Humboldt Redwoods State Park

Redwoods along the Avenue of the Giants

We awoke early which isn’t unexpected since we were not yet adjusted to Pacific Time. We did a few things in the room at the Ukiah Day’s Inn, answered a few emails and had our Raisin Bran breakfasts. We both felt that we slept well. We packed up and prepared to travel north through redwood forests to Eureka on the coast. 

We traveled on Highway 101 to Garberville where we took the Avenue of the Giants through Humboldt Redwood State Park. Along the way we saw a herd of elk that included a very large bull and about 10 cows and juveniles.  They were impressive. We stopped at several trailheads and walked through the huge redwood trees. We hoped that we could pick up some information at the park headquarters, but they were closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. While walking around a loop trail, we came upon the park naturalist who was meeting with a class of students via Zoom. He gave us some great tips of places to visit in the park and even good local spots to eat. 

Impressive Coastal Redwood

One place that the naturalist suggested was Bull Creek Flats where a number of large redwood trees were growing. One of the most impressive trees on the trail was the Drury Redwood, which fell in the 1990s but was over 20 feet in diameter when it was standing. We learned that while the giant sequoia trees have a larger diameter, redwoods are taller. We also learned about the efforts of a conservation group in the 1920s to preserve the California redwoods. It wasn’t until John Rockefeller donated one million dollars to the preservation that the state match the money and established the state park system to conserve natural areas. We hiked a trail in the Humboldt Redwoods State Park named the Rockefeller Loop in his honor.

Root of overturned redwood

After leaving the north entrance of Humboldt Redwood State Park, we drove the short distance to Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge,  This wetland area around Humboldt Bay provides feeding and nesting sites for many of the migratory waterfowl, as well as, many other birds and mammals. While walking around the loop trail we saw a number of wading birds, ducks and geese. 

We were pleased that the temperatures today were much more pleasant than yesterday. In fact, we had the heat on in the car for part of the morning.   A steady wind made the air temperature seem even cooler than the mid-60s shown on the rental car’s thermometer. We noticed that the smoke and haze from the recent fires that have been so bad in Northern California and throughout the Pacific Northwest did not seem as bad here.  The cool wind from the ocean probably kept much of the smoke inland.

Great egret hunting for prey

After leaving the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge, we drove north on US 101 and checked in at our hotel in Eureka, CA. Although the Super 8 wasn’t in the best part of town, our room was clean and  fairly large. We unloaded a few things then consulted some sites for dinner recommendations. One of the best rated restaurants in town is a food truck that serves fresh locally caught seafood. Loco Seafood Company has a limited menu, but everything is fresh and well prepared. We both decided on the panko breaded fish and chips. We brought the meals back to our room at the Eureka Super 8 where we ate, planned for the day on Thursday then crashed.