September 16, 2015 – Rain, 60 degrees

Miles Today: 18

Miles to Date: 6,987

States to Date: 24

I woke to rain, a light spattering on my roof that grew in intensity throughout the morning. I had planned to go to Trinidad – 70 miles along the coast. But nothing gelled. I didn’t get a warmshowers host or other accommodation. Besides, my host told me the redwoods three miles away in Jedediah Smith State Park were as magnificent as any. I didn’t realize that Redwoods National Park is actually a series of parks, and the redwoods north of Crescent City are as grand as any. So, instead of enduring a wet cycling day, I spent the morning enjoying my cozy cabin and pedaled out after noon, when the showers turned to a trickle.

Seeing redwood trees was one of a handful of natural sites I wanted to encounter on my trip. The tallest living things on earth do not disappoint. They are immense and majestic. I snapped picture after picture in vain; it’s impossible to capture their character in a frame. I finally added my bicycle just to get some scale. I was also amazed by the ones that had fallen over. They are so big and so close, it’s hard to believe they find a place to lie flat, but they do.

I rode into Crescent City proper, which is an interesting town in an abstract way. It gets more tsunamis than any city on the west Coast; the entire downtown was wiped out in 1964. Given the quality of architecture in the 1960’, what was built in its place is pretty banal. What is interesting is the system of jetties they’ve built to protect the harbor and their advance warning system.

Although the forecast called for more rain, the skies brightened, so I went out to the jetties and toured town before finding a nice motel for the night. There are few tourists here mid-week with bad weather, so I got a room with a water view. Pretty classy for me.