Mount Saint Helen

We left Portland on Monday, and made the short drive to Brazel’s RV in Centralia, Washington . . . another new state for our map!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had a few minor issues to have looked at on the RV before our extended warranty expires at the end of the month, and Tom had seen some good reviews for Brazel’s RV Performance.  They have a small RV Park right next to their shop, which makes it really convenient to get work done there – we get to stay for free, and much of the time they can even work on the rig right in the campsite.

When we arrived on Monday, the technician got right to work assessing the items on our list, and the next day the Service Manager started making calls to the warranty company and searching for parts.

While he was tracking down answers, we packed a picnic lunch and went to Mount Saint Helen for the afternoon.

As we approached from the west, we could see the mountaintop in the distance, and the lush green forest in the foreground.  Many of the forest surrounding Mount Saint Helen are owned by Weyerhaeuser Forest Products, and the company lost thousands of acres of trees, buildings, equipment and roads in the massive eruption in 1980.

Our first stop was at the Forest Learning Center on Weyerhaeuser property, where there is an overlook of the valley around the Toutle River and the new bridge crossing the river.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was just in grade school at the time of the 1980 eruption, and I remember hearing about it, but way over on the other side of the country I never realized just how devastating it was.  This entire valley was wiped out by a giant landslide triggered by the eruption.

In the picture above, you can see where the Weyerhaeuser property has undergone significant reforestation (due to replanting that started in 1981), and the National Park was allowed to regenerate naturally, and it is happening at a significantly slower rate.

We continued along Highway 504, and eventually entered the National Park.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our next stop was the Coldwater Lake Recreation Area, where we had our lunch and took a walk alongside the lake.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This new lake was formed when muddy, debris-filled water was released from the higher elevation Spirit Lake, in order to prevent massive flooding.  This lake started out with muddy water, but after only 3 years, the naturally-growing algae had cleaned it up, and left the crystal-clear water that we saw.

There are still piles of ash and rock scattered around the lake.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Coldwater Lake, we continued up to the Johnston Ridge Observatory.  Along the way, we stopped at an overlook where we could clearly see the devastation created by the initial blast.

 

The area to the northwest of the volcano was completely destroyed, and almost nothing has regrown in the area.

There are a few signs of life, though . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We arrived at the Johnston Observatory just as a Ranger Program was beginning.  We was talking about the crater inside the mountain, and how the lava dome has continued to grow with each minor eruption that has taken place since 1980.

The snow-covered area in the center is the lava dome – it has grown to 1300 feet above the crater floor since 1980.

The peak of Mt. St. Helen is now crescent-shaped, and this opening in the rim is where the top of the mountain blew off in the lateral eruption in 1980.  The blast was a direct hit on the ridge that is now referred to as Johnston Ridge – where some geologists and volcano watchers were located (thinking they were safely far enough away) when the eruption happened.  This area was completely devastated, and still appears desolate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The picture below tells a pretty clear story.

The mountaintop blew off to the left, destroying thousands of acres of forest in its path.  The resulting landslide of mud, trees and chunks of the mountain then followed the Toutle River through the mountains and burying the valley under feet of debris and ash.

In the Visitor Center, we watched a movie that recreated the scene on May 18, 1980, and then walked through the displays, reading about the people caught in the explosion and mudslide – some that miraculously survived, and others that didn’t.

Mount Saint Helen really is an amazing and beautiful location, but at the same time the story of nature’s power, and the destruction that resulted was very sobering.  I’m glad we added it to our list of sights to see.

Avenue of the Giants and coastal northern California

The RV Park in Napa Valley was fully booked for the Memorial Day weekend, so it was time to continue our journey north to a park we could get into for the weekend.  Tom called around and found a small Passport America park, Richardson Grove RV Park, at the southern end of the Coastal Redwood region.  It was an easy drive, and we were quickly set for the weekend.

We had no TV signal, no Verizon coverage, and marginal campground wifi . . . it was going to be an “unplugged” weekend!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were surrounded by giant redwoods, and just down the road from the “Avenue of Giants” in the Humboldt Redwood State Park.

 

Coastal redwoods are taller than any other living thing.  They can live over 2000 years and withstand fires, floods and insects.  Many of the groves along the Avenue of Giants have never been logged.  They are old growth coastal redwoods.  Their average age is 400 – 600 years old.

We started the Auto Tour at Phillipsville, winding our way through the giant trees.

 

We stopped at many of the pullouts to admire the majestic trees.

 

Many of the trees have interesting shapes and sizes, and some have these growths on them called burls.  The burls are a result of the tree undergoing some kind of stress.

Years ago, there was a lot of logging of redwoods going on, and these rare forests were at risk of being wiped out.  Many people saw the value of preserving these old trees, and founded an organization to save them.

The Founders Grove is named for them, as many other groves in the area are named for families that contributed to the preservation of the redwoods.  We stopped at the Founders Grove to walk the trail through some of the oldest trees in this area.

 

Walking through the woods here felt like walking in a jungle – there were ferns growing everywhere, an moss on many of the trees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the center of Founders Grove, there are several really huge fallen logs, including the Dyersville Giant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These were some of the oldest and tallest trees in the area, until they were knocked down during a storm in 1991.  Now they are nurturing the growth of new redwoods by allowing light to get into the forest.  There is even a redwood growing out of the stump of the Dyersville Giant!

 

 

 

 

 

The giant redwoods and giant sequoias that we saw a few weeks ago are very similar – they belong to the same family – the redwoods get a little taller and thrive in the moist atmosphere of the coast, and the sequoias get bigger in diameter and grown only above 6000 feet in the mountains of the Sierra Nevadas.

 

The redwoods are just as amazing as the sequoias, and we enjoyed our tour through the Avenue of Giants!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the end of the avenue, we travelled through dairy farms and cattle ranches,    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

until we reached the little Victorian town of Ferndale.

It was a cute little town with quaint shops and restaurants, and I would have liked to explore it some more, but the kids wanted to drive the coastal loop back around to Garberville, where we were going to church that afternoon.

We found the turnoff for the loop road, and started driving up into the mountains.  The roads were steep and narrow going through the woods, and as we got closer to the coast, we were going in and out of a dense fog.

 

We eventually drove through the fog, though, and reached the top of a bluff overlooking the ocean – it was really beautiful!

At the bottom of the hill was a ranch, and there were cattle all around us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had only driven about 10 miles of the loop road so far, and it took us over half an hour, so we decided that we should probably turn around and take 101 back to Garberville, or we’d never make it to mass on time . . . as it was we still ended up being 5 minutes late!

Back at the RV Park, Tom and I wandered over to check out the tourist traps across the street.

 

Many of the really big, old trees are on private property and have been turned into these type of hokey tourist stops – including all of the “drive thru” trees – but fortunately many more are included in the Redwood National and State Parks, so they will be preserved . . . and not turned into uncomfortable bear chairs!

Hiking among the Giant Trees

From Pismo Beach, we travelled northeast away from the coast and back to the San Joaquin Valley.  We found a nice little passport park with a pool, and settled in for the weekend.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our location was perfect for visiting Sequoia National Park and King’s Canyon National Park, both in the Sierra Nevada Mountains east of the valley.  We set out early Saturday morning with the parks as our destination, starting with Sequoia.

 

We stopped in at the Visitor Center to pick up a map and get some recommendations on good trails for hiking and things to see – with some help from a Ranger, we mapped out our plan for the day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We followed the Kaweah River up into the mountains, past tunnel rock,

and the further we climbed, the more beautiful the scenery became.

 

Following the General’s Highway, we eventually reached the Giants Forest, and started to see some of the giant trees.

These trees are so huge, we found ourselves constantly looking up!!

We stopped at the Giant Forest Museum, where there are several trails that meander through the forest.  Everywhere you look, you are surrounded by these spectacular trees!

We followed the loop around the Museum,

 

and Nicolas was on the hunt for bears!

He didn’t find any up there, and we continued from the museum trail to the “Big Trees” trail.

This trail is a loop through a sequoia grove that surrounds a small meadow.  The soft, moist soil in the meadow is unable to support the giant trees, so they only grow around the perimeter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We followed the trail around the meadow, admiring the giant trees and reading the informative signs along the way . . .

and then some people coming from the other direction pointed out a mama bear and her two cubs in the meadow.  We could see them from where we were, but following the trail would take us closer, so we continued to where a group of people were gathered on the trail.

The mama bear and one cub were to the left of the trail, in the meadow,

 

but the other cub had wandered across the trail to the other side.  He was just hanging out next to a tree.

That put the group of us in a sticky situation – the trail passed right between the mama bear and her cub.  She didn’t seem too concerned with us where we were standing – she just looked up occasionally and then went back to eating – but we weren’t sure what she would do if we continued along the trail. 

 

One group decided to try going through, but as soon as they did the cub quickly started climbing the tree. 

Some others in the group thought this might upset the mother, so they stopped and turned back, and took the trail back the way we had come from. 

 

The rest of us were standing there watching for a few more minutes, and the cub came down out of the tree and crossed back over the trail to the meadow side.

 

With the bear family all together on one side of the trail, we figured it was safe to pass by, and we quickly made our way along the trail.  That was really close . . . these bears weren’t more than 50 feet off the trail!  (I only had my standard lens on my camera, not my telephoto!)

We finished the loop trail,         

 

and made our way back to the car.

Our next destination in the park was Moro Rock.  It was a steep climb, but promised an amazing view on a clear day.

Too bad it wasn’t a clear day!!

 

Bryce was determined to climb to the top of the rock, so we started up, despite the clouds.  It was definitely steep, and clouds kept rolling over the rock . . . and the higher we got, the windier it became! 

The railings were also disturbingly low, and seemed to get lower as we got higher.  Bryce said the railing at the top was barely above his knees!  I wouldn’t know because I stopped a little over halfway up the 430 steps . . . it was getting a little too windy for my comfort level!

 

We were literally in the clouds, and sometimes you couldn’t see anything, and then they would blow past and you would get a glimpse of the mountain peaks in the distance . . . but then more clouds would roll in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The boys reached the peak, and Tom caught up to them on their way down, so Bryce went back up again with him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Moro Rock, we continued through the Giants Forest with a quick stop at the Parker Group,    

named for a group of explorers.  In many areas, the Sequoias are kept behind fences to protect the fragile root systems, but here we were able to walk among the trees and get close to them – even climb around them!

 

 

 

This tree fell in 1959 (none of the 4 of us were even alive yet!!), and it was already estimated to be 2300 years old!  Amazing!

 

 

 

 

The fallen logs are just as incredible as the standing trees . . . logs are big enough to walk through, and sometimes even to drive under!

This tree fell in 1937!

 

We made our way then to Crescent Meadow, and had our lunch at the picnic area before setting out on another hike through the forest.

 

Nicolas, the adventurer, wanted to follow the High Sierra Trail – even all the way to Mt. Whitney – but we stayed on the meadow trail, once again making our way through a grove of giant trees that surrounded the meadow.

Some of the area we hiked through had recently burned.  Fire is essential to the life cycle of the sequoias, it’s needed to release the seeds from the pine cones, but some areas looked devastated by fire.

 

At the far end of the meadow, we reached Tharp Log.  Tharp is credited with discovering the Giant Forest in 1858, and he spent the summers living in this cabin, built into a fallen log, until the land became a National Park.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Tharp Log, we made our way back through the forest,

and made our way to Chimney Tree.

Looking up through the burned out tree really was like looking up a chimney!         

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We arrived back at the car, and leaving the Giants Forest, we made our way through Sequoia National Park and into King’s Canyon National Park.

 

 

King’s Canyon is a large, deep canyon in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.  We stopped at the Canyon Overlook as we entered the park,

but the ranger had told us that we would see much more dramatic examples of canyons and waterfalls at Yosemite the following week, so we just drove right to Grant’s Grove – afterall, this day was all about the giant trees!

Are you tired of looking at them yet?  I wasn’t!

The loop trail through Grant’s Grove is a short, paved path circling around the central feature – the General Grant Tree.

It’s very tall (over 200 feet), and has a very large footprint )over 20 feet), but it’s not very old . . . less than 300 years old, and that makes it a very amazing tree . . . and destined to be a true giant!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There’s also a fallen log that you can walk through, which was really pretty cool.

From the outside, though, it just looks like any other fallen log,

but it has the most amazing front entrance!

We finished the walk around Grant’s Grove, and the boys were starting to get a little silly . . . we could tell it was getting late in the day, and we were all tired!

 

We had seen enough, and were ready to get back to the RV . . . we made just one last stop on our way out of the park – at the Big Stump.

 

 

 

The King’s Canyon area had been subject to logging before it was made a National Park, so many of the giant trees were taken down, leaving just giant stumps behind!

 

They got up there easily enough, but weren’t too sure of how they were going to get down!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They did get down, though, and we made it back to the RV, after a stop for pizza in a tiny town just outside the park. 

It was a very long day, and who would have thought we’d be so excited about trees, but these were truly amazing trees – the giants of the forest!!