As amazing as our stay was in Yosemite, which you can see here, it was time to move on.  One thing my wife kept saying while we were planning our trip, was “We have to see the Redwoods!”  So after another 8 and a half hour drive, our next adventure awaited us on the northern coast of California at the Redwood Forest.  Once our kids realized that part of a Star Wars movie was filmed there, they got very excited.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5x1pseq-mI

We arrived in the seaside village of Trinidad.  It was June, but the temperature was about 59 degrees with an overcast.  We would soon discover that most of the California coast, at least the northern half, was usually in the high fifties to low sixties during the day.  We often found ourselves wearing shorts and a jacket. 

It dawned on us that this was the first time we really had a chance to see the ocean since we started our trip.  It was later in the evening and we were hungry so we decided to grab a bite before we checked out the ocean.  We found a little restaurant called the Lighthouse Grill.  I mention this place because I had the best chicken sandwich I have ever eaten.  It was fried chicken with swiss cheese, sauteed mushrooms and onions.  As I am writing this, I can literally taste this sandwich.  So if you ever go to Trinidad, trust me and get the fried chicken sandwich at the Lightouse Grill.

The sun was starting to set, so we headed to Trinidad beach.  We jumped out of the car and got down to the water as fast as we could.

TRINIDAD BEACH

With the sun setting and the waves crashing on the rocks, we were all taken back by the beauty!  The crazy thing was is that we didn’t have to go far for the next amazing site.  

REDWOOD FOREST

None of us realized how big the Redwood trees would actually be, but they were even larger than we could imagine.  As a matter of fact, many of the Redwood trees are taller than the Statue of Liberty.  When we got out of the car, we couldn’t believe that it was so quiet.  We were told to watch out for bears and elk.  So  I kept myself very aware of our surroundings.  I was actually worried that we would cross the path of a bear.  After walking for a little while, I heard a large noise just to my right and I saw all of the plants moving.  I yelled an was pretty sure I was getting eaten by a bear.  Then I heard my daughter burst out in laughter.  She had thrown a branch to scare me.  She succeeded.     

It felt like we were in the movie, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and we were in the front yard.

The Redwood Forest was truly a place where our kids could explore and that’s exactly what they did.

The kids kept finding trees that were hollow inside and were literally the size of a bedroom.

Look on the ground and you will often find banana slugs.  The kids thought these were so cool.

There were campsites, but we weren’t prepared for camping.  But that didn’t keep us from exploring.

Here are some things to note if you decide to see this beautiful park.  Take bug spray.  Regardless of the cool weather, there were plenty of bugs.  And like I said about our visit to Yosemite, take old school maps.  There really isn’t any internet access, so Google Maps won’t do you any good.  There is no fee to enter the park and you can find more info here.

We cut the day a little short so we could head to the next amazing place.  Just an hour north was Fern Canyon.  And it was worth the drive.  A cool fact about this place is that part of Jurrasic Park, the Lost World was filmed.  Part of the drive which is on Davison Road is very narrow and completely covered by the heavily wooded area.  

FERN CANYON

Just as we arrived at the canyon, we saw this large adult elk.  I’m glad we were in our car as they are said to be very aggressive.

This was such a cool place.  Water runs through the canyon over rocks.  The water is about ankle deep all the way through and the walls on each side are covered with ferns making a beautiful sight.

Again, this was another safe area for our kids to explore.  And you can tell by their faces, that they loved it!  One thing to note is to take water shoes.  There are many places where your feet will get wet if you want to keep walking the canyon.  And the people who were barefoot kept looking at us with envy and a few even said they wished they had water shoes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jnajwpbJBA

After about an hour of exploring, we decided to head back to Trinidad, take in some more of the beach and then get a good night’s sleep.   

We had a little more daylight this time, so we could stay a little longer and after about 5 minutes our kids found seals lounging on the rocks.

We kept finding little sea urchins and all sorts of other creatures.  

This area was very different from what we expected but in a good way.  We were about halfway through our road trip and the next stop was San Francisco!

Have you been to the Redwood Forest?