Redwoods...just drivin' through

I had my doubts on the weather when I left Crescent City, CA this morning. It was overcast, rainy and windy. As I drove south on US Hwy 101...also known as Redwood Hwy...I observed the ocean was rough and churning. No time to stop for pics, though...I had a lot of miles to cover. My plan for the day was to travel on the Avenue of the Giants...a slow route through Humboldt Redwoods State Park...which is the way to go if you want to really get up close with redwood trees. By the time I got there, it quit raining and the skies were clearing, to my great relief. I was hoping to do some walking along the trails to see the various redwood groves. But, it quickly became evident that I didn't have the time because I had to make it to San Francisco for the night. I stopped a couple of times and took photos, then sought out a couple of cheesy tourist attractions.

In a previous road trip, I visited the Tour-Thru tree in Klamath, CA. Basically, you drive your vehicle through a live redwood. Well, it turns out there two other similar trees located right off the Avenue of the Giants. I had to check them out! The first was the Shrine Drive-Thru tree in Myers Flat. This tree had a really tight opening and I had to take it really slow to get through. Afterward, I asked the guy working there if many people got their vehicles stuck in the tree. He replied it happens occasionally. Recently, he had to let the air out of the tires of a Ford F-150 truck. Turns out it DOESN'T fit in the tree, as the owner of the truck found out! I was happy my little Blazer had no trouble negotiating this redwood! The Chandler Drive-Thru Tree in Leggett was not quite so tight, but a much nicer looking tree. That's my groupie mobile with the tree in the photo.

With the afternoon flying by, I traveled onward to San Francisco. I didn't have much daylight left to enjoy, so I decided to spend it getting a closer look at the Golden Gate Bridge. The Vista Point at the north end provided me with a great view of the bay and gave me an opportunity to take some photos of the bridge. It was nice and sunny...something I hadn't seen in awhile back home! Perhaps in the future, I'll have more time to actually walk across the bridge like the many people I observed doing so today.

Tomorrow, I do less driving and more sightseeing as I travel down the California Coast. Weather is supposed to be perfect...I can't wait!