Our Trip to the Redwoods

We left bright and early on Friday morning headed to the Redwoods in northern California. We had snacks, drinks, a picnic lunch, and tons of things to entertain the kids. We started out playing travel bingo with K. We gave her a bingo card with different types of vehicles she had to find and mark off. When she got 5 in a row, daddy gave her something from our bag of toys he bought for a dollar or less. Both of the girls loved getting new toys to play with.



We got to the Redwoods around 10 am and found a spot to park so we could hike around. The girls found the huge trees fascinating and climbed all over them. I love the Redwoods, I am amazed at the size and height of these trees. After hiking around we found a road to drive down that took us to the Smith River in Jedidiah Smith Redwood State Park. It is a pretty and clear river with a rocky bed. We sat on the rocks and enjoyed our picnic lunch while listening to the sound of the water passing by.

These are the roots of a Redwood.

Daddy and the girls in a tree.

I love this picture.

Daddy and L relaxing on a tree.

Peaking out through a hollow tree.

The girls and me eating lunch.

Smith River. Isn't it clear?

After a relaxing lunch, we headed back to the highway and drove south along the coastline. It was a drastic change in weather from the redwoods, which were warm and sunny, to the coastline which was cold and foggy. We couldn't get any good pictures of the coast so we didn't stop along the way. We passed the Trees of Mystery and stopped to take pictures of Paul Bunyan and Babe. We didn't stay for the trees, we figure why pay for trees we already saw for free?

Looks like the Oregon Coast in winter.

K was fascinated with Paul Bunyan's ability to wave and talk.

When we were nearing Redding, we found a place called Whiskey Town Lake and decided to pull in and stretch our legs. The lake was large and very pretty but there was poison oak everywhere so we didn't walk around too much.

It was a little after 5 pm when we got back into our car and headed for Redding. We were only a few hours from our final destination, so we picked up the speed. After hitting Chico and stopping for dinner, we called our friends to let them know we were arriving ahead of schedule. They were happy to have us a day early and told us how to get to their home. What should have been a two hour drive turned into a three hour drive because all the roads we took were under construction. But after traveling for 17 hours, we were finally able to get out of the car and rest. The girls did an amazing job! They played games, listened to music, read books and finally, in the late afternoon, watched a movie. It was definitely a much easier drive than I thought it would be.