Garberville to Gold Beach, July 31

We get a good game of travel bingo going as we drive. We mark off mailboxes and churches (easy) and smoke stacks and water towers (hard) and birds on a wire (really hard). Sean wins the regular game, Anna wins blackout. The miles whiz by and the cab of the truck is full of fun and companionship.

Our lunch stop is at a popular elk viewing site. A large herd of Roosevelt elk (named after the president who created a preserve for them) live in an area just off the highway. We walk the trail adjacent to the large meadow, but the elk are lying down, tucked into the shady spots and are hard to see. The leg stretch is good, the sun is shining, and we're content with the glimpses we get.

As we enter The Trees of Mystery a winding path through an old growth forest leads us past trees with names like "the family tree", "the cathedral tree", ??? to the Sky Trail, a gondola which will whisk us up into the canopy above and thrill us with an 10 minute ascent to a viewing platform where we disembark to study the views of Bigfoot country in one direction and the shining sea in the other. We are atwitter to discover a bright blue Stellar Jay strutting on the wooden boards and a couple of friendly chipmunks. Chipmunk sightings in Paris are rare!

From the Bottom Up

Another Big Foot Sighting

Free Spirit on the Sky Trail

In the Canopy

The Guys

After the Sky Trail adventure we venture onto the Trail of Tall Tales. Around every bend and curve is a wooden carving of an imaginative creature or structure. These are more than life-sized and are intricately carved. At the end of the trail and just prior to the entrance to the gift shop is a prodigious slice of tree who's rings have been marked with historic events and show graphically the passage of time and the silent duration and continuity contained within the trunk of a tree.

Our parking spot is at Turtle Rock. Our first official stop on the Oregon Coast. Nana and the kids follow the path to the beach and get an up close look at the rock turtle. The beach is scruffy with small pieces of driftwood and we each collect a pocket-sized sample. We take time to hurl a few dozen stones into the estuary on the return trip raising the water level a fraction or so. 

The Rock Lives Up to Its Name

Anna's Favorite: The Sky Trail

Sean's Favorite: The Sky Trail