Yesterday we parked the trailer at a waterfront RV park in Smith River, California. We fell asleep last night to the roar of the Pacific and the lashing of the rain. It's overcast this morning, but threatening to rain again. Here's the view looking to the right. We're on Salmon Harbor, and beyond that spit of land is the open sea.
Looking to the left (that's the fish cleaning station in front):
We set out to see the redwoods, intending to see the parks south of Crescent City. There are several parks at different governmental levels, and at some point they have decided to work together rather than separately to preserve and share these national treasures. Much of the drive, we overlooked the ocean. I asked Jan to pull over in a turnout so I could capture this beautiful sight.
After I snapped the picture, I realized there was a caller, a young woman, using the call box a few feet away from me. There are call boxes every few miles along this California highway. It turned out she wasn't having any luck with the call box, nor was she getting cell phone service. I asked her about her car, which I didn't see, and she pointed to two black marks on the highway 25 yards or so back. It seems a car had crowded her and her car had gone over the edge. The other driver apparently never looked in his rear view mirror. Her car was barely noticeable and we wouldn't have seen it if she hadn't pointed it out. She was uninjured, thank goodness, as were her two dogs which were still in the car. She had AAA but, as I've said, was unable to reach them. We took Felicity back to Crescent City so she could call AAA, and, after some frustration trying to reach the appropriate people, left her in the hands of the tow truck driver. All this had taken some time, so we quickly decided to visit the Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, which was much closer to Crescent City, instead of retracing our steps south.
We couldn't resist taking some pictures to show the sheer size of these old growth redwoods.
The forest, being so close to the ocean, is lush with ferns and mosses.
These majestic giants shaded us with a high overhead canopy.
There was plenty of room in the base of this giant.
The dirt road wound for miles over the hills and through the woods. There were frequent turnouts in case of oncoming traffic. It wasn't crowded, but we did have to use the turnouts several times.
Back in Crescent City, we spent an hour or so in the Del Norte Historical Society Museum, where photography is not allowed, but here is a picture of the outside.
We enjoyed the museum very much. It was WELL worth its $3 suggested donation admission.
Afterward, we headed over to the Battery Point Lighthouse Museum. I was glad that I had checked on details ahead of time, because the lighthouse is only accessible during low tide, and only between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., if the tide permits. There is an isthmus you can walk across at low tide, but at other times the lighthouse is on an island. I had learned that low tide was going to be just before 4 p.m., and that there was a couple hours window each way, so our arrival at 3 p.m. was perfect. This was the main reason we didn't go back south after rescuing Felicity this morning.
There are tours available for a $3 suggested donation. Photography inside the lighthouse, which has been continuously occupied since it was built in 1856, is not allowed, except up in the tower. The lighthouse is a Cape Cod style with two-foot thick walls. It is amazingly quiet inside. It is now privately owned and occupied by volunteers who sign up for a month of service at a time. Currently, volunteers have signed up into the year 2015, so it you want to be a lighthouse keeper here, you will have a wait. It still operates as a lighthouse and answers to the Coast Guard as regards the light.
Here we are up in the tower.
I've always wanted to go inside a lighthouse!
Shortly afterward, the rain began again. We were happy to return to the trailer.
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