California - Days 25 & 26 - in the redwoods

Crescent City/Redwoods KOA, Crescent City

Friday, 25 and Saturday, 26 March 2022

My first impression of this campground was that it was a dump, and definitely not the level of facility I'd expect for a KOA.  That was my second impression too.  But I gradually realized it seemed that way because nothing was paved - or even graveled - so when it rains, the ground gets muddy everywhere.  It's fine in good weather - which we had one of the days I was there.  But the dogs and I tracked so much mud into the RV it took me days to get it all out.  

The fact is that this area functions as a rain forest, much like Juneau, AK, where I used to live.  That means it's got gorgeous scenery and yucky living conditions (the latter creates the former).  This campground is built in the middle of a redwood grove with a small cleared area for RVs and thick trees for small campers and people in tents.  It really was beautiful, but the trees blotted out a lot of the sun.  Between that and the cloudy times, it was grey often enough while we were here that I came to find it depressing.  That, after all, is why I left Juneau - and Seattle for that matter - in the first place.

But lest you think I'm exaggerating by saying so often that it was scenic, here are some photos I took.

Ferns beside a small stream

Ferns and big trees

I wanted to show how big these
tree trunks were.

These are the trees that belong to
the trunks at left.  They really are
big - and these are relatively
young trees.

Note how that tree contorted itself to get enough light
to grow next to the tree that once grew on that enormous
tree stump.  For reference, that's a cabin at far right.

The other side of those same trees.

The trunks of these trees are big and their
root systems are even bigger.  That's a
cabin on the left for size comparison.

The same fallen tree.  Note, for size, the
 Airstream not far away.  Note too the new
tree growing within those old roots.

I took this while standing up, not lying
on the ground as it might seem.
They're just this tall.

The tree that once lived here was more than 6' across.
This is an old grove of redwoods.

This is what redwood needles/leaves
look like - sort of feathery.  Perfect,
I guess, for lapping up coastal fog.

And one more of beautiful trees and ferns.

Near the office at this campground is an enclosure with chickens on one side and goats on the other.  Great for little kids, I guess, and the staff told me the chickens lay a lot of eggs, but they really limited where I could walk the dogs.  Dexter could just about handle the chickens running around and scratching and making chicken noises, but the goats got him all excited so we had to steer clear.

Just about the only place for us to walk here were the paths leading to the campsites hidden among the trees.  Which was fine except they didn't look anything like what was printed on the campground map and I kept getting lost, going down roads that weren't on the map and discounting as not real paths the ones that were.  I went down one road that turned out to be seriously muddy, only to find at the other end that there was a sign saying don't go down this road - it's dangerous.  There was nothing at all like that where we came in and I don't know what was dangerous.  The mud?  Strange place.

But it was peaceful, thanks to the forest.

When we got here, I was 3 weeks behind in posting to my blog.  This was partly due to moving around a lot, but it was mostly due to not having been able to get a reliable internet connection most of these last weeks.  Crazy not to get an internet connection in California, of all places.  I mean, this is the state where Silicon Valley is, for heaven's sake.  But over and over I found the various campgrounds had weak to nonexistent signals and my own hotspot could only get an intermittent connection.  

Anyway, I wrote 3 posts while I was here, but I could see the catch-up process was formidable.  It'll get done, though, because I don't want to forget what I saw here.