Northern California

We are biding time in northern California only miles from Napa Valley.  There is a mountain pass between our campsite and the fabled wine country though even here we are surrounded by vineyards and some well known wineries.  Just a hundred yards from our mother ship is a lake inhabited by thousands of birds and yesterday we kayaked among the egrets, blue heron, coots, ducks, pelicans, etc.
Our tour through the Redwoods left us with little doubt that Mother Nature has an eye for the dramatic.  We walked, biked and drove through the giants, gawking, entranced and humbled by the history surrounding us.  Two thousand years old and still healthy, vibrant and prolific.  A three mile hike took us three hours and seemed timeless.  Always looking up makes it difficult to move forward.
In the late 1800's and early 1900's countless pioneer environmentalist took it upon themselves to buy up thousands of acres of these treasures.  Fortunate are we who still have the opportunity to visit and enjoy the gift of the old growth Redwood forests.  National Geographic recently studied the tallest of the tall which is a tree mentioned with frequency but its location never disclosed.  What a fascinating secret.
We spent a great deal of time in Eureka, California, epicenter of the Redwoods.  Quaint towns like Arcata and Ferndale with their stunning Victorian architecture and artistic communities are just are minutes away.   The pace of life in northern California is much slower that other locales in the state and we found the people to be engaging and friendly, anxious to have a conversation with strangers from Jackson Hole.
Lyle McReynolds gave us a tip about a drive that should be kept a secret too but if you go to Eureka we'll be glad to give you directions.  It passes through Redwoods and large family owned ranches sprawling from the mountains to the ocean operated by the fifth to eighth or tenth generation of the family lineage.