Hi! You may have noticed a recent lack of recipe & fitness posts. That’s because me & my family have been road trippin’ the past few weeks. Here’s the latest installment (other posts from our journey, here).
We spent some time on Ventura beach before going to Yosemite over the weekend. After Yosemite, we took the windy, mostly-desolate mountainous drive to the northern California coast to see the beautiful Redwoods.
Pictures of our weekend to come, but for now, here’s day 1 of our venture into the Redwoods.
We took the auto tour of the “Avenue of the Giants.” This included 8 or 9 stops along a scenic route of the freeway.
That is really a tree behind us.
A born & bred Washingtonian, I’m hard to please when it comes to nature.
We have it all–the trees, the greenery, the mountains, the Puget Sound, the coast.
When we lived in Utah, I had to internally chuckle whenever a Utahan would mention how Utah’s mountains & terrain are “so amazing.” Yes, Utah’s got some beautiful stuff, but I never felt like it came close to what Washington has to offer.
Being in the Redwoods, I was truly impressed. Awed.
Amalia picking a bouquet of leaves.
The kids played hide-and-seek.
At 17 months, Salem asserts her independence by insisting on walking (instead of being carried).
This doesn’t always work, since her pace tends to be much, much slower than her siblings.
Often, there’s a lot of wrangling, wrestling, & to smooth things out–hugging & kissing.
Can you believe this uprooted tree?
The roots of the redwood trees are often widespread, but shallow.
We came across a lot of downed trees, which we found out later, we technically weren’t supposed to be climbing on the downed trees in certain areas. Oops.
The world’s largest tree, downed.
There’s no way to capture just how tall these trees are. Here’s a futile attempt.
Trying to be educational by reading the walking tour guide. No one seems to be listening.
Yes. I am standing inside of a tree. Despite being split, it’s still alive & growing.
Standing inside of another tree, looking up. Hollowed out from a fire.
Glad we had Salem there to help.
Again, in the Founder’s Grove, we weren’t supposed to be doing this. The kids thought this was the best playground they’d ever been to, though.
We stopped at a picnic area on the side of the road.
The kids had PB & J sandwiches, baby carrots & cut up melon.
My lunch: Tasty Bite spinach dal (really, quite delicious), spring mix salad topped with roasted edamame & balsamic vinaigrette.
You’re supposed to heat & serve, but it’s already cooked, so heating it up is just a matter of preference.
Gluten-free, vegan, healthy, convenience foods do exist.
Found some blackberry bushes, & lucky us, they’re ripe for the picking.
Lots of places to stop along the route to get out & hike around.
We explored small foot paths through the forest.
Mali found lots of flowers to pick along the way.
We stayed at the Best Western, Country Inn, in Fortuna.
This was the nicest place we’ve stayed at so far. Our first night we stayed in a room that had a mother-in-law suite, which means it came with a separate, adjoining room, that Joseph & I slept in (so nice to finally have a bit of privacy!).
The second night, we switched to the Redwood room, a suite that included couches.
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Since we were busy enjoying the Redwoods, I didn’t post a Marvelous Mondays edition yesterday.
You may have missed one from the past, check out the older editions, here.
Oh I’m so glad you drove and explored this part of California! It’s one of my favorites. I think we’re driving down to California this year for the holidays and hopefully we can make a few stops to admire the redwoods that we miss. At one point we lived in a house with a grove of redwoods right outside our dining room windows!
I would love to see the redwoods some day soon. I don’t blame your kids for thinking it was a magnificent playground. I probably will too when I get there, despite my age (we are all kids at heart, right?).
Yes, we’re all kids at heart, or at least we should be
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Wow the redwoods! I cannot wait to get out there and explore some day. A goal of mine is to take the kids to national parks for summer vacations. Right now, they are 2 and almost-4, so long road trips are difficult (as you know). Looks like it’s so fun, glad you guys are doing this and happy that I can tag along through your blog!
I can’t believe I had never heard of Redwoods before. This place is stunning. I really want to go now. Thank you for the virtual trip =) I bet it smelled very good there with all the trees.
Babette, it is a beautiful, beautiful part of world. Hope you get the chance to make it there someday.
We lived in Scotia – a little town just south of Fortuna – for five years. We went to church in Fortuna and Rex was the bishop there. We have pictures of Christi and Byron standing in/around some of the same trees as those in your pictures. We went down for a visit/wedding last spring and stayed at the same Best Western! It’s beautiful country. Enjoy the rest of your trip!
Wow, now that you mention it, I remember that you did live in northern CA. Beautiful area, we loved visiting. We loved that Best Western, great people. We wished we could have seen a bit more of the area, but we’re so glad we were able to spend some time there. Thanks for stopping by Sharalyn, so nice to hear from you.
My parents took my siblings and I to see the Redwoods when we were kids, and I’ve never forgotten it! One day I want to take my kids. These are memories you and your children will cherish forever! The pictures are great and I love how you purpose to eat healthy even when on a road trip. You are truly an inspiration!
Looks like you and your family are having loads of fun! The trees there are so spectacular – definitely on my list of things to see!