This morning we bade farewell to the Lucky 7 Casino.  A special thank you to the Tolowa Nation for hosting us for nearly a week.

We first drove to a day use parking area and broke out the bikes.  The road to Redwood National Park’s Stout Grove is too narrow for RVs, so we had to bike in about 3 miles.  The ride was amazingly beautiful, with huge trees rising up on both sides of the road.

We locked up the bikes for our hike into the grove:

The trees are nearly 400 feet tall.  Here’s a graphic to give you a sense of scale.  Note the person in the lower left corner:

Wow:

Even with the fisheye, I can’t get the whole tree in the frame:

We enter the grove proper:

We felt so insignificant next to these giants, some of which have lived for a millennium:

I was carrying the bike shoes and helmets:

After we left the grove, we drove to the nearby state campground and did our dump (sewer), fill (fresh water), shower, fill, dump thing. We left clean and with empty sewer tanks and full fresh water, can’t beat that!

Next we headed into Crescent City (again).  We dropped off Tricia at the Laundromat and I took the kids to the visitor center to pick up their Redwoods National Park Junior Ranger workbooks. 

Next, we headed to Walmart.  The RV batteries weren’t taking a charge very well anymore.  The batteries have a two-year replacement policy, so I just took in the old batteries with a copy of the receipt and walked out with two brand new batteries.  Gotta love Walmart!  Even if their batteries aren’t the best, they are inexpensive and can be replaced just about anywhere with no hassle.

We then ran back and picked up the laundry.  Trish headed to Safeway for a grocery run, and I took the kids to hand in their completed Junior Ranger books and get their badges:

I then took the kids to the propane store and refilled the RV’s bottles.  We then returned to pick up Trish at the Safeway.

We’re staying tonight at the Walmart of Crescent City.  It’s a great feeling, having full fresh water, empty sewer, full propane, and brand new batteries.

We’re going to be in Las Vegas with my parents for Chanukah in late November, so tonight we actually planned our itinerary from now until then.  We will be visiting:

• The southern portion of Redwoods National Park
• Old town Eureka
• San Francisco
• Yosemite National Park
• Kings Canyon National Park
• Sequoia National Park
• Mojave National Preserve

…Hopping from Walmart to Casino as we work our way down South.  Adventure awaits!

  See the trip map for today’s drive and our current location.

Another beautiful day as we left the welding shop:

We drove to Fort Stevens, a military installation active from the Civil War through World War II, designed to protect the Oregon coast and the Columbia River.  We headed down to the beach:

And checked out the wreck of the Peter Iredale, which was beached here about 100 years ago.  All that remains of this 300 foot sailing ship is its bow:

Next we headed to Battery Russell at Fort Stevens.  This battery housed two large guns, aimed out at the ocean.

One of the gun pits:

After visiting the museum on site, we headed to the main battery, which has been better preserved.  Here’s the rack that would hold the shells waiting for firing.  The shells were brought in using the rails at the top of the photograph, then hoisted up via hook and chain to the gun above:

A more modern gun emplacement:

Fort Stevens is in the Northwest corner of the state, where the Columbia empties into the Pacific, so some batteries defend the ocean side, and other defend the Columbia.  Battery West defends the Columbia River:

Our daughter is 25 cents away from being a spotting officer:

Next we visited Fort Clatsop, which Lewis and Clark built and where they wintered in 1806 before returning to the East to complete what was the first expedition to complete a land crossing of what would become the American West.  The recreated fort was very interesting:

The kids received their Lewis and Clark NHS Junior Ranger badges, and we headed out.  Tonight we are staying at the Home Depot of Warrenton.  More adventures tomorrow!

  See the trip map for today’s drive and our current location.

Although we have our campsite until Thursday, we decided to leave a day early.  The smoke from the Rim Fire is pretty oppressive.

We drove up to Olmstead Point:

The kids got their junior ranger badges, and we hitched up the RV, dumped tanks, filled water, got some gas at hit the road.  We were sad to go!  Descending Tioga road was a bit scary but doable, coasting down in 1st gear.  We drove through the smoke for over 110 miles and stayed at the Walmart of Gardnerville, NV.    See the trip map for today’s drive and our current location.