Mile 760 - Jedidiah State Park, CA

It feels like in everyday life we’re in constant pursuit of shortcuts.  Faster ways of getting work done, faster way of communicating, and faster ways of getting places.  On the Rad Trip, we have renounced shortcuts.  But be found one that was really worth taking.

After Redwood National Park, we set our heading North towards Oregon for a couple nights in Crater Lake.  The Garmin told us to take the 101 westward to the 199 but thanks to our “Most helpful Ranger”, we altered our route and headed down another gravel road, which took us through Jedidiah State Park.  We were told our National Parks Pass would get us into the park for free, but the route he gave us took us through a suburban neighborhood and up Hill Road, the park’s fire road, without passing single park kiosk.

The road itself is narrow and slow going, but it’s because you’re driving on the floor of a redwood forest.  At this point we’d already seen some massive trees, but in this section of the forest we could feel the density of our surroundings as we wove our Tacoma through the redwoods.  All we could hear was our own engine, and when we stopped, there was nothing but a breeze, a nearby creek, and off in the distance, an elk calling.

Needless to say, this shortcut took longer.

You can see for yourself below:

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Samoa Cookhouse Update, CA

Thanks to Sarah's Mom and her lifetime of scrapbooking and her keen ability to keep everything in its proper place, she was easily able to conjure up this throwback photo from the Postma past. I (Aaron) especially like this photo because I've never known Sarah's Dad without white hair and in his flannel he looks ready to go chop down some trees after his breakfast. Something I have known is the face Sarah is sporting. Don't worry friends, she's not angry; she just hasn't had her coffee yet. Chances are she won't for five years after this picture, but now she's refined her morning routine and only feels awful for about 30 minutes. And for those of you who are wondering, Anno has also refined her cheese face into an lovely smile. But since she was there, I'll let Sarah comment on the picture too...

First it should be noted that I am a very good sport to allow this picture to be posted on the internet for all to see.  Secondly, I believe I was just at the age when you realize that it's not cool to have your mom take your picture in public places.  Thankfully I'm over that now and have fully embraced taking pictures of myself anywhere, anytime.  Third, that aforementioned flannel got a lot of use by yours truly in high school during that era where girls wore jean shorts, Birkenstocks, a white tee-shirt and topped it off with their Dad's flannel.  Thanks for sharing your wardrobe, Dad!  And Mom, thanks for taking pictures of me even though it was SO NOT COOL!  I'm glad we have them today.

Mile 746 - Trees of Mystery, CA

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Our next stop on the 101 was yet another place that Saaron went to as kids before their worlds collided into this Maelstrom of Marriage. If only Aaron had crossed paths with Sarah under Babe, the Giant Blue Ox, he might have been first smitten by her hot pink fanny pack and won her over with his neon green head gear. Alas, the hands of time still had some shaping to do.

Well, now they're together on Mile 746 at the Trees of Mystery. You probably know it better as “Gigantic Statue of Paul Bunyan“ You can't not stop at a 49 foot tall Paul Bunyan. He also talks to you to, winks, and can wave his hand albeit robotically. 

Oh this brought back memories. Sarah had flash backs of hiding in terror from this mysterious giant. Bev taught her girls not to talk to strangers and now a gigantic stranger wanted a conversation. 

Aaron just wanted to hear more about how one maintains such a giant patch of chest hair, but we think Paul may have been at the end of his shift. Paul responded, “I’ve got people”.

All in all, this is a great place to stop and use the bathroom.

Mile 726 - Elk Sighting, CA

Third Stop; mile 726: Random Elk sighting!

These beautiful animals are most often hid away from sight, or darting out in pairs in front of your car. These guys were just having a siesta off the 101 when a herd of cameras attacked. I overheard one Mom telling her son that these Elk weren’t the wild kind of Elk because “they’re not afraid of humans”. While I’m not sure that’s Webster’s definition, I would agree that this guy was in no way afraid of us.

Mile 712 - Running out of Gas, Orick, CA

After our Hike through the Redwoods, we realized that our gas tank was running low and decided to head South for a fill up. Once the Garmin woke up, we realized that we were in trouble. Then the 3G decided it would roll over from its slumber long enough for a map search for gas and it verified that there was no gas stations for at least 20 miles, and the light has been on for about 8.

Now I heard once that when your gas light goes on, you've got two gallons of gas still; so we should be good, right? We kept driving and debated theories on how much gas was left. Then, we saw this sign!

Unbeknownst to our technological revolution, there is a one-pump gas station in Orick, CA. Click on the image on the right to zoom in and look around.

Right next to the Red Truck is their pump and tank. Aaron was pretty enthralled.

You can also click and drag to the right to see where we went next.

Right Next Door, there's a whole universe being created out of random pieces of wood. Whales, Tropical Fish, Unicorns, and Bears. The coolest part was watching the guy carving a grizzly.

We also found lots of coffee tables made out of Redwood Burls, but Aaron thought they'd be a real tripping hazard for small children.

Mile 702 - Tall Trees Grove, CA

Mile 702; Thanks to our ranger at the Thomas H. Kuchel Visitor Center, we were quite stifled at how much there is to see in the Redwood National Park. His official stance was that he loved everything in the park and that he couldn't play favorites. He did mention the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway was a great way to see the park without getting out of the car; he added that you can even touch the trees out your car window at some points. He also mentioned that Lost Man Creek has a trail that leads up to the Holter Ridge which has wildflower species which are especially intriguing if you're into Phenology. But in the midst of all his explaining he didn't forget to add that he frequently goes backpacking in the Tall Trees Grove area of the park, so that is where we headed.

The tall trees grove is just about a four mile hike, and getting there feels like quite an adventure. In order to get to the trail head, you need to get a permit at the visitors station because they only allow a certain number of people into the grove daily. With your permit, they give you a code to unlock a gated gravel road.We felt like we had been invited into a exclusive section of the park.

On the trail we only saw three other groups of hikers but there was plenty to crane your neck towards above you. We have a habit of taking our hikes slow in for photography's sake, so we agree to take pictures on the way in and hike non-stop on the way out. Click here for more information on the hike and below is our library of pictures.

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