Day 39, May 10, 2019, Friday. Klamath, CA

Today’s target was the northern part of the Redwoods parks having done the southern part yesterday. We tried the Klamath River Overlook which was advertised as a view of the river meeting the ocean with possible gray whales swimming by but the fog had not lifted so no view today. Continuing north on Highway 101 we turned onto Howland Hill Road and were greeted by a herd of elk grazing next to the road. The pavement ended as we entered the Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. The occasionally rough and always narrow road zig-zagged through the redwood forest for over 5 miles. It was a beautiful, slow, shaded drive through the woods. We parked at the Stout Grove Trail head and took the Stout Memorial trail and added the Smith River trail and the Hiouchi trail.  A lovely walk in the redwoods with a stop along the riverbank. Total trail time just over an hour. A stop at the Hiouchi Visitor Center where in 1981 was planted the 3 different types of redwoods, the coastal redwood (which is native to the northern coast of California), the sequoia (native to a part of the Sierra Nevada mountain range) and the dawn redwood (native to a small area in China). Very interesting to see the differences. Of course, only the coastal redwood is in its natural habitat so it is the tallest of these 3 by far. The dawn redwood only grows to a maximum height of 170 feet so the California trees are much more fascinating with their giantism. Next we drove Walker Road, another narrow, rough and unpaved road through a redwood forest. We hiked the Simpson-Reed Grove Trail and the Peterson Memorial Trail which combined were one mile. As huge as the redwoods are, what amazes me is they have a shallow root system (no tap root) and thus many of the giants fall over during wet conditions. The forests are full of the downed giants. One local indicated that it is an annual occurrence. After grocery shopping it was back to the coach for grilling a couple filet mignon steaks and enjoying some of our recently acquired wine. Tough life!

Day 38, May 9, 2019, Thursday. Klamath, CA

The Redwoods National and State Parks are adjacent to several other State Parks. We began at the Lady Bird Grove which is a 1.5 mile hike through a redwood forest. The trees are tremendous and again, its impossible to photograph an entire tree. We then headed to the Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. We drove on a narrow, gravel, forested, potholed, up and down road 8 miles to reach the Fern Canyon. The ranger warned us that the road contained 2 spots that were flooded but mostly passable. When we approached the first flooded spot it looked like a river crossing but I gunned it and with a splash and several bangs we made it across. The next flood was fairly minor and no problem. However, we noticed the car was making a continuous groaning sound after the first water crossing. We were committed and proceeded to the Fern Canyon parking lot. We hiked to the Fern Canyon but could not complete the loop as it required repeated wading across a stream for which we opted out. I backed out of our parking space and then got out to check the ground for any fluid leaks. None found and the car seemed to stop its groaning. On the way back, I got out of the car at the “river” crossing to inspect the area which I failed to do the first time. One side was clearly less deep (of course, not the side I came over on the first go round) and the gravel road was visible meaning no worry about being stuck in mud. We took it much slower this time and made it with a much smaller splash and only one bang. The groaning returned but only for a short while. We stopped and walked the beach before returning to the narrow, gravel, forested, potholed, up and down road. Next we hiked the Prairie Creek Trail and connected with the Foothills Trail, about 2.3 miles.  The trails led to the “Big Tree” but there were so many “big trees” everywhere I guess the park had to select just one. One last trail of the day was the Corkscrew Tree Trail which led to a few trees that grew intertwined as if braided. Unfortunately, hard to photograph but we tried just the same.

Day 37, May 8, 2019, Wednesday. Klamath, CA (272 miles)

We departed Six Sigma and headed north to Highway 101. Along the way we took a diversion along the Avenue of the Giants in the Humboldt Redwoods State Park. A very scenic drive through a redwood forest. We arrived at the Chinook RV Campground in Klamath which will be our base for the next few days while we visit the Redwoods National and State Parks. A community fire nightly in the campground and after dinner, I finally got to roast my marshmallows. The fire was needed to stay warm as the temperature was a chilly 51 degrees.

Day 36, May 7, 2019, Tuesday. Lower Lake, CA

After a very quiet night, we drove the car to Napa County and visited the Frank Family Vineyards. Our tasting room experience was enhanced by Pam who provided a generous pour.  The tasting was to include 4 of their Reserve wines but Pam allowed us to do a taste comparison on the Classic (non-reserve) wines side by side with the Reserve wines. These were the best wines we have had on the trip so far. After the generous servings, we were in no condition to drive so we had our picnic lunch in the courtyard of the vineyard. Although we bought a bottle, we had no wine with lunch. A bit after lunch, we headed to the Calistoga Roastery for coffee and an almond chocolate chip scone. I had brought the laptop and took advantage of the free and good wifi. We arrived back at Six Sigma about 4 pm and had a tasting of their wines. We purchased a red blend as well as some cheese. After the tasting, we walked around the ranch and visited the horses and pigs while also seeing deer. Overhead we saw 7 large birds that we thought may be Condors but most likely were just buzzards. 

Day 35, May 6, 2019, Monday. Lower Lake, CA (148 miles).
We departed Lodi and arrived in Sacramento in about 45 minutes. We toured the State Capitol building construction of which began in 1850 and took 14 years. A substantial rebuild was done in the 1970's to protect it from possible collapse in the event of an earthquake. The building is not as ornate as some capitols we have seen but the tour was interesting. The legislature is in session just about full time.  Thankfully Florida does not do that as its legislature manages to foul things up in only 2 months every year. We continued on to the Six Sigma Ranch and Winery, a Harvest Hosts host. Once on the property, we traveled the dirt entry road about 15 minutes before we arrived at the tasting room. The tow car and the back of the coach were completely covered in dirt. We arrived a little late for a tasting so that will have to wait until tomorrow. After dinner our walk around the ranch was cut short as Rosemary got spooked due to the earlier information that the property has seen bears and mountain lions. We are pretty remote as no cell reception whatsoever, so I expect a pretty quiet night.