The Avenue of the Giants

After several day's spent along the Oregon (Hoskins) Coast, it was time to cross the state line into our third and final U.S state; California. After a celebratory roadside lunch, some impromptu beach cricket and our first real ocean swim in the still very, very chilly Pacific Ocean we headed into the fabled Redwood forests for 2 day's of some of the most remarkable natural scenery encountered anywhere on our travels. To walk amongst these ancient tree's - some as old as 1500 years - is a truly cathartic and indeed humbling experience. These prehistoric giants tower hundreds of feet straight up with the predominate vegetation found only on the sunlight tops, affording any visitor a daunting and awe-inspiring experience within the company of these magnificent feats of nature. We were privileged to camp two nights underneath the towering redwoods in the Redwood State Park, one alongside the translucent Smith river. Our day's were spent riding amongst the forests. navigating the winding detour roads southward into the park and then hiking in and around the old growth forest - the section of the park that accommodates the oldest and tallest giants. Sadly, pictures in these forests do little justice to the remarkable experience of walking among them. With only shafts of light filtering down to the ground and a heavy density of tree's towering hundreds of feet directly above your head - to truly capture the enormity of these tree's is decidedly difficult. Needless to say, like any travel experience, pictures simply never justify or adequately prepare one for the reality of actually being there. And the Redwood forests of Northern California is certainly one place where the cliche of 'actually being there to believe it' runs truer than most.