Standing in a Redwood, burned by numerous fires. Remarkably, the tree is still alive.

Day 7 was another day full of driving, broken up with a few stops along the way. The day started bright and early as we checked out of our hotel, piled into the cars and drove to Humboldt State Park to see the Redwoods along the Avenue of the Giants.  We were able to walk around the forest for an hour admiring the colossal trees, which was nice because it was a break within a quiet forest.

Continuing along the drive we hit the Coastal Highway and made a stop so that we could all put our feet in the rough Pacific waters and stretch our legs, McTammany also found a long piece of seaweed he attempted to use as a whip for our entertainment. Our next stop was at the Klamath River overlook. We were able to see where the river met the Pacific Ocean and listened to a talk about the issues with the Klamath River and how its fisheries and farming practices are affected by damming of water, a good tie between what we had already learned and what we were to learn in the upcoming days.

After a few more stops along the way to see some more beaches and to stretch our legs we finally made it to the Portland area.

The morning of the 14th, day 8 of our trip, we were given a few hours to explore Portland, Oregon. Unfortunately most stores are closed Sunday mornings so the only store we saw was Powell’s Bookstore and Deschutes Brewery for lunch.

The afternoon’s trip turned out to be a bust. Fog and clouds prevented us from seeing Mount St. Helens but we did make it to the visitors center to learn about the eruption 30 years ago and see some pictures.

The foggy coast of Oregon

Seals, Sea Lions, Herons and Sea Gulls relaxing on a dock