Driving through twisty turny mountain roads we felt as though we were never going to be out of the mountains. It was strange to know that we were just minutes from the coast but we were still driving up and down mountains. One of the best things about the state of North Carolina is that we have access to both mountains and a nice beach. California rivals NC here especially since to mountains almost hug the coastline. Talk about awesome. We finally made it back to highway 1 and up the coast we went. Highway 1 is a neat road and I am really glad that we were able to see so much of it. It is strange how this highway goes from million dollar homes to the projects in a 
minute or two. We started to see less and less ocean and more and more giant trees. These trees were so remarkable to see that no words or pictures will truly do them justice. It was fascinating to drive beneath them because it was like being in a crowd of giants where you can look up and only see their long legs and torso’s but not their faces. This was later overshadowed by the sensation of walking below and between them. We pulled up to the start park within the Redwood Forest that where we had a campsite. It was aptly named Elk Prairie. As we were driving up we saw a group of Elk grazing in a field and one strange male Elk who appeared to be scratching his giant antlers on a tree in someone’s front yard. As he tossed his head to and fro little limbs of the tree were flying all about him. It made him look very wild and fearsome. We drove past thinking they would just be everywhere around here and we would be able to get a better picture somewhere off the road. This ended up not being true 
because although they were our welcoming committee they did not make another appearance where we were in the days to come. Sadly the weather had taken a turn south and the fog had rolled in. The temperature was somewhere in the 40’s is my guess it could have been lower – or at least it felt lower. This caused me to start to get sick. It was a bummer to get a cold in the middle of summer but I suppose that is what happens when you spend weeks in the desert and then find yourself at the redwoods during a cold, foggy, damp time. My throat started to get scratchy and hurt and between sneezes I had to cough or you know how it goes. It was not incredibly fun to be camping while you know you are getting sick and when you know that doing so will probably only make things worse, but what were we to do? We made a pretty nice fire to try and keep warm, which 
was nice. Nothing warms the heart like a campfire. The next day although it was a bit overcast and not what I would call warm the sun was trying to come out. It was actually warm once we were out of the forest, but we were at the redwoods and therefore we wanted to be engulfed by the giant forest. As we were walking around I felt out of place. It looked as though a dinosaur should have popped his head out at any moment to snack on the giant ferns that covered the forest floor. Everything seemed larger here the leaves of some floor dwelling plants were as long as I am. Some of the clovers
were the size of a palm and the leaves of course were hearts. One side was green while the other was purple. A lot of the trees were covered in part by moss, which I always think is so beautiful. The trees were so very tall that it made me stumble to look up at them. When I would lift my head to try and see where the branches begin, I had tilt my neck back so far that I would lose my balance. You know what it is like to try and look up and walk at the same time - it is not always easy. Brad seemed to do a much better jon than I did though. I can't remember him stumbling once. I guess looking up at trees that big made everything else feel out of place and strange in a way. Not only were they tall but the size of their circumference blew me away almost every time I walked beside one of the giants. Since the trees were so tall not much light had a chance to filter down and the air smelled green like a forest and was wet. We journeyed on a hike without a real destination, which ended up being really fun. At each split of the trail we would make a decision right then about what to do next. We walked through an old growth forest and next to a creek. We hiked through a prairie where we picked wild blackberries and raspberries. We then walked through many different parts of the redwood forest where there were giant sequoias as well as coast redwoods. We walked through parts of the forest where the trees were smaller and younger with more moss covering them. This gave the light an eerie green color, but in a good way if you can imagine that. The mossy branches hung down and made an arch walkway along some portions of the trail. Then there would randomly be one of the massive giant trees that took your breat
h away to look at. When we walked up to one of these we could not help it but to walk around it and look up trying in vain to see all the way up to the top. There were many of these giants that were "lover trees" or trees that share a root system and the beginning of a trunk but they then split into two or more trees towards the top. These were really neat to see. One interesting thing we learned about the redwoods is they have a relatively shallow root system, but they intertwine their roots with their neighbors thus reinforcing their roots as well as those redwoods around them. In a way it is like they are holding hands to keep from falling over in the wind. Although the redwoods are taller and super neat Brad and I both were more impressed with the Giant Sequoias. They were just the most magnificent plants I have ever seen. They are resistant to fire, or as fire resistant as a plant can be. Some of the pictures taken from within a tree looking out or up, or those taken from outside looking through or into a tree are pictures of trees that have had some fire damage but are still standing. Here is brad standing inside one of these
minute or two. We started to see less and less ocean and more and more giant trees. These trees were so remarkable to see that no words or pictures will truly do them justice. It was fascinating to drive beneath them because it was like being in a crowd of giants where you can look up and only see their long legs and torso’s but not their faces. This was later overshadowed by the sensation of walking below and between them. We pulled up to the start park within the Redwood Forest that where we had a campsite. It was aptly named Elk Prairie. As we were driving up we saw a group of Elk grazing in a field and one strange male Elk who appeared to be scratching his giant antlers on a tree in someone’s front yard. As he tossed his head to and fro little limbs of the tree were flying all about him. It made him look very wild and fearsome. We drove past thinking they would just be everywhere around here and we would be able to get a better picture somewhere off the road. This ended up not being true 
because although they were our welcoming committee they did not make another appearance where we were in the days to come. Sadly the weather had taken a turn south and the fog had rolled in. The temperature was somewhere in the 40’s is my guess it could have been lower – or at least it felt lower. This caused me to start to get sick. It was a bummer to get a cold in the middle of summer but I suppose that is what happens when you spend weeks in the desert and then find yourself at the redwoods during a cold, foggy, damp time. My throat started to get scratchy and hurt and between sneezes I had to cough or you know how it goes. It was not incredibly fun to be camping while you know you are getting sick and when you know that doing so will probably only make things worse, but what were we to do? We made a pretty nice fire to try and keep warm, which 
was nice. Nothing warms the heart like a campfire. The next day although it was a bit overcast and not what I would call warm the sun was trying to come out. It was actually warm once we were out of the forest, but we were at the redwoods and therefore we wanted to be engulfed by the giant forest. As we were walking around I felt out of place. It looked as though a dinosaur should have popped his head out at any moment to snack on the giant ferns that covered the forest floor. Everything seemed larger here the leaves of some floor dwelling plants were as long as I am. Some of the clovers
were the size of a palm and the leaves of course were hearts. One side was green while the other was purple. A lot of the trees were covered in part by moss, which I always think is so beautiful. The trees were so very tall that it made me stumble to look up at them. When I would lift my head to try and see where the branches begin, I had tilt my neck back so far that I would lose my balance. You know what it is like to try and look up and walk at the same time - it is not always easy. Brad seemed to do a much better jon than I did though. I can't remember him stumbling once. I guess looking up at trees that big made everything else feel out of place and strange in a way. Not only were they tall but the size of their circumference blew me away almost every time I walked beside one of the giants. Since the trees were so tall not much light had a chance to filter down and the air smelled green like a forest and was wet. We journeyed on a hike without a real destination, which ended up being really fun. At each split of the trail we would make a decision right then about what to do next. We walked through an old growth forest and next to a creek. We hiked through a prairie where we picked wild blackberries and raspberries. We then walked through many different parts of the redwood forest where there were giant sequoias as well as coast redwoods. We walked through parts of the forest where the trees were smaller and younger with more moss covering them. This gave the light an eerie green color, but in a good way if you can imagine that. The mossy branches hung down and made an arch walkway along some portions of the trail. Then there would randomly be one of the massive giant trees that took your breat
h away to look at. When we walked up to one of these we could not help it but to walk around it and look up trying in vain to see all the way up to the top. There were many of these giants that were "lover trees" or trees that share a root system and the beginning of a trunk but they then split into two or more trees towards the top. These were really neat to see. One interesting thing we learned about the redwoods is they have a relatively shallow root system, but they intertwine their roots with their neighbors thus reinforcing their roots as well as those redwoods around them. In a way it is like they are holding hands to keep from falling over in the wind. Although the redwoods are taller and super neat Brad and I both were more impressed with the Giant Sequoias. They were just the most magnificent plants I have ever seen. They are resistant to fire, or as fire resistant as a plant can be. Some of the pictures taken from within a tree looking out or up, or those taken from outside looking through or into a tree are pictures of trees that have had some fire damage but are still standing. Here is brad standing inside one of these
And this is what he saw when he looked up...
I was glad that we found our way to some of these because standing inside on of these giants and looking out gave perspective to how big they really are. It was fun simply walking near these trees, but we were able to climb on some of them and walk inside others. I am glad this area is protected, there is a story about the tree called "Big Tree" that in the 1920’s a man wanted to cut it down to have a dance floor on the stump. This tree is still standing and is one of the jewels of the park and for that I am glad. It is sad that people have to step in and prevent people from ruining the amazing things of the world for future generations. We did not see a ton of wildlife here but we know that they are here. 
We did see a Banana Slug, and as far as slugs go this is a pretty cool one. There is a salamander here named the giant salamander, and I really wanted to see one of these. I did not only want to see one of these because they are large but because they are the only salamanders that has a voice, they bark at you. We poked our heads around a creek or two but we were not lucky enough to see this rare animal. We were able to stay here a couple of nights and although it misted often we were not stuck in a downpour. I still managed to get more and more sick. The fact that the shower I chose only had cold water 
probably did not help this. Our stash of quarters was stolen by the idiots who broke into our car, so we now have a limited supply. I was standing there outside in a towel shivering in the misty morning trying to figure out if it was the shower or me and trying to get more change to warm up with. So you can imagine my cough deepened and my sniffles increased. We also were able to see these pretty mountain blue jays. Although they are pretty they are annoying and pesky so we tried to keep a clean camp so as not to attract them. They made the most horrible noise and they are a problem to other more rare birds in the area. I hope to come back to the Redwood Forest and to go to the Sequoia Park a bit further south. These trees were so cool and hiking in these giant forests is something I will always remember.
We did see a Banana Slug, and as far as slugs go this is a pretty cool one. There is a salamander here named the giant salamander, and I really wanted to see one of these. I did not only want to see one of these because they are large but because they are the only salamanders that has a voice, they bark at you. We poked our heads around a creek or two but we were not lucky enough to see this rare animal. We were able to stay here a couple of nights and although it misted often we were not stuck in a downpour. I still managed to get more and more sick. The fact that the shower I chose only had cold water 
probably did not help this. Our stash of quarters was stolen by the idiots who broke into our car, so we now have a limited supply. I was standing there outside in a towel shivering in the misty morning trying to figure out if it was the shower or me and trying to get more change to warm up with. So you can imagine my cough deepened and my sniffles increased. We also were able to see these pretty mountain blue jays. Although they are pretty they are annoying and pesky so we tried to keep a clean camp so as not to attract them. They made the most horrible noise and they are a problem to other more rare birds in the area. I hope to come back to the Redwood Forest and to go to the Sequoia Park a bit further south. These trees were so cool and hiking in these giant forests is something I will always remember. 
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