| 9/22/03 We woke up at the Grayback campground after we had a fire last night. Kim got the bike out and hooked up Ginger to Springer. Ginger looked very regal as she was the chosen one to go bike riding. Kim and her took off down the way. I could hear barking from different parts of the campground and I figured that�s where they were. When they got back, Ginger looked very pleased and it was then Sam�s turn to get hooked up. Sam and I drove around all the loops. It was so much fun having her trot beside me. When we got back to camp, Ginger was so excited that she tackled Sam. We left the campground and headed for the Redwood forest. The trees started to get larger and more spectacular. |
| We took a turn down a side road and looked at the giant trees surrounding us. We came to the end of the road and it became very rocky. Not very good terrain for our trailer but we did it anyway and went far away from people so we could boondock. |
| Sam and Ginger loved it and were all smiles as they got to run full bore around the bushes. We fired up the generator and had air conditioning and lunch in full comfort. It took some finagling to get out of the rocks but soon we were hooked up and headed down the road. We found another side road shortly after and took it. There was a trail at the side of the road and Sam and I went down it. Gorgeous redwood trees loomed above us and made me feel very small. |
| Some of the roots were bigger than me! Soon Ginger and Kim met us on the trail and there was a happy dog reunion. They do not like to be separated from anyone or each other. From the large forest, we were soon going towards the coast and the smell of the ocean overtook us. We found a lighthouse built in the late 1800s and we followed the signs to the ocean. |
| We hiked up to the island and saw the structures up close from high on the cliff. All around were little islands off the coast and the water crashed upon the rocks. We could hear seals barking in the distance but we couldn�t see them! Elegant birds with long necks sat perched on their perspective rocks waiting for dinner to float by them. |
| It was a beautiful day and there was a breeze from the ocean as we hiked back through the tidepools. It was time to find camp and we went down the coast a ways. We found Elk Prairie Camp Ground? and went on in to find a place. We were both tired and hungry. We found a place where we could pull through and not detach our trailer and we set up camp. I was in for a treat because all around us were ripe blackberries! I had a feast before dinner. Kim made a fire and we cooked cut onions and mushrooms with chicken and my boca burger. It turned out really good in the flames. My stomach was humming and I got a second wind from being exhausted all day. We sat by the fire and all around us people burned fires and you could see the smoke just below the horizon. But high above us were the billions of stars and Jupiter just rising on the horizon. The dogs lay beside us and it got colder and colder as the fire died down. It is so much fun going from the cold into a warm camper. |
| Northern California: the Redwoods and the Pacific |
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