WEBVTT - The Sears Tower Of Trees At Redwood National And State Parks 0:00:00.400 --> 0:00:03.040 We compare national parks to movies a lot on this podcast, 0:00:03.080 --> 0:00:05.560 and that's mostly because these places have a larger than 0:00:05.640 --> 0:00:08.800 life vibe and atmosphere that truly looks like something out 0:00:08.840 --> 0:00:11.320 of a film, or like something from another planet that 0:00:11.360 --> 0:00:14.280 can only be replicated through the magic of Hollywood. But 0:00:14.360 --> 0:00:16.640 no park is as much of a cinematic star as 0:00:16.680 --> 0:00:19.240 the one we're talking about today, which is Redwood National 0:00:19.280 --> 0:00:23.599 Park in California. It's actually officially called Redwood National and 0:00:23.680 --> 0:00:26.880 State Parks, and that's unique because this part of coastal 0:00:26.920 --> 0:00:31.280 North California is a network of numerous state and national 0:00:31.320 --> 0:00:34.199 park sites jointly managed by the National Park Service and 0:00:34.320 --> 0:00:38.120 the State of California. Yes, and altogether, these soaring forests 0:00:38.159 --> 0:00:41.280 have totally soared to movie stardom over the years, appearing 0:00:41.280 --> 0:00:44.159 as the backdrop for some pretty serious blockbusters. And I 0:00:44.200 --> 0:00:47.839 mean it makes sense. These trees are truly otherworldly, what 0:00:48.000 --> 0:00:52.599 with its skyscraping trees, misty beaches, and fern canyons, So 0:00:52.640 --> 0:00:54.959 I get why the Redwood Forests are like cat neet 0:00:55.040 --> 0:00:58.840 for movie directors. That's also what made this park such 0:00:58.880 --> 0:01:01.520 a fun place to visit and even better to experience 0:01:01.560 --> 0:01:04.399 as part of a family vacation. Redwood National and State 0:01:04.480 --> 0:01:06.880 Parks may not have dinosaurs and euaks like the movies 0:01:06.920 --> 0:01:09.200 would have you believe, but it's still an out of 0:01:09.200 --> 0:01:14.440 this world place to visit. Hi, I'm Matt and I'm Brad. 0:01:14.520 --> 0:01:17.000 This is park Landia, a production of I Heart Radio. 0:01:17.200 --> 0:01:19.920 We sold our loft in Chicago, moved into an RV, 0:01:20.240 --> 0:01:21.920 and now we're traveling in the country full time with 0:01:21.959 --> 0:01:26.319 our dog Finn, exploring America's national parks. In today's episode 0:01:26.360 --> 0:01:29.200 is about Redwood National and State Parks, which is in 0:01:29.280 --> 0:01:37.880 northern California. So for some context, we first visited these 0:01:37.920 --> 0:01:40.840 parks as part of a late summer family vacation with 0:01:40.880 --> 0:01:45.400 my dad, sister, brother, and his then fiance now wife. 0:01:46.400 --> 0:01:48.800 And if you remember when we talked about that same 0:01:48.800 --> 0:01:51.800 family trip for last and Volcanic National Park in season one, 0:01:52.360 --> 0:01:55.000 this Redwood trip was the other part of that trip, 0:01:55.200 --> 0:01:57.840 and even better for this part, we're bringing my brother 0:01:57.880 --> 0:02:00.600 on as a special guest later in this episode, so 0:02:00.840 --> 0:02:03.360 super excited to talk to him. It was a fun 0:02:03.360 --> 0:02:05.440 time and it's it's gonna be a fun chat. It 0:02:05.480 --> 0:02:08.880 absolutely was. So. Redwood was the first park of that vacation, 0:02:08.919 --> 0:02:12.040 which took place in September and started with a day 0:02:12.080 --> 0:02:15.040 and night in San Francisco. Then the next morning we 0:02:15.080 --> 0:02:17.840 got up early and drove our rental car up the 0:02:17.880 --> 0:02:19.760 coast for a few hours to get to this beautiful 0:02:19.840 --> 0:02:23.280 national park. It's honestly a pretty easy drive, pretty straightforward, 0:02:23.480 --> 0:02:26.720 made all the easier by how ridiculously scenic it is. 0:02:27.160 --> 0:02:29.359 At the time, this was pre r V for us, 0:02:29.480 --> 0:02:31.639 and we were used to road trips to the Midwest 0:02:31.720 --> 0:02:34.760 in the Chicago area, which is mostly pretty boring and 0:02:34.840 --> 0:02:38.000 flat and monotonous, so I was not prepared for how 0:02:38.160 --> 0:02:42.440 delightfully entered, hinting just the drive would be. Honestly, yeah. 0:02:42.480 --> 0:02:44.640 We even got off the highway and stopped for lunch 0:02:44.680 --> 0:02:47.960 at some cute diner in Sonoma, which was beautiful. Yeah. 0:02:48.000 --> 0:02:50.960 It was this quaint, gorgeous little town called Healsburg, which 0:02:51.080 --> 0:02:54.080 incidentally I had been there for a work trip literally 0:02:54.160 --> 0:02:56.800 like two months before. We stopped here for breakfast. The 0:02:56.840 --> 0:02:58.799 hotel I was staying out was like two blocks away 0:02:59.000 --> 0:03:01.239 or something from this very diner, and I remember being 0:03:01.280 --> 0:03:04.480 like totally blown away by this coincidence, and everyone else 0:03:04.480 --> 0:03:06.959 in the car was like okay, and then had no 0:03:07.120 --> 0:03:10.079 reaction and I was like, Okay, that's fine. I mean, 0:03:10.240 --> 0:03:12.440 no one else was on that trip with you, so 0:03:12.480 --> 0:03:14.520 it's hard to relate. Yeah, I mean I get it. 0:03:14.560 --> 0:03:18.440 The silent reaction was deafening. But the food was really good, 0:03:18.840 --> 0:03:22.079 just like homing American food, with bottomless mugs of coffee 0:03:22.080 --> 0:03:24.760 and those really dense ceramic mugs that you really only 0:03:24.760 --> 0:03:28.000 find at roadside diners nowadays, my favorite kind of place. Yeah, 0:03:28.040 --> 0:03:30.799 we were just like having this dinner conversation the other day, 0:03:30.800 --> 0:03:34.079 actually were, Yeah, because we have very different diner preferences. 0:03:34.120 --> 0:03:37.480 I think we like different styles of diners. I'm more 0:03:37.480 --> 0:03:41.360 of like the modern, kind of sleek, contemporary approach in 0:03:41.440 --> 0:03:44.280 terms of both design and like food. I like inventive 0:03:44.320 --> 0:03:49.520 stuff like locks, bagels and things like that, things that 0:03:49.560 --> 0:03:53.320 are like kind of gussied up versions of like Americana Fair. 0:03:53.360 --> 0:03:58.400 I guess yeah, mine's like two eggs, poached bacon, sausage, 0:03:59.080 --> 0:04:03.080 rye toast, butter, and hash browns at home fries. Don't 0:04:03.080 --> 0:04:05.960 get it mixed up. Don't don't get me straight. Yeah, 0:04:06.080 --> 0:04:08.960 I know you get, but I'm just so I'm so easy. 0:04:09.000 --> 0:04:11.000 I'm just so simple when it comes to I want 0:04:11.040 --> 0:04:14.920 an old school diner, like the fun like just what 0:04:15.040 --> 0:04:18.760 it is? Face you shoot, throw some catch up on 0:04:18.800 --> 0:04:21.479 my hash Browns. It's fine, I don't care. I'm not 0:04:21.520 --> 0:04:23.159 going to do that because I don't really do that anymore. 0:04:23.200 --> 0:04:24.839 But I used to do that. I've never done that, 0:04:26.120 --> 0:04:29.679 but yeah, I hear you. So from there from this dinner, 0:04:29.880 --> 0:04:32.080 it's another like four and a half hours north to 0:04:32.120 --> 0:04:34.839 the National State Parks and that's a bit of a drive, 0:04:34.920 --> 0:04:38.119 but like we said, it's super scenic and very very pretty. 0:04:38.160 --> 0:04:40.039 So as long as you get an early start from 0:04:40.120 --> 0:04:42.440 especially we're leaving from the San Francisco area like we did, 0:04:42.800 --> 0:04:44.880 you'll make good time. Oh yeah, it's really not that 0:04:44.960 --> 0:04:47.960 far from the Oregon Boarder either. It's way up there. 0:04:49.240 --> 0:04:52.560 But the further north you drive, the greener everything gets, yeah, 0:04:52.600 --> 0:04:55.039 and the mist year things get too. It's all very 0:04:55.080 --> 0:04:57.920 cinematic and immersive, and it really does feel like you're 0:04:57.960 --> 0:05:01.640 gradually disappearing into like a differ universe, like a universe 0:05:01.720 --> 0:05:04.360 envisioned by Steven Pielberg or something. It's like you're going 0:05:04.480 --> 0:05:06.680 to a movie and I have expected to kind of 0:05:06.720 --> 0:05:10.320 gradually transform into a c G I character myself, or 0:05:10.360 --> 0:05:12.359 to see a dinosaur leap out from the forest and 0:05:12.360 --> 0:05:14.240 start chasing us down the run. Yeah, and then it 0:05:14.240 --> 0:05:16.120 would like bite off the side mirror of the car 0:05:16.200 --> 0:05:19.680 while we all screamed in terror. Exactly. And eventually, though 0:05:19.720 --> 0:05:22.440 we didn't see any dinosaurs, Um, we saw a lot 0:05:22.480 --> 0:05:25.000 of bigfoot signs all over the place. Yeah, lots of those. 0:05:25.240 --> 0:05:28.640 This must be like prime Bigfoot territory because we saw 0:05:28.760 --> 0:05:33.440 tons of bigfoot like bigfoot crossing, science, Bigfoot warnings, even 0:05:33.480 --> 0:05:36.520 like bigfoot themed businesses and cafes and things like that. 0:05:36.560 --> 0:05:41.280 They're really like capitalizing on the fictional like bigfoot stuff. 0:05:41.320 --> 0:05:42.800 And I can totally see it too. This seems like 0:05:42.839 --> 0:05:46.159 I would have a setting for a giant, mysterious neanderthal. 0:05:46.560 --> 0:05:49.120 Anytime I think of Bigfoot, I think of Bigfoot from 0:05:49.120 --> 0:05:53.080 a Goofy movie. Remember that scene. I'm almost offended that 0:05:53.120 --> 0:05:54.920 you even felt the need to ask me that if 0:05:54.920 --> 0:05:58.120 I remember. Of course, I have that movie like memorize 0:05:58.160 --> 0:06:01.839 scene for scene basically, and it was very formative for 0:06:01.839 --> 0:06:03.640 me in my early years, and if I'm being honest, 0:06:03.680 --> 0:06:07.799 it's still formative for me now, Like I'm I continue 0:06:07.880 --> 0:06:10.040 to learn from that movie and and grow with it. 0:06:10.760 --> 0:06:13.440 And that Goofy movie Bigfoot is like my go to 0:06:13.839 --> 0:06:16.359 Oh yeah, absolutely, well, of course, I mean, it doesn't 0:06:16.360 --> 0:06:20.839 get much better than Bigfoot. He was a gentle giant. Really, um, 0:06:20.839 --> 0:06:24.120 he just wanted to listen to headphones and dance. Yeah, 0:06:24.360 --> 0:06:27.040 and maybe like mame goofy and Max, had he gotten 0:06:27.040 --> 0:06:29.960 into the car. The movie never really explained like what 0:06:30.279 --> 0:06:33.400 the intent was or what the real threat of Bigfoot was, 0:06:33.440 --> 0:06:35.360 because he was trying to break into the car, right, 0:06:35.400 --> 0:06:39.320 that's the whole gist. And then Max or like flings 0:06:39.360 --> 0:06:41.520 the headphones out of the car and they lay it 0:06:41.560 --> 0:06:44.599 on Bigfoot's head, and then he just starts to dance 0:06:44.720 --> 0:06:48.000 and lose himself to song. And that's when they are, 0:06:48.640 --> 0:06:52.640 you know, able to like eat spaghetti or whatever. I 0:06:52.680 --> 0:06:54.279 don't know whatever it is. I don't know what happened. 0:06:54.320 --> 0:06:57.040 I guess I don't remember scene for scene because I'm 0:06:57.080 --> 0:06:59.320 like really spiraling here. But I think it's just your 0:06:59.360 --> 0:07:02.440 nervous um. But but again, this is it really shows 0:07:02.440 --> 0:07:05.680 how cinematic this part of California's Everything either looks like 0:07:05.720 --> 0:07:08.040 a movie or reminds you of a movie, or it 0:07:08.160 --> 0:07:10.600 is a movie, yes, which is another reason why I'm 0:07:10.640 --> 0:07:12.960 so excited to have my brother on later for this episode. 0:07:13.320 --> 0:07:16.280 He's the biggest movie connoist where I know, like by far, 0:07:16.520 --> 0:07:19.120 so I think it'll be interesting to get his insight 0:07:19.400 --> 0:07:24.960 on on this park trees. So contrary to what we 0:07:25.040 --> 0:07:27.600 might be leading you to believe, this place was not 0:07:27.760 --> 0:07:31.440 drawn into existence by Disney animators. So the parks that 0:07:31.480 --> 0:07:35.160 comprise the system include the actual National Park portion which 0:07:35.240 --> 0:07:39.920 was designated in along with Del Norte Coast, Prairie Creek, 0:07:40.040 --> 0:07:42.800 and Jedediah Smith, all three of which are state parks, 0:07:43.400 --> 0:07:45.840 and when they're all combined, they contain about a hundred 0:07:45.880 --> 0:07:49.520 and forty tho acres of America's most iconic trees and forests. 0:07:49.800 --> 0:07:53.440 Most iconic there, I said it. Yeah, that's a big statement, 0:07:53.480 --> 0:07:56.880 but it really fits. America has a lot of iconic trees, 0:07:56.960 --> 0:08:00.360 but these ones definitely stand out. Yeah, literally, they they 0:08:00.400 --> 0:08:04.720 stand way out. They're enormous. I think their closest like 0:08:05.160 --> 0:08:09.600 size wise trees are sequoias, which are also huge. They're 0:08:09.600 --> 0:08:12.360 wider and they have more volume, but they're not as 0:08:12.400 --> 0:08:16.440 tall as redwoods. Redwoods definitely grow taller. They're the all 0:08:16.560 --> 0:08:19.800 natural skyscrapers. And I would say I would go out 0:08:19.800 --> 0:08:22.840 and say that Redwoods are the Sears Tower of trees. 0:08:23.040 --> 0:08:24.400 And I know that I know that you and I 0:08:24.440 --> 0:08:28.600 are biased because we're from Chicago, but I still firmly 0:08:28.640 --> 0:08:31.160 believe that the Sears Tower is still the most iconic 0:08:31.200 --> 0:08:35.319 skyscraper in the nation. And I refused to not call 0:08:35.360 --> 0:08:37.520 it Sears Tower. I know it's technically Wells Tower, but 0:08:37.559 --> 0:08:39.680 it will always be Serious Tower in my heart. You're 0:08:39.679 --> 0:08:41.839 one of those I love it. Yeah, I mean teams 0:08:41.880 --> 0:08:44.480 Hears all the way. Um. And not only are they 0:08:44.520 --> 0:08:46.440 the tallest trees on earth, but they are also some 0:08:46.480 --> 0:08:50.520 of the oldest Summer's oldest two thousand years old. So 0:08:50.559 --> 0:08:53.439 even though they're not actually the largest trees by volume 0:08:53.600 --> 0:08:58.000 or the oldest, they're distinctly special and obviously iconic, especially 0:08:58.000 --> 0:09:01.040 since they grow to be almost four tall. The Park 0:09:01.160 --> 0:09:03.840 Service doesn't point out which tree is actually the tallest 0:09:03.880 --> 0:09:07.240 in order to protect it from visitation crowds, but the 0:09:07.280 --> 0:09:11.480 tallest tree is I believe around three and seventy nine 0:09:12.920 --> 0:09:16.480 tall in the Redwood Creek watershed. It's called Hyperion. I 0:09:17.040 --> 0:09:19.199 love the name. It sounds like a superhero. And they 0:09:19.200 --> 0:09:21.760 grow this big because of all the constant moisture and 0:09:22.360 --> 0:09:26.319 precipitation including rain and fog, coupled with the region's temperate 0:09:26.320 --> 0:09:29.480 climate and average tempts that range between forty five and 0:09:29.480 --> 0:09:32.480 six degrees year round, So it's just the most ideal 0:09:32.600 --> 0:09:35.960 environment for trees of this size. Plus their bark is 0:09:35.960 --> 0:09:38.760 so thick, like up to a foot thick, that it's 0:09:38.800 --> 0:09:42.040 a great natural defense against forest fires and disease. But 0:09:42.120 --> 0:09:47.480 you're saying twelve in thick, Yeah, twelve, and that's crazy 0:09:47.640 --> 0:09:53.640 that it's crager than my foot. Yes. And in case 0:09:53.679 --> 0:09:56.960 you're wondering how these enormous vehemiths aren't constantly toppling over 0:09:57.120 --> 0:10:00.160 under their own sheer size, that's because their roots each 0:10:00.200 --> 0:10:03.440 up to thirteen ft deep and eighty ft long, and 0:10:03.480 --> 0:10:05.200 they really they need to be this big in order 0:10:05.240 --> 0:10:07.520 to protect against weather and wind and such, and just 0:10:07.600 --> 0:10:12.360 their own like mammoth size. So thirteen feet deep, that's 0:10:12.400 --> 0:10:15.840 more than twice the size of me um or you 0:10:16.800 --> 0:10:19.360 that's you and I put together, plus an extra foot 0:10:19.440 --> 0:10:23.880 or two. Um. That's just absolutely insane how big are 0:10:25.160 --> 0:10:27.400 But unfortunately most of these trees have been logged over 0:10:27.400 --> 0:10:30.520 the years. Um Today the national and state parks protect 0:10:30.559 --> 0:10:36.520 about of all remaining coastal redwood trees, which is definitely alarming. Yes, yes, 0:10:36.559 --> 0:10:41.439 it is history in the mid eight hundreds, but it's 0:10:41.480 --> 0:10:43.280 not even that long ago. In the grand scheme of things, 0:10:43.679 --> 0:10:46.640 old growth redwood forest covered more than two million acres 0:10:46.640 --> 0:10:50.080 along the northern California coast. Obviously, that number has dwindled 0:10:50.160 --> 0:10:53.400 drastically thanks to laggers, to the point where a hundred 0:10:53.480 --> 0:10:56.720 forty acres is nearly half of all that remains, which 0:10:56.760 --> 0:11:02.120 is terrible. Yikes. In the early eight hundreds, this part 0:11:02.120 --> 0:11:05.600 of California was home to Native Americans with tribes like 0:11:05.720 --> 0:11:11.680 the Iroq and the Wyote people's who respected the forest 0:11:11.760 --> 0:11:14.960 and used it in sustainable ways. Um, they've been doing 0:11:15.000 --> 0:11:17.880 it for as long as three thousand years. Absolutely, even 0:11:17.880 --> 0:11:20.400 though they did cut redwoods to make boats and housing, 0:11:20.640 --> 0:11:24.040 they weren't going nuts by desecrating entire forests. Like one 0:11:24.040 --> 0:11:26.480 tree would make it for sure, that goes a long way, 0:11:26.480 --> 0:11:29.360 and you're using it for necessity like what what you 0:11:29.400 --> 0:11:32.840 need and nothing more. But they also had serious respect 0:11:32.840 --> 0:11:36.120 for these trees all the while. Like a tribal elder 0:11:36.160 --> 0:11:39.680 from the local Chailula tribe many reeves. She was quoted 0:11:39.720 --> 0:11:42.840 in nineteen seventy six as saying her people are people 0:11:42.920 --> 0:11:45.800 from within the redwood tree, so there's clearly a deep 0:11:45.840 --> 0:11:48.600 spirit trial connection there. And she went on to add 0:11:48.600 --> 0:11:52.040 a pretty blunt morning saying, destroy these trees and you 0:11:52.120 --> 0:11:54.920 destroy the Creator's love. And if you destroy that which 0:11:54.960 --> 0:11:58.640 the Creator loves so much, you will eventually destroy mankind. Which, 0:11:59.520 --> 0:12:03.160 let's heavy. Yeah, that definitely needs to be said. Yeah, 0:12:03.200 --> 0:12:06.000 because according to this statement, mankind was really just a 0:12:06.000 --> 0:12:08.480 couple hundred thousand acres away from being destroyed by the 0:12:08.559 --> 0:12:11.240 Creator really pushed it to the brink. And that's because 0:12:11.280 --> 0:12:14.000 massive trees like these eventually caught the attention of lumberman 0:12:14.040 --> 0:12:17.319 who basically started using these vast forest as their giant 0:12:17.360 --> 0:12:20.480 et m so greedy it was a salvation effort after 0:12:20.520 --> 0:12:23.120 gold miners initially flocked to the area but failed to 0:12:23.120 --> 0:12:25.880 strike it rich that way, so they figured they would 0:12:25.920 --> 0:12:27.760 turn to what they saw as the next best thing, 0:12:28.200 --> 0:12:31.520 which was logging the abundant redwoods, and considering there were 0:12:31.559 --> 0:12:35.640 major metropolitan areas developing nearby, like San Francisco, there was 0:12:35.760 --> 0:12:38.440 huge demand for large supplies of wood like this. Logging 0:12:38.480 --> 0:12:41.680 continued for several decades until the nineteen twenties, and that's 0:12:41.679 --> 0:12:45.440 when conservations started to step in. This is when the 0:12:45.960 --> 0:12:48.920 Save the Redwoods League created this batch of three state 0:12:48.960 --> 0:12:52.040 parks which was able to stop the rampant logging. What 0:12:52.120 --> 0:12:54.880 a great name to Save the Redwoods League. They sound 0:12:54.920 --> 0:12:58.760 like avengers or something like tree hiking avengers, and yeah, 0:12:58.800 --> 0:13:02.240 I get it. And since the national park destination requires 0:13:02.240 --> 0:13:04.560 so much more red tape in federal finagling, not to 0:13:04.600 --> 0:13:07.199 mention that World War Two was keeping the government pretty busy. 0:13:07.640 --> 0:13:10.560 Redwood National Park didn't formally become a thing until nineteen 0:13:11.960 --> 0:13:15.360 and then together this quartet of jointly administered parks, which 0:13:15.360 --> 0:13:17.280 I'm going to go ahead and call the Fantastic Four 0:13:17.320 --> 0:13:20.880 of Parks because I think that fits. They protect what's 0:13:20.960 --> 0:13:24.199 left of the coastal Redwoods, although terrifyingly, by this point 0:13:24.240 --> 0:13:28.000 almost of these trees had been logged. Yeah, it's shameful 0:13:28.040 --> 0:13:30.240 and sad to see so many people didn't see the 0:13:30.280 --> 0:13:32.559 beauty and the ports of these forests. They only sell 0:13:32.679 --> 0:13:35.559 dollar signs, and it's not even just the trees themselves. 0:13:35.720 --> 0:13:39.280 The forests they comprise are hugely important and protect threatened 0:13:39.280 --> 0:13:43.680 wildlife like stellar sea lions, chinook salmon, and northern spotted owls. 0:13:44.200 --> 0:13:47.960 All together. These ecosystems are so unique and geologically important 0:13:48.040 --> 0:13:50.720 that this part of California was classified as a World 0:13:50.720 --> 0:13:54.600 Heritage Site in eighteen eighty and an International Biosphere Reserve 0:13:54.720 --> 0:13:58.000 in nine three. It's always nice to see a happy ending. 0:13:58.160 --> 0:13:59.880 And when we come back, we're going to talk about 0:14:00.080 --> 0:14:15.160 road trip to Redwood National and State Parks. Hi. I'm 0:14:15.200 --> 0:14:17.800 Matt and I'm Brad. This is park Landia, and today 0:14:17.840 --> 0:14:20.880 we're talking about Redwood National and State Parks in California. 0:14:21.600 --> 0:14:24.880 For our experience at Redwood, everything was perfect. I don't 0:14:24.920 --> 0:14:27.000 want to sound all happy, go lucky and twee, but 0:14:27.280 --> 0:14:29.520 that's exactly what it was. The weather at the time 0:14:29.560 --> 0:14:33.320 of year, the minimal crowds, the scenery, everything just worked 0:14:33.360 --> 0:14:36.080 and it was all perfect. It was gorgeous. It was 0:14:36.160 --> 0:14:38.720 late September and the summer rush was pretty much over. 0:14:39.080 --> 0:14:41.800 The parks get about a half a million annual visitors, 0:14:42.080 --> 0:14:44.920 many of whom just visit through June and August, right 0:14:45.040 --> 0:14:47.520 But once kids are back at school and vacation is over, 0:14:47.680 --> 0:14:49.920 that's when we opted to go, and it really worked 0:14:49.920 --> 0:14:53.640 in our favor. We started with the Coucil Visitor Center, 0:14:53.720 --> 0:14:56.240 which is the southernmost visitor center along the coast, just 0:14:56.320 --> 0:14:58.360 off US one oh one. It's easy to get to 0:14:58.720 --> 0:15:01.800 and an absolutely beautiful environment too, with the misty ocean 0:15:01.880 --> 0:15:05.200 right there aligned with rocky shore and small islands scattered 0:15:05.200 --> 0:15:07.680 off the coast, and it's speckled with sea logs here 0:15:07.680 --> 0:15:10.640 and there too. It's it's just a beautiful place to 0:15:10.640 --> 0:15:12.920 start your trip at Redwoods. Yeah, this is definitely not 0:15:12.960 --> 0:15:15.280 the type of beach for swimming. It's a total opposite 0:15:15.360 --> 0:15:18.120 from the beaches of Southern California, that's for sure, right, 0:15:18.120 --> 0:15:20.400 But say, we're beautiful to straw along and gawk at 0:15:20.440 --> 0:15:23.480 and take photos. I actually much prefer these beaches to 0:15:23.520 --> 0:15:26.440 Southern California. I would say I'm team NorCal when it 0:15:26.440 --> 0:15:29.680 comes to like the beaches and coastline. So we picked 0:15:29.720 --> 0:15:32.600 up our visitor guides here and bought some souvenirs, and 0:15:32.680 --> 0:15:35.120 you and your brother got your passport stamped. Oh yeah, 0:15:35.160 --> 0:15:37.480 we sure did, and Whitney did to our our sister 0:15:37.520 --> 0:15:40.800 in law. Now I love saying that she was on 0:15:40.840 --> 0:15:43.200 this trip. She was just she was my brother's fiance. 0:15:43.400 --> 0:15:47.200 Now they're married, so now I can reminisce fondly. Absolutely, 0:15:47.480 --> 0:15:51.360 and her and my brother were recently engaged on this trip, 0:15:51.440 --> 0:15:54.480 but as of this recording they're recently married. So it's 0:15:54.480 --> 0:15:58.720 still a delightful novelty to call her Whitney Carouac. Still 0:15:59.320 --> 0:16:02.160 pure delight happen. And I'm also really glad that we 0:16:02.160 --> 0:16:04.840 were able to persuade her to join in on our 0:16:04.920 --> 0:16:08.840 National Park passport obsession, so which I have not I'm 0:16:08.920 --> 0:16:12.520 having vicariously through all of you because I just can't. 0:16:12.600 --> 0:16:14.440 I can't. Well, you'd be too far behind at this 0:16:14.480 --> 0:16:17.800 point too, That's rude. I'm kidding. No, I would be 0:16:17.800 --> 0:16:19.640 because I just don't have all the stamps and stickers, 0:16:19.640 --> 0:16:23.360 and so I would be like a big investment. Um. 0:16:23.360 --> 0:16:25.560 But there's also a film about the park, um, some 0:16:25.720 --> 0:16:28.720 museum exhibits, and a picnic area here too. And then 0:16:28.720 --> 0:16:30.760 from here we went on and get settled from our 0:16:30.760 --> 0:16:33.520 rental home for the next few days. Your dad had 0:16:33.560 --> 0:16:37.920 set up this house rental on Airbnb or vr b oh. 0:16:38.200 --> 0:16:40.640 Sometimes I thought, yeah, yeah, not far from the visitor 0:16:40.640 --> 0:16:44.440 center area which is in this town called or Yeah, 0:16:44.480 --> 0:16:47.360 our house was more inland from this this part, we're 0:16:47.440 --> 0:16:49.800 pretty much in the thick of like the cultural Redwood Forest, 0:16:49.880 --> 0:16:52.120 which was so great great, like an awesome place to 0:16:52.160 --> 0:16:55.280 hold up for a few days, a real show stopping vibe, 0:16:55.320 --> 0:16:57.120 and the house was amazing. Do you remember the house 0:16:57.320 --> 0:17:03.200 like yes, so like paradise and just like soa bucolic 0:17:03.360 --> 0:17:05.800 and really it was constantly surrounded by massive elk too. 0:17:05.800 --> 0:17:08.560 It's like something out of a woodland fairy tale. And 0:17:08.680 --> 0:17:11.199 again with like the movie pipes just perfect. Well, it 0:17:11.280 --> 0:17:14.720 wasn't constantly surrounded by elkum that would actually be terrifying, 0:17:14.960 --> 0:17:19.560 dangerous sense Roosevet elk congruped about twelve hundred pounds. But 0:17:19.640 --> 0:17:22.040 we did have a few elk sightings in the backyard 0:17:22.119 --> 0:17:24.440 and from a safe distance. Yeah, my dad actually got 0:17:24.440 --> 0:17:27.000 a few great elk photos. He didn't Yeah, I think 0:17:27.040 --> 0:17:29.960 one of them is still the background image on his phone. 0:17:30.440 --> 0:17:33.199 But like one of the ALKI said, this kind of 0:17:33.240 --> 0:17:37.320 ominous looking elk like in the in the misty morning fog. 0:17:37.400 --> 0:17:40.640 It was. It's great. Animals were a big and elk 0:17:40.680 --> 0:17:42.639 are a big deal of redwood too. They're easily the 0:17:42.680 --> 0:17:45.160 most iconic of all the wildlife species that live here. 0:17:45.720 --> 0:17:47.959 But definitely do be careful and keep a safe distance, 0:17:48.000 --> 0:17:51.280 of course, because unlike woodland fairy tales, these animals will 0:17:51.320 --> 0:17:53.840 not sing and dance with you and we view dresses 0:17:53.920 --> 0:17:57.120 or whatever. They'll trample you if they feel threatened. Yeah, 0:17:57.359 --> 0:18:00.000 that's good to prepare our listeners, but we shouldn't scare 0:18:00.040 --> 0:18:02.119 them either. I mean, it's it's a fine line and 0:18:02.320 --> 0:18:04.680 I'm here to blur it. But yeah, the house was 0:18:04.720 --> 0:18:09.679 absolutely bucolic and perfect. Like I said, trails, we basically 0:18:09.680 --> 0:18:12.720 just dropped her stuff, got changed, relaxed a little, and 0:18:12.760 --> 0:18:14.480 then we drove down the road to do a little 0:18:14.560 --> 0:18:17.640 hike and we did a portion of the Redwood Creek Chail, 0:18:17.720 --> 0:18:21.080 which was completely breathtaking. It really was. We didn't do 0:18:21.119 --> 0:18:24.000 the entire trail, this was about fifteen miles round tripping back, 0:18:24.119 --> 0:18:26.040 but we did hike along the creek for a few 0:18:26.040 --> 0:18:28.919 miles and just bast in the glory of these used trees. 0:18:29.520 --> 0:18:32.040 It's such a peaceful setting, especially when it was as 0:18:32.040 --> 0:18:34.240 sunny and miles as it was when we were there, 0:18:34.440 --> 0:18:36.920 And I loved every bit of it, especially when we're 0:18:36.920 --> 0:18:39.520 all kind of spread out and dispersed along the creek. 0:18:39.520 --> 0:18:42.000 At one point we started skipping stones. It was like 0:18:43.440 --> 0:18:45.879 it's just like something out of you know, a dream, 0:18:46.200 --> 0:18:49.080 with this perfect like babbling a little brook and we 0:18:49.160 --> 0:18:51.800 all without we didn't even talk about it. We weren't like, 0:18:51.840 --> 0:18:53.639 let's start skipping sounds. We all just kind of branched 0:18:53.640 --> 0:18:55.480 out and started doing it. And I haven't skipped a 0:18:55.520 --> 0:18:57.840 stone and I don't know how long. So this was 0:18:58.359 --> 0:19:00.360 This was fun and also a nice reminder that I'm 0:19:00.440 --> 0:19:01.919 I'm still not good at it. I don't know how 0:19:01.960 --> 0:19:04.520 to do it. Um. And then we scrambled up this 0:19:04.600 --> 0:19:07.840 huge fallen log and took some great group photos together. 0:19:07.960 --> 0:19:09.920 I remember having to like jump up there in the 0:19:10.359 --> 0:19:12.399 run and like, I mean, it wasn't it wasn't the 0:19:12.440 --> 0:19:14.119 easy look, but it was a good one. Yeah, the 0:19:14.119 --> 0:19:15.679 tree was so huge that we really had to like 0:19:16.440 --> 0:19:19.159 leap and then drag ourselves up on it, but totally 0:19:19.160 --> 0:19:21.240 worth the effort to Ye, it was perfect. And you 0:19:21.280 --> 0:19:24.240 know what was even more perfect our kayaking trip on 0:19:24.320 --> 0:19:28.520 the Smith River the next morning. Oh my god, yes river. 0:19:28.680 --> 0:19:30.320 I'm gonna go out in a limb here, like a 0:19:30.400 --> 0:19:33.120 huge redwood limb and say that this was the most 0:19:33.119 --> 0:19:36.359 fun I think we've ever had kayaking in any National 0:19:36.359 --> 0:19:38.840 park or any setting in general. I think that's accurate. 0:19:38.840 --> 0:19:41.200 It was definitely one of the most dynamic and most 0:19:41.240 --> 0:19:44.480 action packed from some of the rapids, the hiking excursions 0:19:44.480 --> 0:19:47.280 on the riverside we did a lot. And I remember 0:19:47.280 --> 0:19:49.639 on the way too, as we're being driven to like 0:19:49.720 --> 0:19:52.280 the load endpoint by our kayak guide who was saying 0:19:52.320 --> 0:19:54.639 that that Netflix movie bird Box was filmed along the 0:19:54.720 --> 0:19:57.479 river here, and I never saw that movie, but I 0:19:57.520 --> 0:20:00.280 love imagining like a blindfolded Sandra Bula kayak down the 0:20:00.359 --> 0:20:04.119 river with us, another great example of how cinematic displaces. 0:20:04.680 --> 0:20:07.560 We're just constantly surrounded by it, even when we're not 0:20:07.640 --> 0:20:10.840 totally sure what it's about. Yeah. Right, So this kayak 0:20:10.880 --> 0:20:13.320 trip was pretty much everything. All of us loaded into 0:20:13.359 --> 0:20:16.200 our individual kayaks and we sat off for a few 0:20:16.200 --> 0:20:19.760 miles down this crystal clear, perfectly blue river, like the 0:20:19.840 --> 0:20:22.680 cleanest and prettiest river I think I've ever seen. Seriously, 0:20:22.680 --> 0:20:25.080 it was gorgeous. You and your sister almost capsized during 0:20:25.119 --> 0:20:27.880 You hit these like rocky rapids at first, and then 0:20:27.920 --> 0:20:30.520 I crashed my kayak into yours. Yeah, it was a 0:20:30.560 --> 0:20:33.600 little bit of a pile up, thanks, And things got 0:20:33.600 --> 0:20:35.959 even wetter when Whitney fell off her boat when we 0:20:35.960 --> 0:20:37.760 were all stopped at a big rock in the middle 0:20:37.800 --> 0:20:40.480 of the river. Yeah, I remember hearing just the splash 0:20:40.560 --> 0:20:43.000 behind me, and then I turned around and saw Whitney 0:20:43.040 --> 0:20:45.280 standing up out of the water, and I knew how 0:20:45.280 --> 0:20:47.000 cold it was, so I really felt for her, even 0:20:47.040 --> 0:20:49.920 though she was really chill about it. Yeah, and from 0:20:50.000 --> 0:20:51.760 up on this huge rock, our guy told us that 0:20:51.800 --> 0:20:54.000 we could just jump off it into the river. So 0:20:54.119 --> 0:20:55.640