I had every right to have it on, until 8pm. We turned it off at 8pm as a courtesy to him.