Jan 14
At the end of the Newton B Drury Scenic Parkway on the south end is a Ranger Station and gift shop. We needed some t-shirts and a bathroom break so we pulled into the station. Talking with the Ranger while paying for some t-shirts I checked if the access to the Ladybird Johnson Grove was open, it’s off the main highway a bit, so worth checking!
The Ranger’s response was, somewhat cryptic, “the atmospherics are really good up there today”. Not wanting to look like a total idiot, my response was, “ah yes, good to know”. I had no idea! Anyways what he meant was soon clear. Atmospherics are clouds drifting through the trees creating a magical, mystic look, enhanced by the sun peeking through the clouds periodically.
Lady Bird Johnson Grove rests near the top of a ridge in Redwood National Park, more than 1,000 feet above sea level. The grove was dedicated by President Richard Nixon in August 1969 in honor of the wife of President Lyndon Johnson.
South of Eureka is the Humboldt Redwoods State Park our last stop on this tour of the Redwoods, we could have spent another 2 weeks, or longer exploring, we had to move on to keep up with reservations in San Francisco.
The Founder's Grove, located just off the famous Avenue of the Giants, is home to some of the tallest trees in the world. Some of the trees in the grove are to be around 2000 yrs old. At the end of the loop is the magnificent fallen Dyerville Giant. The giant redwood once stood close to 100m tall and was considered the tallest tree in the park before it fell in 1991. When the giant redwood crashed to the ground it registered on a nearby seismograph and the impact was loud enough from half a mile away, was mistaken for a train crashed.
It was time to go to San Francisco but not before we had driven the Avenue of the Giants and walked a couple more trails.
The 50km Avenue of the Giants is located in Humboldt Redwoods State Park, which has the largest remaining stand of virgin redwoods in the world. This world-famous scenic drive is by far the most outstanding display of giant trees in the California redwood belt. So amazing.
I’ve included a selection of photographs shot on film during our visit to Ladybird Johnson Grove and the Avenue of the Giants, I also shot some digital on this trip, a few of those photographs made it into the Redwoods calendar I published for 2020, I may put together a small portfolio of those for a future post.
Until next time, enjoy these and go create some art, whatever form that takes for you!
Dean.
