Day 17, Redwoods to Nevada City

We got up and moving and headed down the road to Redwoods National Park. Although we didn't have as much time as we really wish we could have dedicated to this awesome wilderness area. After looking at th emap we picked two short trail areas to hike around, the Circle Trail which held the Big Tree and the Lady Bird Johnson Trail. We figured that this way we could see two seperate parts of the park, get a walk at each and then be on our way.

Here you can see a Stellar Jay. They are one of the most pesky animals in the park who will fly right up to you and practically steal food from your hand. This one landed on our side view mirror while we were snacking.

I just liked the way this horsetail looked.

Here we are in front of the Big Tree. The Redwoods were completely as amazing as the Sequoias, and also so different. They are much taller and have a different feel to them.

While Ian and I were collecting trash for his Juior Ranger patch, we happened across this beautiful snake.

We were treated to a viewing of wild elk in this prairie just right in the middle of the park. After seeing the elk we headed over to the Lady Burd Johnson trail and saw the trees pictured below. You just feel so small standing underneath them.

When we were done at the park, even though we would have liked to stay longer, we started our journey south towards Arcata and then east to Nevada City. We drove this beautiful, winding, scenic highway. At one point we were stopped becasue of roadwork and as I looked up into the sky I did a double take as this (event hough it's hard to tell in the photo)bald eagle came swooping across the front of us. He did a few passes by the car and were able to clearly see the white head and tail. It was so cool. Only once before had I seen eagles in the wild at that was at Lake Ouchita in Hot Springs, AR. We had gone there with that specific purpose. This time, in CA driving towards a friend's home, was the first time I had ever seen an eagle just out of the blue, in the wild, beautiful.