When we woke up we got our first real look at the RV park since it was dark when we pulled in the night before. It wasn’t the prettiest RV park but there were trees all around and the weather was so perfect.
We got ready for the day and headed out to the Redwood Forest. We found Stout Grove and got out to walk around and have lunch.
Everything was so lush and green. This was by far my favorite place out of all the amazing places we visited. The Redwoods just seemed like real nature and were very untouched. There were occasional walking paths but there weren’t masses of people walking around and the roads weren’t even paved. You had to look long and hard to find a bathroom, which was a good and yet a bad thing. Maybe it was just the portion of the Redwoods that we went to but I loved it. I want to live near here someday.
The Redwoods are different from the Sequoias, although they are both giants. The redwood bark is very soft and spongy and they grow super tall but the Sequoias bark is very hard and they grow very tall and wide. There were a couple of downed trees off the side of the road so we got out to look.
Can you see that tiny little pinhole of light at the bottom? You could see all the way through this tree. It was laying on the side of a hill so the bottom was pointing skyward and we could see all the way down to the bottom of the hill.
Another similar one except this one went uphill.
A reference point to how big these puppies are!
The Smith River flows through this area and we drove over it several times.
We found a cool little bench and sat down to have some lunch.
There were some fallen trees right next to our picnic spot and the kids immediately started climbing and walking around on them.
They ran around all over the grove on fallen trees.
After the fiasco at the beach the day before the girls stuck really close to me and didn’t want to head off on any adventures with Daddy. ;)
The mosquitos were pretty bad and the minute we got out of the car Grace got bit about 4 times on the face. You can already see her left eye swelling up a little.
One thing that was not my favorite about the Redwoods - banana slugs. The kids were beyond excited to finally have one but I definitely could have done without. These things are HUGE. Smaller than a banana - more like a small pickle.
Gracie found a few sticks.
What an amazing and awesome and gorgeous place!
The next day we decided to find a place where the kids could play on the river. Grace woke up with her left eye completely swollen shut from the mosquito bites. Emily had several on her arms and legs and one on the top of her head too. Poor kiddos have a very strong reaction to mosquitos. Cash had the same thing but he’s finally grown out of it.
We ended up hanging out at the RV park for a little bit (Mom had to do some laundry again) and then going to the river for lunch. It took us a while to find a spot we could drive to and not have to hike down.
The kids were in heaven. I don’t know why a river isn’t terrifying. It was a rocky beach? No waves?
Maddie, the frog whisperer, immediately found several baby frogs and set to catching as many as she could.
At one point I think they had 8-9.
Grace was obviously not a fan.
Man, my husband is a handsome devil! I really love the beard.
There was lots and lots of rock throwing.
It was a fun way to spend an afternoon. We drove around some more and saw some more Redwoods from the car and then it was back to the RV to get ready for the next day of traveling.
The kids wanted to do the Junior Ranger program here like they had done at the other National Parks but this park is definitely more rustic and we had a hard time even finding a visitor center. We finally found one on our way out that evening so they didn’t have time to complete it. We were able to get our National Park Passport stamped though and get a bumper sticker. Each of the National Parks has a special little station in the Visitor Centers that you can stamp your Passport with showing that you have been there. Passports are, of course, available for purchase at any Visitor Center as well. We bought one at the Grand Canyon and also got bumper stickers at every National Park and/or state we went to with the hopes of putting them on the trailer someday to show all the fun places we’ve been. Our Passport got quite a few stamps in it too!
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