THURSDAY - Today's travel route was a pleasant little 80-mile drive north on US-101. The route included a stop for fuel where we paid a record breaking $5.97⁹ for a gallon of gas. I never thought I'd say this, but we were lucky to pay it, because everywhere else the prices were $6.15 to $6.35 a gallon.
We also made a stop at Walmart for a few grocery items, but had to go to another grocery store to refill our drinking water bottles and pickup some fresh vegetables.
With those chores taken care of it was soon time to set up our new campsite at Sue-meg State Park. We reserved the only campsite in the park with an ocean view, but it comes with the heavy price of having very little opportunity for collecting any solar on our panels.
We arrived with a 96% SOC on our 900-amp hrs. of lithium batteries, but I'm not sure we can stretch that out to last 7-nights at this campground.
Campsite #99 here is plenty big enough for ROVER and THE POD...
...but you can see why we are not getting any solar on our 7-panels on THE POD. Luckily I can position ROVER and his 3-panels out in the little bit of sun our site does get.
Like I said, this is the only site with a partial view of the Pacific Ocean.
Sue-meg State Park the first of three campgrounds where we are going to be staying to visit the 139,000-acre Redwood National Park.
FRIDAY - Tricia started her morning at 6:45AM with a walk down to Agate Beach from here in the campground.
Being able to see it from our campsite got her curiosity up and with a convientent path from the campground down to the beach it was just to much to resist.
AGATE BEACH AT SUE-MEG STATE PARK
SLIDE NUMBER
1
OF
7
The view of Agate Beach 200' below the campground.
SLIDE NUMBER
2
OF
7
Lucily there is a pathway directly down to the beach from the campground.
SLIDE NUMBER
3
OF
7
THE POD is somewhere up on that cliff on the left.
SLIDE NUMBER
4
OF
7
They don't call this Agate Beach for nothin', you won't find any sand here!
SLIDE NUMBER
5
OF
7
Of course it's not only rocks that you'll find down here on the beach.
SLIDE NUMBER
6
OF
7
OK, walk's over! Time to go explore Redwood National Park.
SLIDE NUMBER
7
OF
7
Almost back to the campground now.
Redwood National Park has four developed campgrounds where we would be able to camp for half price, thanks to my Lifetime Senior Pass, but THE POD at 28' is too long to fit into any of the campgrounds.
So, we'll have to camp outside of the park and drive in each day. Sue-meg State Park is about 17-miles south of the park and the Kuchel Visitor Center, our first stop this morning.
It's time to get my Passport Book stamped, watch the park movie and gather up some information from the Rangers about what there is to see in the southern end of the park.
REDWOOD NATIONAL PARK
OUR NATIONAL PARK CHALLENGE: TO VISIT ALL 51 NATIONAL PARKS LOCATED IN THE LOWER 48 STATES
COMPLETED
PROGRESS BAR
STILL TO GO
43
8
LADY BIRD JOHNSON GROVE
SLIDE NUMBER
1
OF
14
2.7-miles off US-101, up Bald Hill Road, is the trailhead for the Lady Bird Johnson Trail.
SLIDE NUMBER
2
OF
14
It starts off with a wooden pedestrian bridge over Bald Hill Road.
SLIDE NUMBER
3
OF
14
As usual, I'm in the lead while Tricia is busy snapping photographs.
SLIDE NUMBER
4
OF
14
Unlike the Founders Grove, this grove has quite a bit of undergrowth, not good if there's a fire.
SLIDE NUMBER
5
OF
14
Redwood National Park was established on October 2, 1968 by President Johnson, then President Nixon on August 27, 1969 dedicated this grove as Lady Bird Johnson Grove.
SLIDE NUMBER
6
OF
14
Here's me doing a terrible impression of the "Double V Sign" made famous by Richard Nixon. For Nixon it meant "Victory", which only later came to be known as a "Peace Sign".
SLIDE NUMBER
7
OF
14
Standing in front of another burned out live redwood tree.
SLIDE NUMBER
8
OF
14
There were quite a few fern plants in the undergrowth of this grove.
SLIDE NUMBER
9
OF
14
I suspect passing hikers have had a hand in the dismantling of this downed redwood.
SLIDE NUMBER
10
OF
14
Another live redwood who's trunk is completely hollowed out.
SLIDE NUMBER
11
OF
14
Here the trail went right between two giant redwood trees.
SLIDE NUMBER
12
OF
14
Again, not an uncommon sight when a tree falls across the trail.
SLIDE NUMBER
13
OF
14
That bridge means we are close to the end of the hike.
SLIDE NUMBER
14
OF
14
Another 4-miles up Bald Hill Road is a scenic overlook. Let's go check it out!
There's is a nice little clearing in the trees with a couple of picnic tables and benches.
An overview of southern region of Redwoods National Park.
There's the Redwood Creek, way down at the bottom of the valley.
After a quick lunch from a roadside "food truck" type location in the small town of Orick (pop. 328), we were off to our second and final hike of the day.
TRILLIUM FALLS
SLIDE NUMBER
1
OF
16
The base of this redwood has sustained some damage, but the burls around the base of the tree are doing what they're supposed to do, sprout new redwood trees.
SLIDE NUMBER
2
OF
16
They warn you about walking among the redwoods under high winds, but we should be safe today with the wind gusts at just 9MPH.
SLIDE NUMBER
3
OF
16
The root ball of this downed redwood has split in half over time.
SLIDE NUMBER
4
OF
16
They had to place a foot bridge over the hole this tree left when it fell.
SLIDE NUMBER
5
OF
16
We surely have walked a half a mile by now. We must be getting close to the falls.
SLIDE NUMBER
6
OF
16
I can hear the falls now and those people down there on the bridge are looking at something.
SLIDE NUMBER
7
OF
16
That's a pretty substantial bridge to be out here a half mile in the woods.
SLIDE NUMBER
8
OF
16
These are not redwood roots, but they sure do look interesting...
SLIDE NUMBER
9
OF
16
...and make the perfect place to rest while Tricia takes a couple videos of Trillium Falls.
SLIDE NUMBER
10
OF
16
Trillium Falls as it passes under the center of the bridge we crossed.
SLIDE NUMBER
11
OF
16
SLIDE NUMBER
12
OF
16
Trillium Falls is named after the abundant number of Pacific Trillium found nearby.
SLIDE NUMBER
13
OF
16
The Pacific Trillium usually blooms from late fall to early summer, but we were lucky today.
SLIDE NUMBER
14
OF
16
Heading back, the same locations on the trail look entirely different.
SLIDE NUMBER
15
OF
16
SLIDE NUMBER
16
OF
16
That 1-mile roundtrip hike was well worth the visit to Trillium Falls.
We've got one more stop on the way back to the campsite.
It's simply called "Ocean by the Road" on Google Maps and is just inside Redwood National Park's southern coastal boundary.
There is a steep narrow road that takes you down to the beach of the large lagoon area.
There are several of these lagoons along the coast here, some look almost manmade.
We'll take tomorrow and the next day off from exploring so I can get this post started.
MONDAY - Last month ROVER turned 8-years old!
Today he's going in for his 150,000-mile oil change, albeit around 500-miles early. I used my FORD Points to pay the bill and still have plenty left for the next oil change.
While there I purchased myself a brand new black FORD F-150 ball cap for the reasonable price of just $22, but forgot to use my points, so I paid using a credit card and incurred a 2% markup. That's OK, because the card I used has a 2% cash rebate when I use it.
We had one empty, and one near empty, 30-lb. propane bottle on THE POD, so we swapped them both out with our spare full bottle and took the two empties to Tractor Supply to refill.
After a stop at two different grocery stores, we were headed back home for lunch. By the time the groceries were put away and lunch was finished it was just after 2:00PM, too late to start the Fern Canyon hike that was at least 45-minutes away.
We'll just have to postpone it until tomorrow after breakfast, or maybe even wait until after lunch.
TUESDAY - Today we're heading north, back into the park, to hike the Fern Canyon Trail. This trail requires a permit between May and October, luckily there's still 3-days left in April, so no permit needed today.
This trail is famous for the 50' tall walls of ferns that were featured in the 1997 sequel movie, "The Lost World: Jurassic Park".
We are literally going to "get our feet wet" on this hike, as we have to cross back and forth over the ankle deep Home Creek several times along the trail.
FERN CANYON TRAIL
SLIDE NUMBER
1
OF
28
What this sign doesn't mention is that the 8-miles of road between the highway and the Fern Canyon trailhead is a narrow, winding forest gravel road filled with potholes.
SLIDE NUMBER
2
OF
28
Even so, 30-minutes later we were on the trail headed for Fern Canyon.
SLIDE NUMBER
3
OF
28
Just .1-mile from the parking lot is the beginning of Fern Canyon.
SLIDE NUMBER
4
OF
28
Later in the season the park installs foot bridges over the deeper sections of the trail.
SLIDE NUMBER
5
OF
28
Today there are no bridges, so we're going to get our feet wet.
SLIDE NUMBER
6
OF
28
Tricia is ready with her "water shoes" on.
SLIDE NUMBER
7
OF
28
Me? I'm wearing my water resisteant hi-top hiking boots.
SLIDE NUMBER
8
OF
28
Fern Canyon was featured in the 1993 Jurrasic Park movie. Any second now I expect to see a T-Rex come running down the creek bed at us.
SLIDE NUMBER
9
OF
28
It does look other worldly in here with the 50' high canyon walls covered with ferns.
SLIDE NUMBER
10
OF
28
I don't think the water levels ever get high enough to move these logs around. I suspect they stay pretty much in the same location where they originally fell.
SLIDE NUMBER
11
OF
28
The "weeping walls" in this section were really covered with ferns.
SLIDE NUMBER
12
OF
28
SLIDE NUMBER
13
OF
28
Honey! What do we do now?
SLIDE NUMBER
14
OF
28
The deeper we went, the tougher it became to keep moving forward.
SLIDE NUMBER
15
OF
28
Then it opened up into a beautiful narrow section of the canyon.
SLIDE NUMBER
16
OF
28
SLIDE NUMBER
17
OF
28
SLIDE NUMBER
18
OF
28
SLIDE NUMBER
19
OF
28
SLIDE NUMBER
20
OF
28
We should be pretty close to the point where the trail transitions up to the canyon rim.
SLIDE NUMBER
21
OF
28
I completely missed that little brown arrow on the right side of the photo, but I did spot those manmade stairs over on the left side of the canyon.
SLIDE NUMBER
22
OF
28
This is where you start the climb out of the canyon and begin your return to the start.
SLIDE NUMBER
23
OF
28
It's going to take more stairs than that to get out of this canyon.
SLIDE NUMBER
24
OF
28
That's what I thought, still more stairs to climb.
SLIDE NUMBER
25
OF
28
Finally, level ground up on the rim of the Fern Canyon.
SLIDE NUMBER
26
OF
28
SLIDE NUMBER
27
OF
28
SLIDE NUMBER
28
OF
28
Soon we were back down at water level and just .1-mile from the parking lot.
On the way to and then again on the way back from our hike today we passed by a campground named Elk Country RV and true to the name they have a resident herd of elk that hang out at their park.
By law you're not allowed to fence them in, but if you properly mow your property and expose the tasty grass the elk will stick around all year long. Such I suspect is the case here!
We drove by at 1:30PM on the way to the hike and most of the herd were relaxing under a tree.
At 4:30PM when we passed by again they were grazing by the front gate near the road.
Looking for our Visited States Map and Data? How about our State by State Bucket Lists or Visited Campgrounds List? If so, click on the sign below to be taken to our other website.
Lucily there is a pathway directly down to the beach from the campground.
They don't call this Agate Beach for nothin', you won't find any sand here!
Of course it's not only rocks that you'll find down here on the beach.
OK, walk's over! Time to go explore Redwood National Park.
Almost back to the campground now.
2.7-miles off US-101, up Bald Hill Road, is the trailhead for the Lady Bird Johnson Trail.
It starts off with a wooden pedestrian bridge over Bald Hill Road.
As usual, I'm in the lead while Tricia is busy snapping photographs.
Unlike the Founders Grove, this grove has quite a bit of undergrowth, not good if there's a fire.
Redwood National Park was established on October 2, 1968 by President Johnson,
Here's me doing a terrible impression of the "Double V Sign" made famous by Richard Nixon.
Standing in front of another burned out live redwood tree.
I suspect passing hikers have had a hand in the dismantling of this downed redwood.
Another live redwood who's trunk is completely hollowed out.
Here the trail went right between two giant redwood trees.
Again, not an uncommon sight when a tree falls across the trail.
That bridge means we are close to the end of the hike.
Another 4-miles up Bald Hill Road is a scenic overlook. Let's go check it out!
The base of this redwood has sustained some damage, but the burls around
They warn you about walking among the redwoods under high winds,
The root ball of this downed redwood has split in half over time.
They had to place a foot bridge over the hole this tree left when it fell.
We surely have walked a half a mile by now. We must be getting close to the falls.
I can hear the falls now and those people down there on the bridge are looking at something.
That's a pretty substantial bridge to be out here a half mile in the woods.
These are not redwood roots, but they sure do look interesting...
...and make the perfect place to rest while Tricia takes a couple videos of Trillium Falls.
Trillium Falls is named after the abundant number of Pacific Trillium found nearby.
The Pacific Trillium usually blooms from late fall to early summer, but we were lucky today.
Heading back, the same locations on the trail look entirely different.
That 1-mile roundtrip hike was well worth the visit to Trillium Falls.
What this sign doesn't mention is that the 8-miles of road between the highway and the
Even so, 30-minutes later we were on the trail headed for Fern Canyon.
Just .1-mile from the parking lot is the beginning of Fern Canyon.
Later in the season the park installs foot bridges over the deeper sections of the trail.
Today there are no bridges, so we're going to get our feet wet.
Tricia is ready with her "water shoes" on.
Me? I'm wearing my water resisteant hi-top hiking boots.
Fern Canyon was featured in the 1993 Jurrasic Park movie.
It does look other worldly in here with the 50' high canyon walls covered with ferns.
I don't think the water levels ever get high enough to move these logs around.
The "weeping walls" in this section were really covered with ferns.
Honey! What do we do now?
The deeper we went, the tougher it became to keep moving forward.
Then it opened up into a beautiful narrow section of the canyon.
We should be pretty close to the point where the trail transitions up to the canyon rim.
I completely missed that little brown arrow on the right side of the photo,
This is where you start the climb out of the canyon and begin your return to the start.
It's going to take more stairs than that to get out of this canyon.
That's what I thought, still more stairs to climb.
Finally, level ground up on the rim of the Fern Canyon.
Soon we were back down at water level and just .1-mile from the parking lot.
