April 13 California Redwoods into Oregon

46 degrees at 7:30 AM.

Greg drops me at McDonalds for a little wifi fix.  A lady there recommends a place called George's for an oil change, so Greg takes care of this and finds them very pleasant and thorough at $40.

We stop at Anchor Way Drive to take a look at the sea lions and seals gathered there (with guardian cats).  Greg figures there were  300 or more putting up quite a racket!

Next we head to Howland Hill Road, a dirt road which runs through part of Redwood National Park called Jedediah Smith Park to Stout Grove.  Huge trees!  Greg maneuvers around the many potholes and we stop for short walks and photos.

 New meaning to the word awesome.  We do the Simpson Reed/Peterson Memorial trail and have to climb over some fallen trees - no mean task when the tree is a giant redwood.  They are in the process of clearing the path and Greg lends a hand. Every grove is named in memory of someone, usually a person key in preserving the land.

We learn lots about Redwoods, including the fact that they can be 360' tall but their root systems only go 6-10' into the ground.  Therefore they are susceptible to high winds and we see many that have been toppled.

We cross into Oregon at 1 PM and stop at a visitor center.  It is beginning to rain - welcome to Oregon - and the temperature drops.  We decide a library would be nice and find the Chetco Community Library which is very nice, with speedy wi-fi and comfy chairs.

The rain continues and we decide to stop at Harris Beach Campground for showers and electricity and to spend the night.  After PT and dinner, the rain pauses and we make a quick hike down to the beach area to see what the sunset (yes there is occasional sun breaking through now) will look like.  It is kind of eerie but we clamber around until it begins to rain again and we hurry back up to the campground.

Nice evening and we use the heater most of the night as the temps fall into the 30's!