The last time we took an intense road trip like this in California, we headed east toward Lassen National Park instead of continuing north to what – in my mind – were the “actual” redwoods. We had been in Humboldt and the Avenue of the Giants, but not having been to the National Park section made me feel like I couldn’t claim it… ya know?
It felt great to be back again and to complete that loop in my head – we were finally here! And for the next three days, we didn’t leave redwood territory at all. Not bad for a new temporary home if you ask me.
Hello, RNSP! 💗
Quick lil’ pullover at the entrance sign. Gotta hold hands with the arrowhead.
Redwood Creek Picnic Area
In the field adjacent to the beach at the Redwood Creek Picnic Area, there’s this giant, ancient, log with a geocache hidden in one of it’s crevices. The patterns in the bark were so interesting to me.
Thomas H. Kuchel Visitor Center
Thomas H. Kuchel Visitor Center is located on the land of the Ner’-er-nerh/Coastal Yurok People. The name of this place is See-we-chue.
We got this smol banana slug for one of our friends’ dog and took it with us everywhere we went from here on. Little buddy. :’)
Lady Bird Johnson Grove
“This walk among anicent redwoods and Douglas fir givesyou an intimate look at a mignificant ridge-top redwood forest, with its complement of understory plants. These high, wind-whipped slopes and ridges offer redwoods a less favorable habitat than can be found in protected valleyts. Here you willsee them sharing space with many species of trees and shrubs.”
“Lady Bird Johnson came ot this site on November 25, 1968 to help dedicate Redwood National Park. She returned on August 27, 1969 to be honored by President Richard Nixon with this grove of trees named in her honor, recognizing Lady Bird’s devoted service to the cause of preserving and enhancing American’s natural beauty for the enjoyment of all people.“
The trail through the Lady Bird Johnson Grove is a 1.5-ish mile loop on mostly flat redwood mulch. This was our first real stop in the Redwoods, so we were still super psyched by every new tree around each corner.
When I think of being in the redwoods, I just think… soft. The ground of ancient redwood mulch is soft on the feet, the bark of the trees feels soft when you pet it, the sounds are muffled and soft on the ears. The moss everywhere gets all plush and soft when it rains, which it does all the time. Depending on where you are, you can hear a river and/or the ocean softly doing it’s thing too. It’s just so nice.
Standing comfortably inside of a hollow, burnt out, redwood tree will never not be cool to me.
The conglomerate of Redwood National and State Parks ‘technically’ consists of four districts: Redwood National Park, Prarie Creek Redwoods State Park, Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park, and Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park.
They are all managed together in a joint effort between California State Parks, the National Parks Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Forest Service.
‘One of my most unforgettable memories of the past years is walking through the Redwoods last November – seeing the lovely shafts of light filtering through the trees so far above, feeling the majesty and silence of that forst and watching a salmon rise in one of those swift streams – all our problems seemed to fall into perspective and I think everyone one of us walked out more serene and happier.’ – Lady Bird Johnson, July 30, 1969
Look at her with her little plaque!
Lady Bird’s name was Claudia, she was a Capricorn from Texas, and she became first lady in 1963 when JFK was a*s*ssinated and her husband transitioned from vice president to president. Pretty cute that her nickname’s initial’s matched her husband’s initials.
Okay so a couple things. These two pics were taken in the same spot, facing opposite directions. Look how tall that tree is! I bet that’s the tallest tree in this grove, and as you can see it obviously used to be much taller but it snapped off. Can you imagine? Also, this parking lot is extremely tiny and it becomes like a gauntlet. You’ve been warned.
What’s even more scarring than the silly people driving for the first time in their lives, is the absolute state of this vault toilet. We have used easily hundreds of them by now, and this one was definitely top 3 in rank-ness. It stank all the way from across the parking lot to the entrance of that cute little bridge at the trailhead from the beginning of this post. It was like a bonding thing that all of the strangers were talking about with each other. What did I do to deserve…
Lady Bird Johnson Grove trail via AllTrails:
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/lady-bird-grove-trail
Lady Bird Johnson Grove trail via NPS:
https://www.nps.gov/places/lbjtrailhead.htm
Save the Redwoods League:
https://www.savetheredwoods.org/
More about Lady Bird Johnson:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Bird_Johnson
Caitlyn is outside. 
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