Retirement Road Trip #12: Towing a Bambi up to Redwood National and State Parks, October 2021

Lunch Stop on Day 2 on the Avenue of the Giants

Again, I'll add the disclaimer that all these pictures were taken with my iPhone 2nd generaiion SE, with absolutely no Photoshopping...and there are some awesome shots here!

Wouldn't you know it: the first time in my life I'm towing a trailer, we proceed to have a Biblical Downpour in late October, no less. Janet's magic laptop scored us a 19' Airstream Bambi trailer on outdoorsy.com, and several campsites at private campgrounds as well as at the Redwood National and State Parks. In the intervening years since we took family trips to state parks such as Patrick's Point, Humboldt Redwoods, and Prairie Creek as a kid, the Feds and State decided to pull all those state parks under the umbrella of the National Park Service. And, Mr. Patrick did not treat the indigenous population very well way back when, so we now have Sue Meg State Park instead of He Who Shall Not Be Named Point SP.

Sunday, October 24, 2021: We picked up the Airstream in Martinez out by the refineries, in a deluge, but the owner was very patient showing us around the trailer and its anti-sway bars while soaking wet. We intended to stock up the trailer at home and leave the next day, and after driving from Martinez on I-680 and CA24 in that downpour, I'm glad we planned it that way.

Monday: After provisioning the trailer that morning, we headed up US101 in light rain to Willits and the private Mendocino Redwoods RV Resort on CA20 west of Willets. I had never camped in a full-on RV park with utilities and cable (alas no TV). Walking around the "resort" we spied inside one mondo RV/Bus and they were sitting in their captain's chairs watching a big-screen with Monday Night Football playing.

Tuesday: Our Bambi had three tanks: freshwater, gray water, and black water. Janet was very concerned about the capacity running out of the first and overflowing of the latter two, so I got to try and figure out the dumping of those two tanks in the resort. Luckily, a gent walking from the bathroom came over to help and teach me how to hook everything up at the dump station..."I have an Airstream too, so let me show you how to set it up." Successfully evacuated, we continued up US101 to the Redwoods.

Unfortunately, I got a baptism-by-fire with the trailer when I pulled off the road for a pee stop. I nudged our way on a side road, but found that the road narrowed and I couldn't pop-a-u'ey and I tried to back up the trailer back down the road. Then I tried to do a 50-point turn to somehow accomplish a U-turn, and failing that miserably, we prayed that continuing down this rutted, pot-holed dirt'ish road would lead to a place where we could actually turn around. Whew! Luckily within a half-mile or so we did get to a wider area and got turned around and headed back north to Prairie Creek Redwoods snf its Elk Prairie Campground, where another trial awaited.

At the private RV resort, we got a "pull-through" campsite...easy peasy as there is no backing up required...but little did we know about requesting a "pull-through." So, there was a loop at the campground with those "trailer rookie" campsites, but we did not have one of them for our reservation. Bummer. And, the loop for our site was one-way, thus, giving us a piss-poor approach to navigating the trailer around a fallen trunk that adorned our site. After trying repeatedly to get around the log, I finally said "screw it" and reversed my "rig" and went the wrong way to get the better angle and popped that sucker in on just a few attempts at backing up...remember, put your hands at the bottom of the steering wheel and turn the wheel in the direction you want the trailer to go...uhhh...no, try again...let's try to get pull-through spots from now on.

After setting up the site, free of the trailer, we headed up Bald Hills Road and hiked the Lady Bird Johnson Grove Trail.

On the Lady Bird Johnson Grove Trail

Wednesday: My anticipation was high for today we were off to the magnificent Fern Canyon, which I remember from my childhood family trips to be down a treacherous dirt and mud road out to the coast, then north along the coast, with herds of elk out on the beach, to the creek that formed the famous Fern Canyon. Hey, I've got a $Runner 4X4, so No Problem!

Of course my memory was colored by careening down this rough road in our International Harvester Travelall, so I found Davison Road much less daunting than I remember, though it was still rough and twisty turney through a magnificent forest, but, there were no elk on the beach that day, and we had a nice deep stream crossing on the way to Fern Canyon's parking that after seeing some of the other compact cars parked there and at Gold Bluff Beach Campground, I wondered how their drive through the creek was...not as easy as ours, no doubt!

Here I am, bubbling with excitement, getting ready to hike up Fern Canyon after all these years! We start out, and the creek is running rather high, and fast, and there is an immediate crossing of "Home Creek" to start. I cross successfully, and then turn around to see Janet take a header in to the water, with her fancy Nikon DSLR around her neck taking a quick dip as well.

Post-Nikon Dunking, none too pleased

Janet's shoes were a little wet, but she was none the worse for wear, but the Nikon was no longer functional, so rather than push my luck, we retreated to the truck. Note to self: next time, bring Wellies! As I exited with my tail between my legs and a less-than-pleased wife, I snapped this:

Wellies, definitely wellies next time!

We backtracked a little and parked in a camping spot at Gold Bluffs Campsite, and Janet got great advice from an old dude photog on drying out the DSLR and Lens. Even after lunch, still no elk on the beach, but we walked out on that beautiful beach and made several stops on Davison Road for snaps.

After lunch, we backtracked a bit to the Ranger Station at Sue-Meg SP, and armed with our "pull through" knowledge, we were able to change our assigned site and score one of those for the next night.

We did catch some elk, but it was north at an RV camp with obviously tame elk lolling about on the resort's lawn. And here I was looking for a herd of wild elk congregating on Gold Bluffs Beach. From there, we continued north to where the Klamath River flows in to the Pacific, stopping at overlooks both north and sourh of the river, getting the story of the subduction plate right below our feet. Driving along the bluff south of the Klamath, we encountered a WWII Radar Site B-71. We marveled at the beautiful landscapes we encountered all day, mist and fog enshrouded mountains dropping down to broad beaches all along the coast.

Typical view, all day and all week

Thursday: Today was our transfer down to Sue-Meg SP, but we did a lot of hiking before leaving, walking the Elk Prairie Trail (again, no elk) then packing up and hiking the Big Tree/Tall Tree Trail for about 6 miles. The Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway was closed for storm damage, so getting back in to the forest was by foot rather than leapfrogging among the various turnouts.

After our hike, we started heading back south (as the Klamath River and Prairie Creek SP were the far north points of our trip), and had a snap set-up in our pull-through at Sue-Meg SP. We used their "legos" to level the trailer from side to side. After we got set up we hiked down to and along Agate Beach, Janet picking up a few, and was given a few from a fellow beachcomber.

Friday: After breakfast, we hiked the "rim" trail at Sue-Meg SP and were treated to astounding amounts and variety of "mycology" with crashing waves below the rim to accentuate the "wow." After hooking up we headed back south along the Avenue of the Giants to Myers Flat for the next night. We stayed at the "Giant Redwoods RV and Cabin Destination" right on a curve of the Eel River. As I remember there were some long grades on the way to Myers Flat and the 4Runner, with a towing capacity of 5,000 pounds, snuggled getting up some of those grades pulling the 3,750 pound (empty) Bambi. Maybe we'll try the Airstream 16' "Basecamp" model next time.

As we walked along the "rim" of Sue-Meg SP, mushrooms of a wild variety of shapes and colors were all along the trail.

Saturday, October 30: Today we headed back north, sans Bambi, to check out Ferndale, eating brunch at the Fernbridge Cafe and Coffee Bar before heading in to Ferndale.

Ferndale had its typical way-north drizzly weather, but it was cool to stroll around the town as we hadn't been to Ferndale in many years. I had always heard of the "Tour of the Lost Coast" rides, but we didn't know what exactly the Lost Coast was, so we headed out Mattole Road, heading west to the coast, a most circuitous road through dense forests (Janet shouted out that she saw a mountain lion lying out in a meadow) and grasslands out to Cape Mendocino, the farthest west point of the continental US. On a bike, this would be a very tough day, probably 100 miles/10,000 feet of climbing loop all the way south along the coast then back east continuing on Mattole Road back to Humboldt Redwoods and US101 at Weott. There ain't much out on the Lost Coast, and not many towns/villages along Mattole Road, but the drive was spectacular and absolutely worth it.

As we neared US101, we hiked through the Rockefeller Grove in Humboldt Redwoods SP, checking out the Founder's Tree at 359 feet tall (as measured in 1957.) Not quite the tallest Redwood any more; a taller one in a grove in the area is only accessible with a permit and a 6 mile hike at the end of a dirt road. The Founder's Tree was an easy walk, not far from the parking lot. We headed back down the Avenue of the Giants, choosing to eat at the Chimney Tree Grill near the south end of the Avenue of the Giants.

Sunday, October 31: The last day up in the redwoods featured the highlight of the trip for me: a 3+ mile hike through old-growth redwoods just off the Avenue of the Giants. If you think preserving old-growth forests isn't necessary, take a nice long walk among these redwoods, and the undergrowth, and maybe you'll change your mind. And, to top it off, Janet's Nikon came back to life, but the macro lens she had on the camera at the Fern Canyon Dunking didn't make it...bummer.

I didn't record the name of the grove we hiked, but it's one of many named groves on the Avenue of the Giants, which I'd consider one of the Top 10 drives in the world. It could have been the Stephen's Grove, or the Franklin K. Lane Grove, but you get the point. Take a SLOW drive up or down, or up and down, the Avenue of the Giants and take a spin through every grove on that spectacular drive! I'll close this by posting some of the pictures from those last two days walking among the giants.