All packed and ready to go

On my way up to visit my son, his wife and my grandson I stopped for the night for a stroll among the redwood groves. I stayed at the Burlington Campground in the Humboldt Redwoods State Park of northern California just north of Meyers Flat. Situated along the Avenue of the Giants, a 31 mile long country road that passes through 51,222 acres of stunning redwood giants.

Paralleling Highway 101 it provides an outstanding display of these magnificent trees. This state park is just a small section of the 500-mile redwood belt, the largest remaining virgin stand of redwood trees in the world. It is a beautiful place to picnic, hike, camp, raft, bike or just experience the silence in the groves. There are plenty of tourist sites and attractions to visit and some pretty good B&B’s around, from what I have read.

I had a long drive from southern California. I got up at 3 AM to leave and did not arriving until 4 in the afternoon. This is in an area where, during the summer, you must expect plenty of delays due to road repair. I hit my fair share of construction zones due to this.

Interstate 5 the straight boring highway of the central Valley, CA

Highway 20

Finally off Interstate 5

Clear Lake

A quick lunch

The Avenue of the Giants

The Avenue of the Giants

Arriving 2 hours later than I expected, I parked in my campsite and immediately went across the road to a wonderful nature trail between the Avenue of the Giants and the South Fork of the Eel River. Camera and tripod in hand I stopped often to investigate many places that looked interesting.

Campsite

Campsite

It was already getting dark under the magnificent trees but I stayed out for 2 hours walking and taking photos among the giants.

Trail along Avenue of the Giants

Decaying giant

Decaying giant

Decaying giant

Walk among the giants

Forest Debri

Forest Debri

Quiet trail under the redwoods

Forest floor growth

Decaying giant

Lovely ending to the day

A quiet place to sit and relax

Follow me to the light

Downed giant

Small dry creek

I wanted to go back to the campsite, finish setting up camp, eat dinner then go set up the camera by the river to photograph the night sky but Mother Nature had her own ideas and the clouds moved in rather fast to block the sky completely.

My sleeping area for the night

So back for the evening meal in the dark under the canopy of trees I sat down to enjoy dinner. Finishing dinner I was going to put up the tent for the night but I decided I was just too tired after the long day of driving and walking. So since it was just an overnight stay, I moved things around in my car and slept in the back. Such a peaceful nights sleep, the campground was very quiet all night.

I left at 7AM the next morning after a quick breakfast for the final 8 hour leg of my drive to Vancouver, WA where I spent a wonderful 2 days visiting the family.

Dark and foggy at 7AM

Highway 101

Highway 101

Highway 101

Paul Bunyan and Babe the blue ox

Farmland on the 101

Along the road to Crescent City, CA

The seashore at Orick, CA

Seashore at Orick, CA