Northern California

Sunday I started out my drive along the california coast which led me to the Trees of Mystery in Klamath, California.  When you first get there you are greeted by huge statues of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox.  Paul greets you and tells you about the park and will answer questions for you if you ask him, which is kind of creepy hearing a huge statue talking to you and responding to the things you ask, lol!  I took the hike and was surrounded by a bunch of redwood and other trees that had very unique features about them.  Some of the trees in there have even been featured on Ripley's Believe It or Not.  There was the family tree which had other trees growing out from some of the branches on it, the elephant tree which the roots of it looked like elephant trunks, the cathedral tree, where several trees had grown so close together it looked like a cathedral and the candelabra tree.  I opted to pay the money to get to go on the sky trail which took you on a trip up through the trees on a fixed gondola.  When you got to the top you could have a panoramic view of all the surrounding forests and trees around you.  It was a little scary going up, considering we had to slow down and stop a few times so the people could get on and off down below, but it wasn't as bad as i thought.  The ride down was a lot better and a lot quicker i thought too.  After the trees of mystery i decided to hit up the Ladybird Johnson Grove in Redwood National Park.  It was a pretty hike with more redwoods and a few unique trees along the way.  The thing i liked the best were the rhododendron flowers i saw while walking the trail.  The pink flowers were so pretty and just added to the beauty of the trees that surrounded them.  From there i took the Avenue of the Giants route, which is an alternate and more scenic drive.  The drive was so beautiful and seemed kind of enchanted at times as you were just surrounded by the huge redwoods on either side of the road.  A short stop off i took was to the eternal treehouse, where they had a little gift shop and an outdoor living room you could sit in and relax.  There was also a wishing well, which i had to make a wish in, and an old man playing music on a wooden flute.  It was such a pretty day and there was a slight breeze that i sat outside for awhile and just took it all in.  I then made a stop off at the Founder's Grove and took the most relaxing and peaceful hike i've taken so far.  The trees were pretty, but it was the quietness and peacefulness that sucked me in and made me want to stay there for hours.  The sun was shining perfectly through the trees and you could hear the birds singing, and you just wanted to get lost in all of it and never come out from the trail.   My last stop of the day, was the drive thru tree in Leggett.  It is definitely as cool as you think it would be and even though it's kind of a tight squeeze, most cars can make it through.  I ended up my day driving along highway 1, which at times can be exhausting because of so many twists and turns, but the views of the ocean when you see them definitely makes up for it.