Camping in Humboldt

A couple of weekends ago we finally made it up to Humboldt County for a camping trip I'd been looking forward to for a very long time. While we have seen plenty of redwoods fairly close to us here in the bay area, we still hadn't been to see some of the really gigantic trees or driven through a one of them. The time finally came.

We drove up 5 hours to get to Humboldt Redwood State Park and I was not disappointed by the size of the trees. It is impossible to really take a picture to capture the full magnitude of how amazing these trees truly are.

After camping for one night we were ready to go exploring. While out trip to the 'Big Tree Area' was more complicated due to an absent minded ranger's directions and an almost empty tank of gas we were still able to enjoy the redwoods and the trip was very relaxing and much needed.

It is difficult to tell from this picture, but we are actually walking along a fallen redwood. It sort of just looks like a path in the road.

We weren't able to do any boating since it's summer and the water levels are low this time of year...but we did appreciate the view.

We finally headed over to the Shrine Drive-Thru tree....one of only a few that remain. The sign claimed that the tree was living but we were a little skeptical. There were cables holding it up and the only green on it looked like it was from plants other than the tree itself. It was still cool to go through it though.

Incredible...but still can't capture it in a photo.




After getting back from our adventures that day we had to practice a little beirut so we will be prepared for tailgate season which is rapidly approaching.
That weekend it was also Smoky the Bears 66th birthday and the campsite was hosting a party that we had to attend. We mostly learned about fire safety (you aren't supposed to play with matches, don't hide in the closet when there is a fire, run towards the scary looking Darth vader-ish fireman, and if you see a fire tell a grown up right away)

We were able to get a picture with Smoky.
Even though we were missing a few of our usual camping buddies (Brian, Moria, and Jason) we did have Colin join us for the first time and the weekend was a blast.
Kevin, Sarah, Jonathan, and I decided to head up to this Victorian village, Ferndale, north of the campsite that we'd heard about from Kevin's parents. We didn't have a long time to hang out and a lot of the shops were closed since it was Sunday, but we still had a good time. There was a blacksmith shop that we explored for awhile and a few other cute stores. It was really overcast but it gave the village a really cool feel.

Just a few photos...



I wish we could have had more time which is always the case, but it was a wonderful weekend. I think all us appreciated being away from work for a few days and just hanging out and enjoying each others company. With football season coming it looks like the next camping trip might not be until October when we make the road trip up to Oregon to watch Stanford take on the Ducks. Maybe we'll fit in some beach camping before then if we are lucky....