Day 76 of 117 on our “Go West, Young Man” Two Lane Adventure – Monday 9/10/18

Today we took a drive to the Avenue of the Giants and Humboldt Redwoods State Park. This famed road, easily the most scenic among the redwoods, has been called the finest forest drive in the world. Lined by titan trees, the 31-mile stretch parallels Highway 101 and offers an excellent opportunity to see these mammoth trees. Mostly flat with gentle curves, it passes secluded towns, campgrounds, picnic areas, river overlooks, and trails to the natural wonders like Founders Grove, which inspired conservationists to save the trees.

In parts of the State Park, the Avenue of the Giants hugs the Eel River, a federally designated Wild & Scenic waterway. It is amazing, how many of these federally designated waterways we have seen, since we saw our first in Arkansas this summers. At this time of year, the Eel River, is not that full … so the Wild & Scenic seems a far stretch!

The Avenue winds through Humboldt Redwoods State Park, one of California’s oldest and largest parks. The park’s unique 52,000-acre environment has more than 17,000-acres of breathtaking ancient coast redwoods and Douglas-fir trees. It includes the 10,000-acre Rockefeller Forest, the largest stand of old growth redwoods and Bull Creek Flats, one of the densest and most awesome collections of champion trees. We drove south and on the Avenue, stopping and snapping pictures as we went.

 

We stopped at the Immortal Tree.

An attraction with a name like "Immortal Tree" is an almost 1,000-year-old redwood that has survived lightning, fire, floods, and ax-happy loggers. The sign next to the giant recounts its various brushes with death: lightning removed the top, the logger's axe had at it in 1908, forest fires and the notorious "Flood of 1964." The tree was once 298 ft. tall, and has been whittled to a still respectable 258 feet, with a base diameter of 14.5 feet.

As visual aids to remind about its perils, an ax is attached about 10 feet up the trunk. Even higher on the tree is a metal fish, indicating the high water mark of the flood it survived.

We stopped at the Humboldt Redwoods State Park Visitor’s Center to get “information” and view some exhibits. On our “Information” is the code word for gift shop!  The visitor center is run by the Humboldt Redwoods Interpretive Association and many volunteers. The volunteer that gave us a run-down of what we needed to see and do, was awesome! She took time with everyone, who asked for information.

Outside exhibits included a cross section of a tree, with various events in history married up to growth rings on the tree.

Inside the visitor center is an entire room dedicated to Charles Kellogg, the Nature Singer and his Travel-Log. A Travel-Log, what is that? The Travel-Log is a masterpiece of nature and craftsmanship. It is a section of a great redwood tree from the giant forests of Scotia, Humboldt County, California. It is the largest single piece of hewn timber in the world. It is mounted on a Nash Quad Chassis, the only truck capable of transporting such a load and meet its requirements.

It is the creation of one man. With axe and adz, Mr Kellogg hollowed out the log and fashioned it into the most beautiful and complete mobile dwelling. It has a kitchenette, folding lavatory, toilet, clothes press, 12 lockers, folding double bed, stove, dining table, bookcase, dresser, electric lights, running water and guest room with a single bed. The log which this beautiful home is made of is absolutely solid. The walls, ceiling, floors are all one piece. It weighs six tons! This log is about 4,800 years old, the rings (each denoting one year’s growth) can be plainly seen and counted on the end. The color is natural, a rich rose red. Mr Kellogg hand rubbed 12 pounds of bees wax into the wood.

Through the cooperation of the California Redwood Association, it was possible for Mr Kellogg to take this mobile home out for the world to see! It is the most unique RV, we have ever seen!

We took in many of the “must-do” items in this area, including the Shrine Drive-Thru Tree. Of three such redwoods, only this one, in Myers Flat, has a naturally cleaved tunnel. Shrine Drive Thru Tree, also known as Doust Tree, Redwood Shrine Tree, and Shrine of the Redwoods. Shrine Tree is a chimney tree whose trunk was hollowed by fire, maybe by a lightning strike, more than a century ago. Loggers reportedly spared the tree because they suspected it had little, if any, merchantable timber.

The owner of the tree widened the natural, angled opening through the trunk to create a 7 foot wide and 7 foot tall tunnel large enough to accommodate vehicles. When Avenue of the Giants was still an unpaved trail, horses pulled wagons through the tree. After the road was paved, Shrine Tree became the first major roadside attraction on the new Redwood Highway. In the late 1920s, Ford Model T’s would turn off the highway, drive through the tree, circle back to the highway, and speed off.

The circumstances behind the tree's renaming remain uncertain. Some sources claim a former owner, who belonged to Shriner's International, renamed the tree in the late 1930's to honor his free mason fraternity and donated all tourism proceeds to charity. Others suspect he simply renamed it because he considered the tree a redwood shrine. A white line painted on the trunk just above the tunnel opening indicates the maximum water level of the 1964 flood.

Although Shrine Tree is the oldest of the three drive-through coast redwoods … I would not recommend anyone else spend $8 to drive thru. The tree appears to be in decline, and the hollow trunk, with an ever-increasing lean, requires support from metallic cables to remain upright. I learned these were installed in 1942. Other park attractions include the Balance Tree, Cathedral Tree, Children's Step-Thru Stump, Drive-On Log, Rings of History, Tree House Village, and, of course, a gift shop. None of which, make the $8 entry fee worth it.

We did not do it, but I would recommend the Tour Thru Tree, in Klamath. This entry was carved out of a large tree and appears in a television commercial. It is the newest and second most-popular of the three drive-through coast redwoods. Although Chandelier Tree, at the southern end of the redwoods, is more-popular, the Tour Thru Tree accommodates larger vehicles. We could not stop, because we were in our motorhomes and the hole is not that big!

The park volunteer recommended we stop in Founders Grove. It is a short half mile trail that has so much beautiful green moss and massive redwoods that it’s hard to leave at all. Founders Grove is dedicated to the men that kept the loggers from destroying this stretch of redwoods. They chose to dedicate the right grove to these men that’s for sure.

The Founders Tree, also known as Fifth Tallest Tree (1963), was named to honor paleontologist John Campbell Merriam, attorney Madison Grant, and geologist/paleontologist Henry Fairfield Osborn who founded Save the Redwoods League in 1918. Founders held the title of world's tallest tree until Humboldt State University forestry professor Gerald L. Partain discovered Rockefeller in Humboldt Redwoods State Park in 1957.

We went to Founders Grove to see the “Albino Redwood.” When I got the directions from the volunteer at the Visitor’s Center, she said there was only 1 visible in the park now, because some $#&!*% had cut the other one down! Ugggh, come on people …. Where is your head? Get it out of your $#%^&!*#!

Here are the directions we were given, to find the Albino Redwood. “Sit on the bench at stop #2. Look up and out about 150 feet. See a tangle of limbs. There you will see the white needles of the Albino Redwood.” Use your imagination, squint and you too can see it. We did!

We crossed the Eel River and took a right onto “Honeydew” Rockefeller Road, that takes us to the Lower Bull Creek Flats.

Rockefeller, also known as Tall Tree, Tallest Tree, Fourth Tallest Tree (1963), and Jerry Partain Tree, is the world's 16th tallest tree, the 10th tallest tree in Humboldt Redwoods State Park, and the tallest tree on Upper Bull Creek Flat. Rockefeller was named to honor John D. Rockefeller who, between 1926 and 1929, donated $2,000,000 to Save the Redwoods League to purchase Dyerville Flat from the Pacific Lumber Company. In 1931, this tract of old-growth redwood forest, since renamed Rockefeller Forest, became the core of Humboldt Redwoods State Park. Rockefeller held the title of world's tallest tree until National Geographic Society senior scientist Paul A. Zahl discovered Howard Libbey in Redwood National Park in 1963.

Bull Creek Giant is the 10th largest known (perhaps the 3rd largest known unfused) single-stem coast redwood and the largest known tree in Humboldt Redwoods State Park. Bull Creek Giant grew an average of 27 feet each year over a recent decade. Bull Creek Giant appears on the cover of Robert Van Pelt's book Forest Giants of the Pacific Coast. Humboldt State University forestry professor Stephen C. Sillett published a 360-degree panorama of Bull Creek Flat taken from the top of Bull Creek Giant and photographed Bull Creek Giant's flat-topped crown from a nearby tree. Another climber photographed the view from the treetop.

We took the Lost Coast Scenic Byway, which began as we went through the Rockefeller Forest, into Bull Creek Flats to Mattole Road. The promotional info on this route said the road will take us from tall, tall trees to the state’s wildest beaches. Okay, let’s go!

Well, the first ½ of this trip was up and up and up! Along narrow, winding, pot hole filled roads. I am sure there is more than once that Charlie thought about turning it around! But, having to go back on that same road was not very appealing either. Finally, we came into a town, well it was a country store with no room to pull in, this must be the town of Honeydew. So, we kept going … we knew we had to be getting close to something. There was another town on the map, Petrolia. Yes, we came into that town, there was a school where kids we being picked up by their parents, but no gas station or store. So, onward …. I think at this point we all were hungry, tired and frustrated … the two vehicle drivers were the most frusturated!

We did see a few Zebras in the field with some cows, not sure why … but we are in the middle of nowhere, so I guess anything is possible! Not the best picture, but you can see the zebra stripes!

Then, we come around a curve and ahhhhhhh, what a beautiful sight! No, it was not a gas station or store … it was the Pacific Ocean! It is the Lost Coast, the longest undeveloped shoreline in the continental US, this expanse displays virtually no sign of civilization, except for the remote outpost of shelter cove.

The reason? The imposing King Range Mountains jut 4,000 feet above the coast, ensuring the development could not encroach and breathtaking views are everywhere. Here, you can be on the coast for days and only share the company of seals, birds, crabs and whales.

Rewards of the Lost Coast include a legendary hike-in surf break, hidden abalone crags and tide pools, cliff-top fields of poppy and the abandoned but picturesque Alcatraz of lighthouses, Punta Gorda (which was further south on the lost coast than we are).

To us, the unspoiled scenic beauty was reward enough!

Our last view of this unspoiled coastline was the “Prudential Rock” that is what it looked like to us.

Getting back over the King Mountain Range was more, up and down, on winding roads.

But it did provide us more awesome views!

We went through Ferndale, on our way back to Eureka. Ferndale is an old Victorian town, like Eureka.  In fact, the entire town resides on the National Register of Historic Places. With its fantastically preserved Victorians, vibrant small-town charm, and history as a filming location for major movies, Ferndale, is a magical town that blends the past and present amidst the backdrop of the magnificent Lost Coast.

Nestled in a verdant pastoral valley near the Northern California Redwoods, Ferndale was founded in 1852 and soon became home to a prosperous dairy industry that led to construction of the splendidly ornate buildings known today as "Butterfat Palaces.” When you stroll the town's charming Main Street, where art galleries and boutiques complement a dazzling array of 19th-century Gothic Revival, Italianate, Eastlake and Queen Anne homes.

As we were driving for hours, Nancy was searching the dining guide for a place to eat between nowhere and Eureka! Everything seems to open later or are not open on Monday. We found Angelina’s Wood Fired Kitchen. It is open on Monday at it is open at 4:30 … It’s 4:35 … let have some lunch … no wait, we missed lunch … it’s dinner!

The Angelina Woodfired Kitchen is a neighborhood eatery focused on delivering delicious food of the highest quality. All dishes are crafted with local produce and local, grass fed meat. Handmade pizzas are wood fired to order, breads are baked fresh daily, soups are made from scratch, and desserts are hand crafted with care. Everyone had an awesome meal, with awesome friends, in the old Angelina Inn, that has been renewed!