Into California
On the way to the Park we took some pictures of a Golden Eagle we saw and the coastline before turning inland for a few miles into the State Park. (See Photographs)
Camp Ground
We found a superb site on the campground alongside the Smith River and after taking a walk through the trails we took several trips to the river and collected firewood for our campfire. The redwoods were certainly magnificent and we felt belittled by their sheer scale and majesty.
Once settled in we started the campfire and barbeque and settled down to a night beneath the redwoods after first getting the canopy on the side of the RV set for the first time.
Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park via 101 (Very Old) Coastal Road
After failing to find a trail by bike along the Smith River as intended we headed back to 101 and deviated of onto the old 101 which proved to somewhat of a test for RV and in particular the driver. The road, read track with gravel and muddy bits that had subsided into one very steep section we emerged the other side unscathed. to run down through the Newton Drury Scenic Parkway to arrive at Prairie Creek.
Prairie Creek Camp Ground
As we arrived at the Camp Ground we noticed a small group of Elk which we took photographs and video. (See Video) 320x240 2.8MB. We then found a lovely spot and prepared our evening meal and we invited to join in a candlelight evening involving a walk and story telling in the forest. (See Photographs) In the morning we walked in the local forest area and found a bull Elk grazing on private property and we got very close to get some great pictures. (See Photographs). We also took video of a very busy woodpecker (See Video) 320x240 4.1MB
Prairie Creek to Eureka
On the way we found another herd of Elk resting in a meadow area (See Video) 320x240 3.1MB. A little further down the road we came across a large herd of Roosevelt Elk crossing the road and again we took photographs and video. (See Photographs) (See Video) 320x240 2.9MB. We then made a dash to Eureka and spent the evening and night processing all the data.
Eureka to Redding
We left Eureka headed North to Highway 299 on an Easterly heading with no expectations of any particular views or points of interest. however we were pleasantly surprised to find that the views long the Trinity River were quite stunning in places. The vegetation changed quite dramatically as we went from sea level to 900 metres and provided a constantly changing scenery. (See Photographs) We also took a video of the Trinity River just after the confluence of the North and South forks. (See Video) 320x240 2.4MB Our descent from Shasta Trinity National Forest was equally dramatic for its switchback section over about 4 miles descending some 400 metres. We took a video of this section and have speeded it up from 9.5 minutes to 1:11 minutes. (See Video) 320x240 3.8MB
Lake Shasta and Mount Shasta
After an early rise we headed North on Interstate 5 to Lake Shasta on a clear sunny day and failed to see any Bald Eagles the area is reputed for. We then rejoined the highway to the dominating feature easily visible from miles around Mount Shasta. The clear sunny weather gave us superb views from both California and Central Oregon. (See Photographs)
