Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Waldo in the" Wedwoods"

"Where's Waldo?" is a series of children's books with full-page illustrations of hundreds of people, typically depicted in a frenzy of activity. The reader is to find a character named Waldo hidden in the group.

These photos show Redwoods in their magnificent glory. Your challenge is to find "Ed~Waldo" in each photo.

(You can click on each photo for a larger version.
Then go to the top left corner and click the "back" arrow to return to this page.)


p.s. Mary was there, too!

Redwood Patterns

The patterns of the bark, branches and roots are interesting.

Most of the redwood bark is deeply grooved.

The leaves patterns on each tree are different.

The roots are unique, too.

The burls (sort of knots) that grow randomly are puzzling.

We're both still amazed at the size of these trees! If the trunk (below) is this big after laying on the ground long enough for another whole forest to grow out of and over it, think how big it was when it was standing!

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Under Tsunami Advisory Here

We are in Bayside RV Park at the harbor in Crescent City, California. At 9:00 p.m. we'll be under a Tsunami Advisory. They predict that the waves might swell one or two feet but no flooding is expected.

We're scheduled to leave tomorrow morning anyway so hopefully that'll work out.

We've been on the coast since September 2nd and have eaten lots of wonderful seafood. We went out for our last fresh fish meal this evening. I had fish and chips and Ed had salmon and chips. I'm going to miss the beautiful coastal scenery and those remarkable redwood trees.

Monday, September 28, 2009

Trees of Mystery

We've been reading about Trees of Mystery for a while. It's about 15 miles south of Crescent City and since Sunday was fairly sunny, we decided to go. Even when it's sunny, the fog/low clouds are still there.

Travel brochures show this Paul Bunyan statue but I didn't realize it was so huge.
Ed and I are standing by his right boot.
The overhead lift ride gives a view of these trees from above.
From the top, we could see the ocean.A few unique touches:
Walking sticks are there for you to borrow.
At the top of this mountain, there's a designated smoking area.
This forest has some redwoods but many other types as well.



This is a Sitka Spruce that is the world's largest family tree with 12 living trees in one tree with only one trunk.


You can see two of the trees growing off a limb. There are 12 of those.



Redwood bark has neither pitch nor resin and contains a lot of water. It is impervious to disease, insects and fire.
The elephant tree.
These redwoods grew together and this is called the Cathedral.
There are many weddings held here.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Supper near Sea Lions

Saturday morning we went to get our flu shots at the pharmacy of the local Safeway grocery store. Ed watched football most of the afternoon. We took a drive and tried to go on a trail that supposedly went to the beach north of Crescent City. The road with the loop we wanted to drive had a locked gate -- bummer.

We started considering what to have for supper and began stopping at various restaurants to get their menus. We talked to a couple from The Netherlands, Annegreet and Peter, and gave them a lift to the restaurant by the floating docks where the sea lions hang out.
Annegreet was as excited as I was about the sea lions and they did give a good show.
The Duet
It's a tough life!
Ed and I disagree on this one...
Don't you think the little fellow below has facial expression?

Oh, geez, will they ever finish with the photo shoot?
Oh, what a beautiful morning, oh what a beautiful day!
At one point, they stopped barking and all activity ceased. Ed and I walked out on the dock with a ramp and as we got closer, a big bull came swimming up and literally jumped out of the water onto the dock. We got a few pictures and learned when we got back to shore that you must stay 100 feet away and if you get closer you could get a $10,000.00 fine!

We ended up having dinner with Angreet and Peter. Annegreet is a journalist and Peter is a retired economist. We had a lovely time with them and talked about all sorts of things regarding the USA and The Netherlands and about life in general.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Not Fussing about Fog

Now that I know that the existence of the redwoods is dependent on fog, I welcome it!

Crescent City, CA seems to have fog in the mornings. Actually, that works well for us because we like to sleep late, drink coffee and read email. So by the time we're ready to get going, the fog is starting to lift.....usually...

But not Friday. It was thick all day -- almost looked like wisps of cotton blowing here and there. Ed enjoyed some extra time to watch football. We did take a drive and shopped for a few groceries.

In the course of our drive, we happened upon a bride being escorted by her dad down to their "wedding rock".


It was a dramatic setting for a wedding.
The groom's outfit was a little unusual...wish my telephoto camera lens was stronger!
These views are in town on a street by the ocean.
Good night, fog. We hope to see you in the morning!